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You only have a minute or two before it starts to set up...depending on the amount of hardener (the red stuff) you use. Just have your area cleaned and ready to work.

Try a test patch somewhere first. Mix it up until it turns pink all the way through and practice spreading. You will get the hang of it fast enough.

You can use it over the screws. But to be honest, using simple spackling is the best way to cover the screw areas. Easier to work with, less fuss and dust, and once painted you would never know.

Keep a couple of those old magnets on hand. You can use them to find the screw areas if you need to take it apart. This is why spackling works great because it is easier to break through it to get to the screw than bondo.

That's a tough one to answer because there are so many variables. The air temperature will affect curing time as will the amount of hardener you use. The best rule of thumb is to mix only as much as you can use in a couple of minutes. In my opinion it's OK to cover screws as long as you plan to never access those screws again. I was just using Bondo yesterday to fill a couple of routing mistakes - you have to work quickly and use gloves and have plenty of ventilation.

Though Bondo works good, we have used Durham's Rock Hard Water putty on our tracks. It has a moderate working time, dries hard and machines really well. It it less messy and water based too so you don't have to worry about ventilation (unless you like to get light headed) :?

Another good option is Plastic Wood from Dap. Goes down easy and you can redo your mistake. No mixing.

My carpentry skills are such that I have a lot of experience with Ronseal 2-part wood filler(!!), which sounds a lot like Bondo.

I was told a long time ago that if you mix a golf ball sized lump of filler with a pea sized blob of hardener, you have just about enough time to mix it to a uniform colour, and apply it before you've wasted too much of it because it's gone off.

I just found a 10 year old tin with about 1/3 left in it, and I used it for the nail holes in the tiny portable track I did recently. It worked fine, and smelled just as disgusting as it did when it was new.

Hope this helps.

David.

Bondo is body filler for automotive work, you can use as much or as little as you like, the hardner will last a long time after opening
I like the 3M scratch and ding, it comes mixed in a tube and works like bondo, just use what you want and close the cap

as previously stated... mix what you need and cap the rest. i have body filler that is 10 years old and is still good. the hardener will eventually go bad after a few years but it can be bought by itself any way, so its easy to replace. i dont figure youll have this issue.

no problem going over screws at all. cover'em up. when used in the auto repair world... brass and copper will cause the bondo to lift or seperate from these metals. but again..this is over long periods of time and weather.

big thing.... the more hardener you use the faster it will cure. youll feel the bondo get warm as the chemical curing process goes on with a lot of hardener. and theres no worries in doing this. if you want it to set fast... double up on the hardener in your mix...but move quickly to get it spread out or it'll harden on the palette you mixed it on. youll feel it get tuff to spread when its getting close to setting up for good.

Tom ,

For a small amount of Bondo , use a golf ball size and enough red hardner as if to fill your tooth brush 1/2 full of tooth paste . This will allow you roughly 4 mintes to use . I know you can do it .

Gonzo