Sanding bondo between slate joints

gazman100

gazman100

Brunswick Gold Crowns - Qld Australia
Silver Member
Hi,
Can anyone shed some light on the fastest way of sanding bondo where the slate pieces join.
I've seen one YouTube video where they use a electric sander.
I've used fine sand paper and lightly go over the bondo but it takes ages to feather it out.
Question? How do you guys do it.
Cheers
 
shayne87

shayne87

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
gazman100 said:
Hi,
Can anyone shed some light on the fastest way of sanding bondo where the slate pieces join.
I've seen one YouTube video where they use a electric sander.
I've used fine sand paper and lightly go over the bondo but it takes ages to feather it out.
Question? How do you guys do it.
Cheers
Click to expand...

Always sand in a figure 8 motion. You shouldn't get any low spots with this method.
 
Ralph Kramden

Ralph Kramden

BOOM!.. ZOOM!.. MOON!
Silver Member
.
I've used 2 pieces of thin tin sheets, taped to both sides of the seams.
A sanding block with courser sandpaper until level with both tin sheets.

Sandblock should touch both tin sheets to keep from sanding into the slate.
Remove the tin sheets and finish sanding with a fine paper until slate is flat.

.
 
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S

SlateMate

Banned
i have found that sanding into the slate is not a concern even with 100grit sandpaper. bondo is designed to be easily sanded for auto body guys and i've used a lot of it over the decades. even when i fixed my slate with JB Weld -which dries much harder than bondo- i didn't have a problem with sanding down the slate. i use a auto-body sander with a thick aluminum flat base and clips so you can attach the sandpaper..... you can see when you have feathered your bondo sufficiently and the flat sander works on the high bondo first. if you sand into your slate you have long destroyed your bondo job.
 
JC

JC

Coos Cues
Why would you be sanding it if the slate is at the same level along the edge of each other? Feathering it out? Feathering what out? It's not drywall it's rock.

JC
 
bradsh98

bradsh98

Bradshaw Billiard Service
Silver Member
SlateMate said:
i have found that sanding into the slate is not a concern even with 100grit sandpaper. bondo is designed to be easily sanded for auto body guys and i've used a lot of it over the decades. even when i fixed my slate with JB Weld -which dries much harder than bondo- i didn't have a problem with sanding down the slate. i use a auto-body sander with a thick aluminum flat base and clips so you can attach the sandpaper..... you can see when you have feathered your bondo sufficiently and the flat sander works on the high bondo first. if you sand into your slate you have long destroyed your bondo job.
Click to expand...

No.....

Slate sands quite easily with 100 grit paper.

Brunstone does not.

If I had to guess, your table may be a Brunstone table. Hence the reason it did not damage the 'slate', when you sanded it.

gazman100 said:
Hi,
Can anyone shed some light on the fastest way of sanding bondo where the slate pieces join.
I've seen one YouTube video where they use a electric sander.
I've used fine sand paper and lightly go over the bondo but it takes ages to feather it out.
Question? How do you guys do it.
Cheers
Click to expand...


If you layed it down too thick, you may want to start with a rasp. Then, you can knock it down with 80-100 grit. Once you get it close, you can use a marker to draw lines across the slate and Bondo. Continue sanding, ensuring that you are not removing the lines that you drew on the slate. Use a long straight edge, to make sure that the seams are flat (lay it across the seams, and check for daylight underneath).
 
S

SlateMate

Banned
Slate sands quite easily with 100 grit paper.
Click to expand...

sure, but you can see as the bondo feathers that you will soon begin sanding the slate. your idea with the marker will help... the bondo sands much easier than the slate. you'd really have to go nuts to adversely effect your slate if you are sanding with a flat metal block sander. if you are worried about sanding the slate then you can switch to 320 or even 600 grit toward the end.
 
bradsh98

bradsh98

Bradshaw Billiard Service
Silver Member
SlateMate said:
sure, but you can see as the bondo feathers that you will soon begin sanding the slate. your idea with the marker will help... the bondo sands much easier than the slate. you'd really have to go nuts to adversely effect your slate if you are sanding with a flat metal block sander. if you are worried about sanding the slate then you can switch to 320 or even 600 grit toward the end.
Click to expand...

I agree. But, you have to remember that many of the people who read this forum may not have the same background and understanding of these principles.

I would hate to see someone go sanding away at their slate with 80 grit, thinking that they aren't doing any damage. Bondo does sand easier, but you still have to be careful.
 
