Using Bondo Inside?

jdhogg

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Working on a 4 player NBA Jam restore in my basement. Have to do a some bondo work to the cabinet. Not much, just a little touch-up on some corners and divots on the side.

I really don't want to move it upstairs to the garage to do the bondo work. It's really heavy.

As long as I open all windows in my basement (have egress windows) and use a shop vac when sanding, would this be safe?

Has anyone used bondo in their house? What other precautions are there?

Thanks in advance.
 
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I've used it inside. It's stinky but as long as you're not using gallons of it I would think it's safe. Like you said, just keep the area ventilated.
 
Bondo should be plenty safe. I mean, don't eat it, but it's not something that gives off a lot of fumes.

Spray paint, on the other hand... they're not kidding when they say "use in a well ventilated area".

-Ian
 
I usually use a respirator when doing stuff like this (as well as ventilate as well as possible), but then I'm kinda paranoid.
 
I apply bondo in my basement all the time. It stinks but you should be fine. Ventilate as much as possible.

The sanding, however.. Yeah that's a PITA and I would want to do that outside every time. I don't think there's any real harm to doing it inside, just the cleanup sucks.
 
I'm sure someone will come up with some reason it could cause long term health issues or something. I've used it in doors with out open windows, fans or a respirator and have even sanded bondo without a respirator. I can tell you you will not drop dead instantly from it and probably have no short term effects other than maybe some bondo dust in your boogers if you wear no mask. I'm sure long term it causes cancer or something but so does breathing from what I can tell.
 
I've done it for three of my restorations (Tron, 720, and Journey). After doing it all of this times, my advice would be:
Use a sander that you can hook up to a vacuum
Buy one of those $30 respirators at Home Depot...best $30 I've ever spent
Wear glasses
Open windows if you can
Shut the door to the basement and limit when it's open
Turn off your furnace/air handler if you've got whole house a/c and it's in the basement

It usually takes 6-7 hours for Bondo fumes to go away after the initial mixing, so I usually mixed it and let it cure overnight. I didn't do all of this on my initial project, but did by my last one. Good luck!
 
Good stuff thanks. I was going to hold the shop vac to the sander while I'm sanding to get all the dust so it doesn't get all over the place. And as soon as I'm done applying the bondo, to get the leftovers outside right away instead of sitting in the garbage can.
 
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