Wood repair: Bondo 101

These beams were in bad shape when we found them and decided to re-purpose them for a Pergola. When wood has minor cracks, scrapes, chips or dings standard fillers work great to hide those flaws and give you a good paint ready surface. When wood has deep cracks, rot or chunks missing, Bondo is your best bet to fill in those areas. These photos give you an idea of how the process works. For this old beam I went with a siple duct tape form so that it would have a natural feel rather than a wood form that would have created sharp lines and looked to new for this old beam. Of course after you let the bondo dry you can sand it to any shape you desire if need be.