bondo

I am working on a 1953 14' alumacraft. just started getting the old paint off should be done this weekend. i will get some pics up here soon. i was wondering if anyone had any suggestions about filling a few of the dents, most are small and will pound out pretty easy i cant get the 2 large dents to come out completely can i use a bondo to fill them. i'd like the boat to be smooth before i paint it.

Bondo should work. I have used it before. be sure you kinda rough the boat surface up a little before starting with the Bondo. Also remember that you are going to do lots of sanding so put on several light coats vrs thick coats..... I hate sanding

You could, but I wouldn't. Bondo does not have the capabilities of flexing as the boat does, and Bondo doesn't do the greatest job in a marine environment.

Do you have any suggestions. Is there a rubber material out there that i can use to float over the dents that will accept paint?

I beat out the worst of mine, but I have no doubt I'll put more in it. The only dent-free aluminum boats are in the showroom. I thought about maybe some textured paint that would keep the dents from shining and reflecting light. Maybe they'd just blend in. I figure the dents will look better than cracked bondo. Aluminum is just so flexible. I haven't painted mine yet, but when I do, I'll probably just do the best I can and say, "Hey, it looks better than it did." After all, mine's a fishing boat, not a showpiece.

There are some aluminum epoxies out there. Loctite makes one. I don't know if they'll be flexible enough, but will probably stick better than the bondo. I've never used it, maybe someone here has.

benjineer said:

There are some aluminum epoxies out there. Loctite makes one. I don't know if they'll be flexible enough, but will probably stick better than the bondo. I've never used it, maybe someone here has.

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Howard had good results with the JB waterweld and BobberBoy used some other type of filler with good success. Check their builds.

I just read this on the web. It says to take a hair dryer and hold the dryer about 2" away from the dent for about 2 minuets. Than have a can of Dust Off ( which you use on computer key boards) tip it upside down so the carbon can escape when you spray it, and spray the heated area and the sudden chance in temp., will pop the dent right out. It said on larger dents you may have to do this a few times before the dent is fully out. Lets see if it works.