That . . . doesn't seem that dull at all really. Kinda cool.
this post was submitted on 20 Mar 2025
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I don't know hot mud but in auto body work, bondo like fillers are catalytic with the hardener added. Those are workable in minutes. Like it is a major skill knowing exactly when filler is at the cheese grader phase of hardness and shaping it super quickly at exactly the right moment with the right blocks, sandpaper, and rasps to build most of the shape. There is only around 1-2 minutes of work time in this phase before the stuff is rock hard. If anyone lets the stuff fully harden, it will take hours to make major shaping changes and level a surface. A skilled person can do a half dozen layers of filler in an hour if they know how to work the cheese grader phase well.
I can then prime that surface, guide coat and block it, clean it, apply color, and then clear within a few hours more. I almost always only did panel work, and I specialized in bumper covers and trim, (I rarely did horizontal surfaces like hoods and roofs). It was common for me to work on 6-12 cars every day.
So it seems silly that nothing exists that would similarly allow quick refinishing. Auto body filler is formulated for the thermal properties of steel so that is not an option. Surely something exists. In my professional experience, all consumer stores in the USA are atrocious for not stocking modern products of any kind. They are usually stuck in ruts of the same ancient junk they have carried for decades.
I've done body work and painting, and trying to do it the "right way" is a black art of the highest order. My hat is off to people that master this, I definitely have not.
And yes, you will not find good products at the usual suspects. You have to find an actual automotive paint supply and convince them to sell to you. And it is not cheap. If it's cheap, it's not good. The materials alone to do a complete car will be almost $1000 between filler,masking, sanding materials, primer, paint, clear and hardener.
And then all this has to be done with a good paint gun, in a dust-free environment, after you burn through a bunch of practice material. I'm not saying a paint job needs to be $10,000 like some of the shops want to charge, but it isn't peanuts to DIY and you better have some pretty good native talent at it.
Bondo makes a wood filler product for large gap or fastener hole repair. Very similar to the car stuff but probably dries differently and accepts house paint more easily, if I were to guess?
Actual bondo is ancient though. No one uses it in auto body. It is one of the reasons I say consumer stuff is junk. The fillers from a pro paint jobber are orders of magnitude better. They hold shape better and they are far smoother. In the cheese grader phase they are far more consistent and they hold better feathering without lifting at the edges. The old junk is rougher and really only made for burying under a few coats of a high build epoxy then a 2k urethane, then a primer sealer. The better stuff can be finished smooth with just a single well applied 2k urethane primer that gets knocked down and color applied on top without a sealer in most cases. The old bondo is three times the work for half the cost of the can of filler, but three times the cost of primer. And it loads up sandpaper faster too. I won't touch anything from the brand. It is a toxic venture capital zombie american company.
That stuff is great but always be sure to clean your tools right away when you're done. When it's wet you can just clean it with plain tapwater but once it sets it is impossible to get it out of the mixing bit, for example. Also, never mix too much at a time because it sets so quickly
Don't pour/rinse this down the drain.
Yes, "tapwater" gave me shivers.
My understanding is that most drywall products are modified plaster of Paris - modified to cure slower. Regular gypsum plaster of Paris is really fast, like 10 minutes, and not only does it not shrink, but it slightly expands. And it does warm up. Not sure if that’s what “hot mud” is in the industry.
I will check this out for sure, thanks. I’m currently noobing up my closets with the regular stuff and I suck at it.
One thing that someone that did it for a living taught me was to use way less than you think you need on each coat. Just barely cover it the first time, then knock off the high points before subsequent coats. You don't have to get it done in one coat, and if you try, the result will be terrible and take a lot of work to get back to try again. And only do one side of a corner tape at a time.
I watched some youtube videos on how to do it and how much to use. I still think I used too much but I’m learning lol. I’ll try the one side at a time next, thanks.
If you're inexperienced with it, the regular stuff is probably better. This specific hot mud only has a working time of around 30 minutes so you need to get it on the walls quick.
You’re probably right. I’m doing closets first because i know i suck at it. Maybe once those are done I can experiment a bit more.
If you have the skills to use powder+water things, they produce a better and faster result.
Grout, mortar, plaster. I'm sure there are MANY more