since i have bullet holes in my hood i was wondering how good would i be if i bondo all the holes, but theres is a little bit of rustin them would this be a problem?? and i want to get a new paint job, what do i need to do? do i sand my car down then have someone paint it?? or what i dunno?

 

bullet holes eh.... there has gotta be a story behind that...... do tell

Depending on the caliber, you'll pobably want to do a little fiberglass work on those holes first. That'll give the bondo something to hold on to. BTW, I am not a body work expert but it just seems logical to me.

 

i bought it like that, haha thats the story i know, and the original owner went to jail for i dont know what, i bought it from his like mom or something thats all i know, any one else with any other ideas thanx

 

you dont wanna bondo over a hole because moisture will get in behind it and it will not last long.. if your looking to repaint your car take a look aorund for a hood in good condition at a junker or soemthing.. if want your car painted take it to a body shop.. they will sand and paint for you.

 

You can buy a hood for a decent price. Either hit up a junk yard and have it painted to match or you can get a new one and it will be primer, then you can get it painted to match. Try this site below, and go down to the RX-7s. Its all new OEM stuff but will need paint.

http://www.4autobodyparts.com/mazda_parts.html

 

Yea... NEVER bondo holes shut.. especially if there is the least little bit of rust near it. I've been around British cars awhile and could tell some really ugly stories about bondo fixes. The sheetmetal thickness and quality of those cars is on par with our Rexs. The bondo WILL pull away and you'll wind up paying even more to finally have it fixed the right way. If you can't find a used hood (highly unlikely) pay a bodyshop, friend, etc., to weld the hole shut then finish the job properly..

--Danny

 

Bondo the holes? You'll spend more time doing that AND get worse results than if you just bought a used hood and had it painted.

 

Another problem with bondo on the hood is the amount of flexing the hood goes through when being opened and closed; not to mention the shock of slamming it shut.

I just had my car painted and some bondo had to be used on the hood to fill in hail dents - but it was done professionally and guaranteed. I went through all kinds of crap trying to find a new/replacement hood, even had one shipped from Bird Road Mazda in Miami to Abilene, TX (and that took them 2 freaking months!) only to find out it was the wrong hood! (dumb *****!). Anyway, back to the point - it cost me $300 extra to have my hood reworked and NOW that it's already done, I find all these neat places to get hoods at! For the same or less than what it cost to have mine reworked!!!!!

My suggestion? Get a new hood if you're going to put good money into a paint job. And speaking of paint jobs, you get what you pay for - from $300 to $3000+, up to you.

The cheapest (outside of total do-it-yourself) is do all the body work and sanding and cleaning yourself and have somebody shoot it (no PUN intended!). The results? Well, you get what you pay for... but it will generally look like you did all the work yourself and had somebody else shoot it!

And like I said before, next time somebody's shooting atcha - you stand in front of that RX-7, not behind it!

 

You're in Cali.. go to the junkyard, you'll find many 1st gens there and get yourself a decent shaped hood from there for cheap along with many other goodies.

 

Maybe you can hook him up with a hood?

 

One problem to be aware of in welding the holes shut is that it is very easy to deform the super high-quality Japanese sheetmetal, requiring even more work and bondo to fix. A good hood runs $35-$40 from a junkyard around here, I suppose Kalifornia might be a bit more, but certainly a better option than trying to fix the one you've got. You would have to paint that one after fixing the bullet holes anyway, right? About doing your own prep and having someone just squirt the paint, you need to familiarize yourself with the processes involved in properly preparing the body for paint, then decide if it's something you can handle. The preparation is the difference between a $500 job and a $3000 job, all other things being equal.

 

aighte cool everyone thanks for the help, im just gonna get a new hood at a yard. does any one knoe how much they go for over there?? on average

 

do you know where this place is located is there one in so cali if so where??

 

What did the bullets hit?

Right on.

 

If I were in your shoes, I would take a few small pieces of fiberglass, and epoxy them to the underside of the hood (under the holes) and then put the bondo on that, sand it smooth and paint. Bondo has this bad image because stupid hacks like to use it to fix a enourmous hole or rusted out spot, or in some cases, it seems like they try to make a whole fender out of the stuff. Its not a bad product if you use it for what its made for, small dings and tiny holes things of that nature. So to answer your original question; yes, bondo the holes.

 

If you just Bondo the holes you're going to end up with something that's looks pretty wierd on the underside. My first choice would be to find another hood. My second choice would be to just leave the holes there and come up with a good bank robbery story to tell people.

Paying someone shop rate to weld/Bondo/whatever those holes shut probably isn't going to be cost effective. As for doing your own prep work - give it a shot! You'll be satisfied knowing you did it yourself and you'll have learned something in the process. What you can do is read up on bodywork, practice until you think you've gotten it right, and then have the shop that's going to paint it do a final guide coat and block sanding to make sure everything's kosher. Just keep in mind that they may not guarantee the paint job since they didn't do the prep work. Good luck!