Kyle Boatright wrote:
"BobK207" wrote in message
ups.com...

Kyle Boatright wrote:
"Zz Yzx" wrote in message
...
My house is 20 yrs old, in the Central Valley of N. Calif. I've got a
couple fascia boards (2X6 fir) that are showing age: the ends have
split a bit and look a bit ragged. There isn't' any major rot or
deterioration yet.

I plan to srape the paint off, sand smooth, fill the gaps and roughs
spots, prime and re-paint.

Q: What is the best exterior wood filler for this use?

Thanks a heap
-Zz

Bondo works very well in this application.

BTDT w/ Bondo AND epoxy...............on redwood window sills.

Bondo not compatible w/ redwood

Bondo lasted ~1 year
Epoxy 15+

Epoxy is much more expensive but my time is worth it

I never used Bondo again outside

cheers
Bob

epoxy abatron or smith&co (NorCal - RIchmond?)

Interesting. I'm sure fixing the area twice made you happy. Since Bondo
lists "exterior wood filler" as one of the uses for their product, do they
have a disclaimer about redwood? Any chance your experience was due to
something other than "incompatability" - maybe you didn't cut back to a good
enough foundation or something?




Trust me, been using epoxy for over 30 years in all sorts of
applications.

Back in 1986 I "restored" weathered south facing sills & sashes. I
compared the cost of Bondo & WoodEpox (Abatron)

Whoa! The wood epox was EXPENSIVE! Like 4x or 5x the Bondo.

Cost being a consideration at that time, I chose a Bondo wood repair
material not the typical car repair stuff. This stufff was called wood
repair "whatever". I had trouble with it from the get go.

Being a rather anal engineer & more than a little upset. I gave their
tech support line a call. The guy I talked to said that although the
can said it was ok for wood AND exterior apps they recommended against
use on redwood.

I asked if this was some sort of secret part of the spec.

The stuff I used was made by Bondo, came in a quart (or 16oz ?)
rectangular can w/ a little tube of clear catalyst.

I mixed per instruction............the stuff sucks for redwood!

Luckily I only did six window sills & no sashes w/ it. I did the
remaining 11 sills & ALL 35 shashes with WoodEpox products.

Twenty years later the Bondo sills look like they were never worked on.

The wood epox sills & sashes need a little sanding & paint.

For badly weathered wood; the wood epox system is awesome. Remove
rotted / unsound material as best you can. Saturate with LiquidWood
(runny stuff). When cured, build up cavities / missing features with
WoodEpox. When cured.......drill, sand, prime,paint just like wood.

When I used the stuff it somewhat moisture sensitive.

The wood has to be dry & the stuff had to be mixed well, given an
induction period & protected from rain or dew until cured.

Maybe they've changed formulation or got some extra additives now for
the mositure issues. I still have some left & it still mixes up &
cures 20 years later! I use the old stuff for indoor repairs. When I
get back to outdoor stuff I'll get a new batch.

cheers
Bob