talcum powder and epoxy

Agitomega

New Member
has any one tried to mix baby powder and epoxy to make a bondo alternative or does that have its own problems? bondo is quite toxic so I am trying to find alternatives
 
What are you trying to accomplish? As far as the toxicity of Bondo goes - I haven't had any trouble (was a sandman in a body shop for a couple of years.) I did wear a breathe mask to keep the dust out, but I haven't had any other trouble since - and it's been 20 years so far since I've done it. Infrequent exposure, with measures taken to cover breathing and your eyes, should not be a problem. (Kinda beneficial if you have acne, since Bondo hardener is benzoyl peroxide... ;) )
 
I want to have smooth curves and details in my helmet. And I think it is kneadable in certain consistances. The stuff has strong fumes which makes it hard to breathe and the smell affects others. Thats why I am looking for alternatives. It is probably easier to use a mix that get more stuff.

MikeJ Im not exactly sure if that is more expensive when im already planning epoxy. I dont want to use polyester resins since they smell more than epoxy. And epoxy is suprisingly cheaper than aqua resin when you do the math in canada
 
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I don't see any reason why it won't work. I've never used it with talc, but I've used epoxy with other fillers like Cabosil and micro balloons.
 
robn1 hmmm ill look those thing up first

update I looked up epoxamite and its cheaper than smoothcast 300 by quite a bit so Ill use that and I also realised that smooth cast 300 isnt epoxy
 
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If you're looking at smooth-on stuff they also do something called shell shock that has a consistency very similar to rondo, doesn't smell and cures much faster than epoxy.
 
I have a friend who once worked for a couple of weeks for a shady competitor to Bondo to do simple packing work, packing polyester-based auto body filler in boxes day in and day out, without respirator. He and his workmates got a headache every day, just from the fumes seeping out of the sealed tubes and tubs.
A dust mask does not protect against fumes from cured body filler - you would need a proper respirator.

I have used epoxy with colloidal silica (Cabosil) and microballoons with sometimes good results, depending on the mix. If you use too much epoxy to filler it gets difficult to sand. The curing time depends on the epoxy you use. You could use talcum powder as well. AFAIK, Bondo contains polyester resin, microballoons and talcum powder.
Mind you, epoxy is also toxic, it just doesn't smell as bad.
 
I've used baby powder as filler before and it works; just get unscented talc. Sanding the material with the scented baby powder in it gives off an overpoweringly strong aroma.
 
I have a friend who once worked for a couple of weeks for a shady competitor to Bondo to do simple packing work, packing polyester-based auto body filler in boxes day in and day out, without respirator. He and his workmates got a headache every day, just from the fumes seeping out of the sealed tubes and tubs. A dust mask does not protect against fumes from cured body filler - you would need a proper respirator. I have used epoxy with colloidal silica (Cabosil) and microballoons with sometimes good results, depending on the mix. If you use too much epoxy to filler it gets difficult to sand. The curing time depends on the epoxy you use. You could use talcum powder as well. AFAIK, Bondo contains polyester resin, microballoons and talcum powder. Mind you, epoxy is also toxic, it just doesn't smell as bad.
True - a dust mask protects against dust - which is what I was working with. The putty men? Let's just say there were more than a few of those three-foot Patton "air mover" fans around the shop, and work didn't happen without the roll-up doors being at least half-open...
 
I don't know about talcum powder but why not experiment with plaster of paris? i've used it with epoxy before with success.
 
I went to a place called fibertek today and found smoothcast 300 polyurethane to be cheaper than epoxamite. And all sorts of fillers. The filler are at the same price and cabisol is the lightest so I will experiment with that.

If you live in vancouver fibertek is in boundary a few blocks from the power plant

And I do have a respirator.
 
Another big thing with epoxy is that it is also an adhesive ... much better than polyester.
Cabosil is used mostly to change the consistency of epoxy to prevent it from running, where it can easily run if you use just one of the other fillers.

noob talkin... for very limited amounts, I have seen that you can mix baking soda and superglue for filling cracks or pits?
I sometimes use that to create an "anchor" for softer filler or epoxy clay. Very useful on edges.
 
What is it you're trying to do exactly? If you're filling gaps or building up a shape the way you would with Bondo, you'd be better off with epoxy. Smoothcast 300 is a casting resin, it'll set up too fast to work with and may not bond well enough.

Don't use Epoxamite though, it takes overnight to cure. Try a 20 minute epoxy from the hobby shop, like Great Planes or Z Poxy. Cabosil will thicken it but it will be hard to sand. Micro balloons or talc is better.
 
I have used talc as an epoxy thickener, and it worked just fine. I don't use polyester based products in my shop if I can avoid it, and my go to epoxy is West Systems or any of the epoxy based wood fillers. Did a short video about it a while back:
 
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epoxamite and smooth cast is all I can find I dont know which are just epoxy resin in vancouver. I tried ordering online but ended up way more expensive than just buying off fibertek. and smoothcast is cheaper than epoxamite. Im not sure which brand is it if I get it from home depot or canadian tires. the reason I was thinking of epoxamite is due to cereal killer's vid in which he used epoxamite.

west system is incredibly expensive compaired to them both

I called in fibertek and they said i can use smooth cast 310 or if i want a slower curing polyeurathane, I guess that would be good for bondo and pepakura application. but I am not sure if I should buy 305 which is 30 minutes or 310 which is 2-4 hours

Smooth-Cast® 300, 300Q, 305, 310 Product Information | Smooth-On

good thing I bought a trial kit and talc and cabisol is way cheaper than the resin. cabisol is not hard to sand to be honest(mouse sander) but I would use talc if I want to use it for kneadable parts which I learned because I kneaded an old can of bondo on monday and learned that talc is somewhat kneadable. Im just experimenting right now but it is 30 dollars canadian experiment. good thing I did not buy the gallon size. and why not use both cabisol and talc or microballons and talc?

are glass bubbles the same thing as micro balloons? I think they call it that around here.
 
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I have used talc as an epoxy thickener, and it worked just fine. I don't use polyester based products in my shop if I can avoid it, and my go to epoxy is West Systems or any of the epoxy based wood fillers. Did a short video about it a while back:
Already seen and liked. :)

I just now filled some details on my Denix Mauser, using West System's epoxy and Colloidal Silica, using zamak shavings as the primary filler. I have done it before, it sands of course more easily than solid zamak alloy. It does cold bluing liquid, but the border is still visible on close inspection so I am going to paint it anyway.
 
...are glass bubbles the same thing as micro balloons? I think they call it that around here.

Same thing. It looks like baking soda but is very light weight.

Epoxamite will certainly work. But it's epoxy made for fiberglassing and it needs to cure overnight. Smoothcast may also work, it just isn't what comes to mind for this application.
 
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