Best way to repair water damaged partical board

[Tornadoboy]

I have a seriously neglected Buck Rogers upright that has some water damaged partical board, which consists of some relatively minor swelling along the upper edge of one side panel and rotted away and missing board along the bottom edge. I also need to place the badly cracked front panel and the missing back door.

For the swelling I was thinking of using wood hardener, filling in the t-molding slot with bondo, sanding it all smooth and re-cutting to slot. For the rotted bottom I was thinking of cutting the damage out with a circular saw as straight as I can (it'll be about 4" up), joining a replacement piece with biscotts and re-enforcement from inside, filling/covering the gap with Bondo and of course sanding it all smooth.

Does this sound like a good plan? Does anybody have better ideas they'd like to share?

 

[Wundercade]

Can you get some pics posted of the problem area?




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[Tornadoboy]

Can you get some pics posted of the problem area?




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I'll try to take one when I get home, I've been wanting to put aside some pictures anyway incase the restore comes out particularly good. If anyone knows where I could get a good PCB set, a CPO and side art please let me know.

 

[Tornadoboy]

Ok here's pictures of the worst damage caused by the IQ-deprived previous owner, fortunately it is at the very bottom of the cab so hopefully any imperfections in my repair work won't stand out too badly. I've also found out that the original paint can just be peeled off in sheets with a heat gun, so it ought to look pretty good when I'm done.

 

[Cyberwhiz]

I had a ratty looking Midway cabaret cabinet that was converted to a Arkanoid with water damage all along the outside edges. I decided to just make a Multicade out of it and sanded away all the loose wood particles and used wood hardener on the exposed edges. Then I used Bondo to build the edges back up, sanded and went over it again with putty. Finished it off with primer and paint and now you could never tell. It's not perfect, but it shows really well.

Unless the wood was soaked all the way through, I think this is the easiest approach. Otherwise, I don't see any problem with the method you outlined, especially if you're really good with wood. Personally, I wouldn't want to have to match up a new piece, I've done in the past, but it's not exactly my favorite thing to do...

 

[Jedidentist]

If it were just the corner, I'd say to reinforce the base and Bondo it, but since it runs the whole length, I'd cut off the entire bottom and replace the wood. That's what I did with my Tron.

 

[GameyMcGame]

+1 for minwax wood hardener. Next time I have a really bad MDF/particle job I'm actually going to use a cheap injector (like for baking) and literally inject it to the center of the 'wood'. Stuff is awesome but careful, its 'thin', runs everywhere (brush it on for sure) and is hard to get off of stuff once it dries.

 

[Jedidentist]

I just picked up some Minwax Wood Hardener yesterday! I'm hoping that and some Bondo will be all I'll need to fix this corner of my 720...that should be delivered today

 

[Tornadoboy]

I'm going to pick up the minwax WH tonight hopefully, does Home Depot carry it? Is it in the paint department?

 

[Jedidentist]

I'm sure they carry it next to the wood stains. I ended up paying $13 for it at my local lumber store...I didn't feel like driving the extra 5 miles.

 

[timiskander]

Yes, HD has it in there with all the other minwax stuff (stains, etc). I just bought some the other day... right about $10/can.

cheers
/Tim

 

[metahugh]

Here is what I did for a Robotron that I had:

http://gaming.metahugh.com/?cat=10

 

[Tornadoboy]

Dumb question:
Should I apply the wood hardener before sanding things level, after, or both?

 

[gmadden]

Try West Systems epoxy products.

 

[Cyberwhiz]

Dumb question:
Should I apply the wood hardener before sanding things level, after, or both?

Sand to remove all the really loose stuff, then apply the hardener so the filler has something solid to grab onto, otherwise it will pull right off.

 

[sconfu]

my method:

rip enough off till you get to good wood and start bondo'ing. don't sand before you bondo it likes it rough

 

[djw90]

my method:

rip enough off till you get to good wood and start bondo'ing. don't sand before you bondo it likes it rough

So how are you riping enough off, if your not sanding?

 

[dezbaz]

I have tried 2 different methods on this

1. Lower the cab by 2", and remake the curves and T-Molding Slot

2. Remake the side/s entirely

The first method is quicker (Obviously)

3. I would consider the repair method mentioned above if the board was able to bear load. Otherwise you could reinforce the inside of the cab first, and putty away