Needing Bondo Advice, fixed leaking sunroof Options

[d_boice]

I had decided to ultimately fix my leaking sunroof. So with a blow dryer, putty knife, piece of 22 gauge metal, and $150 bucks later I have a filled roof.

I have no idea who cuts a hole into a perfectly good roof. -______-
But nonetheless, I am going to bondo the slight dip it has in it now.
Does anyone have any advice that you wish you knew when you first delt with Bondo??
anything would help tremendously..
Thank You

[rivs]

I would second the sanding block. This is a MUST. Using only your hand/fingers will cause dips and unevenness. When I did my first bondo work, I thought I could just use my hand if I was careful and made sure to apply pressure evenly. Nope don't bother, get a block and it will always be flat.

Also it's hard to tell from the photo, but is the plate you welded in, indented? Meaning that it is not the same level as the rest of the roof? If that's the case, I would try to raise the center to be close to the height of the rest of the roof. Other wise you will have to fill the whole area with bondo. And if it's too thick it will crack over time.

It will be difficult to tell when you are done sanding. Meaning it will look like you still need to sand more, but in reality it is completely smooth. The best by to do this is to use your fingers. Just slide your hand, and if there are any dips or high spots, you will feel them. It's also a good idea to paint a "guide" coat. This is what the other person was saying about different color primer. When you think you are close, put a light coat of primer that is a different color and then sand that coat completely off. Because of the contracting colors, it is easy to see high or low spots that still need work.

I'm not sure how good you are hoping for this to come out. But bondo usually leaves pinholes as it dries. I usually put a very thin coat of spot putty over the top. This fills in the pin holes and other small scratches and whatnot.