S

Ssonerai

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
sure, but you can see as the bondo feathers that you will soon begin sanding the slate. your idea with the marker will help... the bondo sands much easier than the slate. you'd really have to go nuts to adversely effect your slate if you are sanding with a flat metal block sander. if you are worried about sanding the slate then you can switch to 320 or even 600 grit toward the end.
Click to expand...

Gotta agree with Jeff - being casual about it is a bigger risk than your post indicates. I'm not a table mechanic, but have done slate work building counters, sinks & architectural parts. There are various kinds of slates based on source, and many sand quite easily in the sense that it might not look like it but the flatness is going away. I've been involved with a table builder in the 80's (one of my best friends, RIP) and watched him as well as the guys at the quarry cut slate with what amounted to steel blade fretsaws, and shape it with essentially horse rasps for the pockets. I made jigs for him to drill it. Most slate just is not going to be amenable to casual approach. Which i know you are not exactly advocating, but it might come across that way for someone who has not worked the material, or had the instruments (hand scraped precision cast iron straight edges, and surface plates or calibrated granite straight edges and knees) to explore flatness. It's an evanescent quality. :)

I do like how you are solving problems as you go, enjoying the posts.

smt
 
jviss

jviss

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I am not a mechanic, but interested in the topic. I've used Bondo many times but not for pool tables. It can be tough to grind down at times.

My question is, why would you use Bondo? I have read in Brunswick manuals instructions to use plaster of Paris, and elsewhere to use wax. The local pool table store sells the special slate wax. I would think plaster or wax would be much easier to work with, and much easier to level once it's cured or cooled.
 
S

SlateMate

Banned
you level it THEN apply the Bondo...... i like bondo because it sticks the slate together a bit and it doesn't vacuum out of the seam like wax does. if that happens it's a big PITA. oh, also, Bondo helps keep the edge of the slates from chipping which can happen if you bounce a ball on the seam.
 
jviss

jviss

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
SlateMate said:
you level it THEN apply the Bondo...... i like bondo because it sticks the slate together a bit and it doesn't vacuum out of the seam like wax does. if that happens it's a big PITA. oh, also, Bondo helps keep the edge of the slates from chipping which can happen if you bounce a ball on the seam.
Click to expand...
Interesting, thank you. Yes, I imagine loose wax under the cloth would be terrible!

How about the plaster of Paris?
 
S

SlateMate

Banned
Yes, I imagine loose wax under the cloth would be terrible!
Click to expand...

yes, you have two options, get out the old iron and melt the wax bulge into the cloth or remove the rails and cloth and re-wax.

How about the plaster of Paris?
Click to expand...
i never used it but if you are going to do that you might as well use bondo. bondo is very easy to apply and you can scrape it with your bondo spreader to where you may not even have to sand at all.
 
jviss

jviss

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
SlateMate said:
yes, you have two options, get out the old iron and melt the wax bulge into the cloth or remove the rails and cloth and re-wax.


i never used it but if you are going to do that you might as well use bondo. bondo is very easy to apply and you can scrape it with your bondo spreader to where you may not even have to sand at all.
Click to expand...

MY thought was that Plaster of Paris would be infinitely easier to "reverse" than Bondo, in the event the table had to be moved.
 
S

SlateMate

Banned
MY thought was that Plaster of Paris would be infinitely easier to "reverse" than Bondo, in the event the table had to be moved.
Click to expand...

i recently moved a GCIII that was bondoed. it wasn't a problem at all.. i took 100grit on a block and quickly sanded it off.
 
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jviss

jviss

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
SlateMate said:
yes, you have two options, get out the old iron and melt the wax bulge into the cloth or remove the rails and cloth and re-wax.


i never used it but if you are going to do that you might as well use bondo. bondo is very easy to apply and you can scrape it with your bondo spreader to where you may not even have to sand at all.
Click to expand...

Cool, thanks, and thanks for your patience with my questions.
 
Ralph Kramden

Ralph Kramden

BOOM!.. ZOOM!.. MOON!
Silver Member
Ralph Kramden said:
.
I've used 2 pieces of thin tin sheets, taped to both sides of the seams.
A sanding block with courser sandpaper until level with both tin sheets.

Sandblock should touch both tin sheets to keep from sanding into the slate.
Remove the tin sheets and finish sanding with a fine paper until slate is flat.

.
Click to expand...

Roof flashing works well and it comes in a roll.

.
 
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