Loehle Wonder Fil review

[carolsyracuse]

I thought I would post our experience with the Loehle Wonder-fil on our fiberglass cowling. We did the suggested prep and rubbed on the wonder fil. The excess wiped off easily, similar to wiping off car wax. We could see the white specs where the wonder-fill had filled in the holes.
We next sprayed on the filler coat DuPont? Corlar 13560S. Then we sanded down the filler coat . We sand until we see no bumps in that layer.
The problem with the wonder-fil is if you sand down too much, you can see the wonder-fil bubbling out. With the Loehle paint products, they recommend two different colors of primer so that when you sand, you can see the different color primer and stop before you sand down too far. We did not have this visual aid.
I did not think the wonder-fil was "wonderful". I ended up filling the pinholes that washed out with a different product that would not wash out when sanded.

[Brantel]

Love the stuff! No problems at all!

[DennisRhodes]

I have a gallon of Wonderfill. used small amount out of it on the cowl and decided to go another route. It's about a year old. Not sure if it has a shelf life. Not sure what I paid for it but you can have it for half price. Bill Woods, you still have it in your shop?

[Randy Hooper]

I used the Wonderfil followed with their black primer. The primer dries gloss. After sanding, anything still glossy is a low spot. Repeat. It worked pretty fast for me.

[N427EF]

wonderfill has worked wonders for me.
I do use their primer filler both black and white.
The limitation of wonderfill seems to be the size of the pinhole.
The product is made to fill pinholes not blemishes or other imperfections on the surface.
So, if you rub it into the pinholes and then wipe it off, then spray a catalyzed
primer on it it will cure the wonderfill that comes in contact with it.
Then you can sand it all the way back down to the bare fiberglass part if you have to. Not sure where your bubbles come from.
One more thing, call Loehle and they will answer all your questions regardless whether you buy any of their products.
I am a very satisfied Loehle customer

[Brantel]

I use it with Evercoat Ero Fill Urethane Filler Surfacer and resist sanding all the way thru the primer. Almost but not all the way thru....after all that is the point in using a filler/surfacer.

After priming, I have never seen any of it bubble out of a hole.

Anything larger than the weird voids that Van's cowls have in the center of each honeycomb, it will not fill nor is it suppose to. Works miracles on pin holes!

One more thought, I always spray good wet first coat so as to get the primer to flow in well.

[frazitl]

I've just finished a small paint booth and ready to do Wonderfil and Loehle primer on my fiberglass. I'm still conflicted about painting myself (I'd really like to), or farming it out. I have experienced spotty customer service from Loehle, and read about the same in the forums. Nice people, but follow thru (oders lost, etc,) has been a problem. I don't want to head down a road that comes to a dead end.

What is your experience? 427EF specifically, did you use the whole system? If not, isthe Loehle primer compatible with other paint systems?

[DanH]

Wonder-Fil appears to be Akzo Nobel 28C1, an industry standard, although only Loehle knows for sure.

http://www.anac.com/products/DataSheets/28c1.pdf

You should be able to order it at the same place you ordered Akzo primer, or:

http://www.anac.com/about/worldwide_n_america.asp

Or you can just do a few epoxy wipes for about five bucks, then use any paint system you wish.

[Greg Arehart]

Just a word of warning. I have had terrible experience with the customer service at Loehle. Promised immediate shipment, never happened. Got charged for a product that was never shipped at all. I would never deal with them again. Since I didn't ever get the wonderfil, I cannot comment on how well it works.

My experience, YMMV.

greg

[N427EF]

Terry I sent you a PM,
so as not to turn this thread into a primer issue.