How much is too much

[Colo Dean]

Bondo that is....

Got the son working on sanding down the passenger side of his CJ5 and on the rear quarter there were a couple spots that had cracks like someone had used too much bondo. Sanded down the area and found more cracked spots.


It must have had a rear marker light at one point as this was filled with bondo. The hole above was rusted out where the support piece is mounted behind, to the right I think it is nails that were bondo'd in place to fill another hole.(it looks to be a pre-made oval cut in there, anyone have an idea if something originally went there or if this was possibly a patch piece the PO used that had a hole in it?) It looks like it was caved in and they fixed it with a gallon of mud. Hard to see in the photo but the spot above the nails is almost 1/4" deep. Hoping to find enough metal left we can cut in a new piece without having to form the rear curve or wheel opening. Gotta love the way some people fix things.

 

[PaRenegade]

I'm not familiar with the older 5's but some did have a spare tire carrier mounted in that location. That could be the remnants of those. Or it could be just a poor patch job from a previous owner.
When using filler, a quarter inch is about as thick as you should go and if you do have to do some heavy filling like that, it should be done with reinforced fiberglass filler for the most part with a thin cover of lightweight filler that sands and finishes better on top. The rein. filler, such as EverGlass or DuraGlass is also water and stainproof.
Your best bet is to cut out the old and weld in a new metal patch, if you have the means.