I've got some shoddy bondo repair that has been popping out on me for some time on the back end of my trucks bed. Its gotten to the point that its driving me nuts looking at it, and wanting to paint the truck soon, this is one step that needs to be address.

Whats the best way to go about this? It covers a good section of the rear, using a magnet I've learned that it goes a bit wider than what is shown.

Would I just sand it down and rebondo or do I need to knock all the old bondo out and redo?

Couple of shots for reference, might just have a body shop take a look at it. I've thought about bobbing the bed, as that would get rid of a lot of the area in question, or just replacing the whole thing (not really reasonable due to space) but just in general, what would be the rule of thumb for this job.

Visible cracks:


Top view:


Opposite side, but for reference of the area effected:

 

Strip all that bondo off, and find out what damage there is to the metal. The bondo should not, under any circumstance, be that thick.

 

That first picture looks like a ghost wearing sandals. Pretty neat.

Couldn't tell you anything about body work, though.....sorry. Just like the pic.

 

Yeah, not to thrilled about it, but I can at least say I wasn't the cause nor the owner at the time. But, in the end, I'm stuck with it. Maybe a bobbing of the bed will be the easiest solution to the problem. Or, if I can source a extra bed and store it at a buddy's.

 

x2 for bob the bed

 

strip it off its not a bad thing to have filler that thick but its not the best. the metal must of not been prepped right, or maybe it wasn't even bare metal to begin with and it was applied right over paint.

 

you need to buy some glass sides from http://toyotafiberglass.com .. and then "go to town" .

 

I would guess there isn't any metal at all underneath that bondo. Maybe a screen or something like that.

I would either bob it, or look for a new bed.

You would have better luck using fiberglass to fill that kind of hole in the first place.

 

Knock the bondo out and go to a harbor freight type place and get some inexpensive body hammers and blocks knock the metal back out then you can get an idea of how far you have to go with the reshaping of the metal.

Reshape the metal till it's as close to stock as possible and make it a smooth as possible then you can fil in the rest with body filler and sand it down so it has as little as possible filler to make it correct and repaint it.

It maybe a pain in the ass to do and it will be time consuming but it would be the cheapest way to get it all back to looking right and it should stop the cracking you have now. Or if it is so bad it would be cheaper to replace the side you could go glass or find a bed at a junk yard and replace the whole bed.

 

take out all the old bondo and fix the panel so u dont have to use that much
if u can weld cut it out and weld new peice in
this is a nice truck do uk were u got those fender flares and does it have a lift? what size tires? i got one exatly like this it looks good nice job deff take out all bondo and fix panel and redo bondo

 

Fender flares were on it when I bought it, along with the lift. I'm debating whether or not to remove the flares. The trim between the flares and the fenders need to be replaced and the driver's side rear needs to be fiberglassed on a crack.

The lift is a 4" bracket, I believe its a Superlift kit, 33x12.50 tires.

I've got a couple of guys up the street that can weld so I think if I can time it right, I'll have them assist me.

 

Leave the flares. Strip the bondo off to where it is not cracked anymore, them feather it in flush with the original bodywork as best as possible. If you are going to put any bondo on thicker than 1/4 inch, use "fiberglass" based bondo for aS MUCH OF THE BUILD UP AS POSSIBLE. Then finish with regular bondo. Epoxy primer, then top coat.