bondo cracks

[charliehaley]

I recently had a piece of road debris do some damage to my recently purchased black 2006 tahoe. When i bought it i noticed the there were some very small cracks in the paint on the hood that almost seemed like scratches they were so shallow so i didnt worry about them. Insurance is now paying to repaint the hood due to a scuff from the accident which i thought was great because it would fix these cracks. The body shop is now telling me that it is bondo work that was done on the hood cracking and that sanding may not remove these cracks to have a smooth base layer for the paint. I am short on money and anything extra here would obviously come out of my pocket so i would appreciate any input to make sure when i go talk to the body shop today at lunch i dont get screwed into paying for too much work to have my hood back looking right. Thanks in advance guys.

[embolism]

any chance of insurance covering a 2006 hood from the junkyard?

[erock]

I worked for a high end car dealership as the body shop parts advisor for years. I can tell you with no doubt that they will not pay for a new or used hood if its a matter of paint. If the hood was smashed or folded up...yes, but not for some road rash. I say if its your daily driver,maybe its not such a big deal. If it really bothers you,it may be time to pony up the dough and get it fixed.

[charliehaley]

I worked for a high end car dealership as the body shop parts advisor for years. I can tell you with no doubt that they will not pay for a new or used hood if its a matter of paint. If the hood was smashed or folded up...yes, but not for some road rash. I say if its your daily driver,maybe its not such a big deal. If it really bothers you,it may be time to pony up the dough and get it fixed.

I guess what im asking is can just sanding fix these hairline cracks or should i try and pay more to have it redone right. I want it done right but i dont know enough about bondo to make this decision. Since you worked at a body shop if you had run across this situation what would you have recommended to the customer?

[erock]

Ask for a quote. If its something you can afford, why not have it done the right way?

[charliehaley]

true was just making sure there wasnt a way to get it fixed right under the same price as just the paint job

[Setec Astronomy]

Kind of hard to believe that for free or a few bucks they won't put a little glazing putty in those cracks...or are they saying that the Bondo will continue to shrink?

[Phinox]

Bondo should never have been placed on the hood in the first place. Due to the heat and all the vibrations it will continue to crack. The shop may be able to use some putty to fix it but it is a temporary solution as sooner or later cracks will reappear.

[Setec Astronomy]

Bondo should never have been placed on the hood in the first place. Due to the heat and all the vibrations it will continue to crack. The shop may be able to use some putty to fix it but it is a temporary solution as sooner or later cracks will reappear.

I'm not advocating Bondo...I'm just trying to help the OP who says he has insufficient funds. What is your suggestion?

[Phinox]

I'm not advocating Bondo...I'm just trying to help the OP who says he has insufficient funds. What is your suggestion?

I am not saying you where Setec. about the only thing that can be done is using a glaze or more bondo to fix it. But it is only a temporary fix as sooner or later it will recrack. i would say just have it fixed the cheapest way you can for now and if you can afford it in the future get a replacement hood from a junk yard or buy an after market hood and have it sprayed.

[davidc]

If a replacement hood is not feasible remove the bondo and fill with lead. Lead is more work but I have never seen any cracks. Once bondo cracks there is no repair other than removal and re-apply and hope for the best.

Dave