How to remove horn sheaths after bondo?

You can try and give them a few wacks with a mallet, bondo may crack inside, if not cut a slip with a cut off wheel down the back to open enough to get horn off and repair later. Had a friend get some game preserve sheep done out of state and were loose when they arrived in shipment, fell right off after a few shakes, bondo didn't work to well and the mounts were absolutely terrible anyway.

 

A heat gun may soften the horn and bondo enough to get them off

 

At the risk of repeating myself for the ten zillionth time, BONDO IS NOT AN ADHESIVE. All you need to do is to submerge your horns in a bucket of HOT water for a few minutes. That's why body repairment prime over their Bondo work and why they keep it dry until it's painted. Wetted Bondo will slough off.

 

If it's not an adhesive then why the hell does it not come off my britches during the wash. Lol

 

What would be the best thing to use for putting the sheaths back on?

 

How many times have you seen a car with body work half assed spread on a panel and stayed that way for years. Wetting will not soften it. It will eventually crack and chip off do to its pores nature and rust forming behind it.

 

Paul, have you ever done body work? Bondo is applied over sheet metal that has either been coarse sanded or has holes drilled in it. READ THE CAN! Then read a can of Weldwood and tell me the difference. You guys that argue this will be the first to tell a guy who's screwed up a Bondo ear "No sweat, just peel it out. Or better yet, "Peel it out, sand it down, and glue it back in with HIDE PASTE." Try that with Epoxy.

Hammer, it sticks in your clothes the same reason that mustard or bubblegum does.

Use epoxy to put the sheaths back on. Just get it right because removing them won't be a future option.

 

20 years George, for private and dealerships. Nobody drills holes in panels anymore, at least the past 30 years or unless you are a back yard hack. Try taking the bondo ear apart after 5 hours of drying, not going to happen. On a clean well coarse sand body panel, after its cured, you will need a hammer and chisel to remove or re grind bondo off. Its made to slow cure to be workable to cheese grade the high spots then sand smooth after secondary hardening which is why you can remove it after initial kick. I use liners for all ears that have one available, if not its filler.

 

I'm not saying they won't work, but hot water and heat guns are is risky.

Been there and done that.

If the bone had some porosity before bonding, drill some holes though the core, pour acetone down the holes. Bag tight. After a few days it should loosen the bondo. With a good wack they should pop off.

 

What application in auto body does the mechanic use Bondo to adhere two items together?

 

Paul, i'm assuming you missed my "coarse sand" comment. And I could care less about your 9 hour challenge. I've removed Bondo ears 5 years later. Rehydrate that skin and it will peel out like a banana. No one has answered my question: WHAT DOES THE CAN SAY? Fiberglass resin anyplace else requires glass mesh cloth. It is notorious for not adhering well to itself. Conversely, epoxies are adhesives made specifically to HOLD, unlike "body fillers".

 

For the OP, If you did those horns did it right, and have enough bondo in there they won't be coming off very easy at all. I wish you luck. A heat gun will soften bondo, but getting that horn hot enough to do it might really screw things up. I would start with the safest(whacking with a hammer) to most dangerous (heating them HOT). If you get them off make sure and post a follow up.


In order to continue the thread hijack, I won't argue that Bondo isn't an adhesive...technically. I don't understand all the body shop comparisons, because we aren't doing body work. Bondo works for reattaching cut forms, setting antlers, making fish heads/fins, molding fish, casting fish, casting noses, earliners, etc etc etc etc etc.

It must be that East Coaster in you George, but you sure don't seem to be much of a redneck engineer.

I can tell you we practically built whole FENDERS out of Bondo and aluminum foil back in the day and they held together just fine. You just have to KNOW HOW TO DO IT RIGHT.

All those "remounts" that you do where you peel out the Bondo like a bannana can't be too well done if you are remounting them after five years. Maybe the user just didn't know what the heck he was doing. I people don't tend to soak the ears of their mounts in water.

 

Bondo makes a great filler. It also will hold two things together IF each piece has deep enough grooves or holes in them.

If you try to "glue" two things together with Bondo with just light sanding or none at all, and they are not porous, they will not have much tensile strength and very prone to eventual failure.

On the other hand, there are numerous glues and adhesives that will hold like a weld and actually make the joint stronger than the items being glued together. They will actually break before the joint will.

Thus making Bondo not an adhesive.

 

No, it's that Southerner, Jim. Bondo WILL BOND, it won't "ADHERE". It "bonds" by interlacing with roughed areas. On forms, it will hold them together by seeping into the nooks and crannies of the open cells of the foam. It does the same with horn cases. With antelope, they aren't really "horns" either and the hairs on the horn can and do give the Bondo a surface to hold on to. I've had a B&C set of pronghorns DISBOND on a guy carrying from my shop to his truck. That's damned embarrassing and I'm just trying to save some of these cheap #$%^ a bit of heartache by telling them how to prevent that. Stiil, I'm losing ground cause they keep being born quicker than I can educate them.

Good luck, Tanglewood. I've been saying that since this site came up and I still get the same lame ass reasoning.

 

LOL, heck George I am 53 and I gave up years ago. You are either a lot tougher (maybe dumber) than I am. Keep fighting the good fight. 20 somethings look at me like I am insane 90% of the time.

 

Cmon George tell your clients not to carry their trophies by their horns or antlers.

 

Well, it seems that bondo is definitely not an adhesive. Every bondo convo that happens here actually splits and tears taxidermists apart!!!!! LOL

 

It will be easier to just find another skull/core for the other horns.