Twelvebar, when I worked as a patternmaker in the mold-making business we always used good 'ol fashioned Bondo thinned out with Acetone to get rid of ridges. We never used plywood though. And in making cabinets you just use an edgebanding or molding.

We used to scuff the wood with at least 80-grit to get the bondo to stick. I think you should try getting a scrap piece of plywood and try some testing with it. You can actually thin out Bondo to be the consistency of a melted milkshake with Acetone, and it will still retain it's bonding properties and hardness. It just takes longer to dry and harden. It's the best paint-grade wood filler you can use. You can fill extremely small cracks and pin-holes with a thinned out mixture. It can still shrink on you with bigger voids as it dries sometimes because it's thinned out. A light primer spray can reveal where you might have missed, and where you may need to skim more.

I would just dip my finger in a cup of thinned out bondo and use my finger to skim it. I have to advise you to use some tight surgical gloves when you do it though for safety reasons. The Acetone and Bondo doesn't have enough spirits to eat through surgical gloves. (Personally, in the past, I was kind of wreckless and didn't use them half the time). Using your finger is a bit easier than using a putty knife with something that's shaped and has roundovers. Like at the top of the body where it would be hard to use a putty knife. You could use your finger, then the backside of a straight razor to even it out (tape over the blade side).

I would say, if you can get a majority of any ridges filled with the bondo skimming, you should be ok to apply some slightly heavier primer coats and sand out the rest. On the arm counours, it might be easier to skim with a flexible putty knife if you feel like you're gonna see some of the ridges in those areas.

I think either way, it's a good thing to learn how to thin Bondo and use it. It comes in handy with a lof of paint-grade projects. Once you start to get fast with it, you can start mixing it hotter. I used to go through about 10 gallons of it a day when I was a Patternmaker.

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Thanks for the advice Shred. I have everything to do that except the bondo.

I have a bunch of scrap plywood. it's funny you mention it, because i am a huge believer in practicing everything on scrap first. The handyman guy at work thinks it's habit from all the years rehearsing as a musician. Get the mistakes out of the way before you lay it on the line.

I'll go get some bondo tomorrow, and then I'll use my jigsaw on some plywood, and make some curves. Maybe do some roundovers too, so i get used to the shape.

Of coarse now that i typed it in the earlier post, the idea of buying some ash or alder and copying the body is starting to buzz in the back of my head.

Oh yeah have no worries, I have a box of latex gloves, for finishing work, and some nitrile (hope I spelled that right,) ones too. A guitarist has to protect his hands, be a shame to damage them on a side hobby. Especially a little experiment.

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dont you currently have a chunk of it? Pinkish stripes and all?

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No no and no

Good luck man. If anything, like I said, it's good to know how to thin Bondo and spread it for more than just this project.

Here's some pics from my old patternmaking days:

1st coat of Bondo.


Finished coat of Bondo.


Mold of the part with concrete/ fiberglass mixture.


Finished concrete part.


This is how you would make the base of a column. The last coat of Bondo was almost water thin, and it covered any minute crevices left from previous skimmings, then sanded with 120 and 220. By the time it was ready for the mold, it was extremely smooth.

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Thanks shred, very helpful.

Looking at your pictures makes me wonder if they actually used bondo on the mini instead of the polyester filler. It looked a lot more like your pictures, than the sealer I have seen on any other guitars.

I am gonna try that out on the mini body. Ceri is my inspiration to tough the project out. Even though I suspect it might actually take less work to make a new body for this out of ash or alder. This will be a new skill.

Just like it cost me more to paint that Ibanez (because I screwed up and did it twice,) than it's blue book value. A couple friends didn't understand why i did it, when I could have paid someone to do it for cheaper.But it's a truly unique finish for that model. And I learned how to do a new style of painting. way more satisfaction in a doing it yourself, and getting professional results.

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It's possible, not all bondo uses pink catalyst.

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In the tutorial I was reading on painting guitars they said to use bondo to fill in holes and stuff. Said it was easy to sand.

This is what he used.

http://www.amazon.com/3M-907-4-5OZ-Glaz ... B0002JM8PY

Thanks. I have painted several guitars, the Ibanez in the thread I linked above is the first one I ever used any non traditional wood finishing products on. i used automotive primer as a sealer/ and a primer coat. and then used automotive paints, and clear coat.

they were really easy to work with.

For this Mini I am going to use some bondo. The some water based lacquer. I am planning a Candy Apple Red. I am going to be mixing all my paint layers myself. So that means the colour, as well, I am going to make my own metallic basecoat. I have the metallic powder. The potential for disaster is enormous.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

I had my choice between a MiK Koa strat and a new MiA strat as a wedding present....

Chose the Koa. Beautiful craftsmanship, tone, finish... everything. All in all my favorite guitar!

Oh really? I'd been thinking it was something else entirely - it sure don't look like the grain under Jason's black finish.

Mind you, the carbonisation makes it a little difficult to tell in places...

Well, if that's poplar - I like it!

Cheers - C

Hi Shredd6: were you making a giant Strat control knob? Man, I'd like to see the guitar that one goes on!

Cheers - C

Yes. Yes I was. It's for the signature Godzilla Strat.

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On the topic of Korean guitars and body wood, I have to add my 2 cents. One of the nicest Squires I have ever played or even SEEN is my 1997 Squire Pro Tone Precision V with an ash body and translucent red finish. It is of very high quality, and the wood itself has a nice grain to it.

PS, I have worked on some 1990s? Squires that had plywood bodies, but recent models are solid wood(basswood, poplar, pine, alder etc)