mounted my first deer one week ago,had some problems, all in all not bad.could someone tell me if you can put some kind of adhesive in ears before bondo?the ears on my deer have drumming and would like to know if there was a way to get better adhesion.i am rehydrating the ears and plan to inject some type of epoxy or glue,is there another way?the sewing nearly broke me! it took me two hours to sew up with a short y.i am prepping another to mount and have thinned th seam, hopefully that will help.can you pre punch holes?will it cause problems?this deer is split all the wayand will take forever but it will get easier with experience. any help will be appreciated. thanks
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There are alot of different techniques for ears, and I'm sure George will be here shortly to address the shortcomings of bondo, as "it's not an adhesive, and has no adhesive properties", well unless your altering forms or fixing your vehicle of course. Try roughing up your cartilege with a wire brush or stout ruffer, and cleaning them with lacquer thinner, then make sure there good and dry. Your other option is to use earliners or try some ear magic, this stuff works great. As far as your differculty sewing, it happened to all of us early on, it just takes time to become more proficient at it, like anything else. I would guess that you don't have a fleshing machine, or that you need to shave your hide thinner. Also make sure your needles are sharp, and use the correct ones for the task. Give it time and it will come. Marc R
Bondo "holds" forms together simply by "bonding" the nooks and crannies of one piece of form to another piece of foam. Otherwise, you wouldn't need to insure all the dust was removed. As far as autobody work, if you've ever done any of it, you drill holes in the body or you put sheet metal screws in it so that the Bondo can "bond" with the metal. Back in the OLD OLD days, we used molten lead instead.
Now kevin, back to you.
Why wouldn't you use epoxy to begin with if epoxy is what you want to "inject" now that the drumming has taken place? You can add fiberglass chop to 5-minute epoxy that will work just the same as Bondo, however, it's an adhesive and WILL hold the ears. Ear Magic is an excellent replacement for Bondo.
Using ANYTHING other than soap on the ears is always contentious. Lacquer thinner is a solvent that will dissolve fiberglass resin (uncured Bondo) as well as epoxy. Oils left in tanning will form barriers that won't let any substance adhere to it, so they must be removed. Warm soapy water works great.
You are dating yourself when you talk about using lead instead of Bondo
for autobody repair. (used to do it myself, wound up with a many a pile of lead at my feet until I learned to get the metal clean enough)
You're right about the warm soapy water. I do use it and it works great.
what you are saying is for me to wash in soapy water, let dry, then use epoxyin the ears? the video i have said to dip ears in thinner then use bondo.now the problem is fixing my mistakes,which is the purpose for the epoxie now.i looked at the Epo-Grip products and was unsure of which one to purchase,for replacement for bondo.what about the firmness in the ears.will the epoxy provide that without having to use liners?thank you george,chipD.,MARC.R, for your help in answering my questions and thanks to all that reply later
George, I have known you, or have been your computer compadre for going on 11 years on this forum. You have been a great help to many, and a pain in the ass to others here over the years. I have always had a great respect for your vast plethora of knowledge, so you know this is not ment as an attack, although others may take it that way. I would hope you know me better than that. I was simply reiterating your stance on bondo as an adhesive for ears, thus quoting you, "it's not an adhesive". I understand this, and yes I have used it in body work, more times than I'd like to remember, my first wife couldn't drive worth a ¢rap! I have also altered many forms and used Bondo to "bond" them back together, so I'm not debating that. I am also aware what the properties of lacquer thinner are, and as a result, the consequences of using it for various applications. I have however scrubbed down ears with it in the past, with good results, but only as I mentioned to Kevin, after making sure they were completely dry, before proceding. I'm sure soap and water works as well, perhaps better. I was simply giving the man some alternatives I have personally used that have seemed to work for "ME", and in no way am I attempting to reflect what the mainstream prefers. I personally get the best results with 5 minute epoxy and buckeye buttless ear liners, but I'm nobody and wouldn't tell him that that's all he should use. I figure let them try different things. How else are you going to know what works and what doesn't for your own applications? I've learned alot through the years at the school of hard knocks and would never give advise as to try and mislead someone, but this forum seems to have alleviated the process of learning from your trials and tribulations. Ahhh technology ......ain't it grand! As for you Mr.Roof, I hope I can continue to pick up tidbits from your old a$$, but you can keep the lead to fix your car. Take care and quit sniffing bondo! Hope you and the Mrs. have a blessed and Merry Christmas, you'll both be in my prayers. Marc R "CapeFear"
I would reccomend getting yourself a sewers palm and some long needles (I use 5"). This makes sewing alot easier for me and keeps the butt end of the needle from poking the heck out of my palm. Also my take on the ears is to try ear magic. I have used bondo alot and rarely have problems with it, but ear magic is much easier to use and easier to get it looking anatomical.
Lots of things no longer work for me, but Thank God, memory isn't one of those YET. I knew what you were saying, but I always reiterate it for those new guys who've just "discovered" us here.
Kevin, might I suggest the Epo-Grip Injectable that can be put into the voids with a hypodermic needle. Call Steve Steinbring at 1-800-888-2467 and he'll tell you all about it. He has epoxies that do EVERYTHING.