A little bit ago I shared a tutorial about a mirror makeover using spray paint. You can see that makeover HERE. Part of that makeover I didn’t share was how I used bondo to repair missing parts of the frame.
When I was redoing this mirror, it originally had cross sections in it that looked like a window pane. I wanted to accent the arch shape and remove those cross section. So I used my jigsaw and cut them out. What I didn’t realized was that they were part of the original trim pattern and once they were removed there was still little cross sections left behind on the arched part.
So I then used my router to cut along those areas and make the trim all the same.
There is just one thing….. I am not very steady with my router. I thought I could free hand it.
I shouldn’t have.
I gouged into the trim area in a few spots, that were correctable, and in two spots that were large and not something I could fix with the router. It had removed too much of the material.
SO… Then I went about finding a way to fix my mistake so that the shape of the arch still looked ok. I had planned on repainting the mirror anyway so I knew I could just fill the mistakes with bondo, and didn’t need to try to match wood grain etc. It was so easy and great to work with. I’ll go through all of the steps and materials below:
Materials:
- A piece of furniture that needs fixed. ( missing chunk, deep scratch etc. )
- Bondo
- A putty knife for mixing. Got a pack of 6 for super cheap.
- Molding putty. I used THIS ONE.
- Fine grit Sandpaper. 100-120 grit
- Spray primer and paint or other paint for finishing
Step 1: Making the mold
The first step I took was using the putty. I bought this putty at hobby lobby, but you can find it on amazon too. I looked around my mirror and found a few areas that were the shape I needed. The plan was to replicate the “good” areas of the frame, and then use the molds I make off of them to shape the new areas. The same technique will work with fixing a deep scratch, missing or damaged trim too.
I started by using equal parts of the putty solution. There is two parts to this kind. You NEED to make sure you use exactly the same amount of each part or the consistency will be off and it won’t get hard enough to cure.
Mix it well. Then I placed it onto the area that I wanted to duplicate. I made sure to press it firmly into the space so that I got all of the detail I needed for it. I then set it aside and let it cure until when I pressed a fingernail into it, it no longer made an impression.
Step 2: Mix the BONDO
I waited to do this step until after the impression mold had completely cured. I read the back of the Bondo container for the proportions I needed. I mixed a small amount on the top of the lid using the plastic palette knife.
I mixed it well until the color was uniform. Next its time to fill the mold that we made with the putty.
Step 3: Using the mold
After CAREFULLY removing the mold from the area I was sampling, I then made sure it was free from any crumbs or debris, and began to fill the mold with the mixed Bondo solution.
I didn’t want too much overflow, so I made sure to not add too much to the mold. I added about half to the mold, and half to the area. I tried it both ways, applying in the mold, and just directly onto the surface, and I didn’t really seem to notice a difference in the outcome.
I made sure to press firmly on the mold to release an gaps or air bubbles that may have ended up inside. I wiped away any extra Bondo that came out the side with a paper towel.
Then, let it sit. I put a small amount of the leftover Bondo material on a paper towel. I did this so that I could check and see when it had fully cured to know when to remove the molds. When it was fully cured I removed the molds from the frame. These are now just garbage, but I guess if you planned on using them again you could, I just didn’t have a need.
Step 4: Sanding
After the molds are removed I used a very fine grit sand paper, 100- 120 grit to sand down the edges where the Bondo met the frame, and any other imperfections that I saw. I did it in small even passes no pressing too firmly. I didn’t want to OVER sand, and then end up with the same issue I started with, so I went slow.
Once I felt like the new Bondo areas were flush, and even, I cleaned my surfaces with a barely damp paper towel. Its ready for painting!
Step 5: Paint!
In this final step you can paint however you would like. I primed first with a flat white primer from Rustoleum, and then finished off with a metallic gold top coat. Often times I end with a clear coat to help protect the color I sprayed on. This helps to make it more scratch resistant. BUT I have found with metallic paints, like gold, copper and silver, that a clear coat ends up taking away some of the luster, and I prefer the way it looks without it. So I was done after two coats of gold metallic spray paint. I love the way it turned out, and after putting the mirror back in, and the back on, I hung it up immediately.
Let me know if you have any questions below! Thanks for being here.
-Amanda