How to Repair Broken Trim with Bondo for Wood

In this video, I show you how to repair a broken piece of trim. There are a few different ways that I could fix this. First one would be putting back the piece that broke off of the trim, but I lost it... so that's not going to happen. Second option would be to go ahead and buy a new piece of trim. I decided on my last option which was to use "Bondo for Wood". At the moment that I am doing this project, yes, Bondo is more expensive than buying a piece of trim. But, I do have a few other projects that I am going to use Bondo for and I also wanted to make a video to show you how to use it.
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Videos produced by The Fixer are provided for informational purposes only. All material provided within this video is for informational, educational, & entertainment purposes only. Some of these projects, materials, and techniques may not be appropriate for all ages or skill levels. Please use all safety precautions while following any instructions or concepts provided by this video. Viewers must be aware that by doing projects on their homes they are doing it at their own risk and The Fixer cannot be held liable if they cause any damage to their homes. It is the sole responsibility of the viewer to educate themselves on their local codes and regulations before undertaking any sort of project. Always have safety in mind and have fun!

[@TheFixerHomeRepair]

Subscribe to my channel: bit.ly/SubscribeToTheFixer Thanks for watching! 😃

[@kerirobicheaux6629]

Great repair and video. I’m also called “The Fixer!” I bet there’s a lot of us around here. Thanks again!

[@trishblakely3476]

Fun story: I had a friend who was the neighborhood Dr. Dolittle, any sick or injured animal made its way to him. He worked as a vet tech. One day, someone brought in a tortoise that had been hit by a car. It’s shell was badly cracked but still hanging on. The vet didn’t usually work on exotic animals so he wasn’t sure how to help the poor thing. My friend said, “what about Bondo?” The vet didn’t have any better ideas so they patched the old guy up and got him stabilized. The tortoise lived, his shell healed and just pushed the Bondo out over time. Pretty damn cool. Bondo - it’s not just for cars (or wood) anymore!

[@karmaoutlaw]

Amazing! Interesting that the shell pushed the Bondo out instead of growing around it. 🐢

[@TheFixerHomeRepair]

Wow that is a cool story!

[@rupe53]

actually, for living flesh (and fingernails) Super Glue works well and will push out as things heal. It was originally made for morticians to glue lips and eyes closed so sticks well on flesh.

[@bobbg9041]

How did they get the bondo off your negibor? By the way this is an old story. This isnt the first time I've heard about or seen it. In fact I belive i seen it on a TV show.

[@MECX3490]

That is a great story…Sounds like a DODO Chanel video…Great job!!

[@JohnSawtell]

To tape off you can take a piece of the painters tape and fold it over itself so the sticky isn't exposed anymore. You can then very easily slip that under what your working on (and back out when your done) and then tape that down. If your trying to maintain a gap (without having to recut later) you can fold it over some card stock (cereal box cardboard works good) or similar to make up the gap. This also is great protection when sanding the edge.

[@DCDura]

Also taking that door off would have given more access

[@Greg_Chase]

At time 6:54, I noted a remarkable speed-up of the activity - your commitment to getting the work done quickly is admirable. I have used the auto-type bondo, after using and abandoning the 'Water putty' product, and the bondo works well, although the 'warp speed' technique you use looks challenging. Thanks for the validation that my reliance on bondo for the past few years is widely practiced.

[@mschmidtTX]

I had no idea Bondo made this product, I was like you and using regular bondo for wood repairs. Thanks, good info!

[@jamycolfack79]

This is awesome, I didn't even think to do something like this. Our now 11 month old dog went through a trim chewing phase. Thankfully it was short lived and we were able to redirect her to appropriate chew toys quickly but not before she did damage and it's all on long pieces of floor trim. As always thanks for the great content amd explanations!

[@guynotes777]

Many thanks! I have water damage on top of a window frame, which we inherited from the previous homeowners. We didn't realize there was a water issue until we took down the blinds to paint. The water has rotted it a 3x2 inch section of the wood and I was trying to fix it. Have stopped the water, finally!, and was trying to figure out what to use. Thanks to this video I now know. The real help was seeing it won't stick to plastic, so will support the hole from the bottom and fill from the top to seal it and then paint. Thank you!

[@otakelblanchemanor0659]

Very cool! And I love the fact that you kept it real...showing the messy side!!

[@altonT]

I have been using Bondo on paint projects for 40 years now. Saves a lot of hassle and drying time compared to other wood puddy products.

[@mstsp9546]

Cool, I have some areas that I would like to fix--gaps, broken trim. I figured bondo of some type would work, but, I only knew about the stuff for cars. Hallways, entryways take a lot of damage. I admire your patience too!

[@05124]

Excellent demonstration, thank you.

[@Madskillsuniversity]

Great job, sir! Thank you for this video! I am remodeling our older home so we can sell it, retire and move in 3 years and I will be using a LOT of this stuff. LOL. It's an older cabin-style home with a large back yard, fireplace, etc. This video was extremely helpful and know I know HOW to do this. The quickness in hardening reminds me of hydraulic cement. Got some of that work to do, too before it gets cold here. Thanks again and have a great day! - Ron

[@snoozieq4584]

That is so stinking cool! I would have scrounged around for sawdust or cut up some old scrap to make sawdust and added a few drops of glue at a time until I had a dense paste. Yeah it's more time consuming, but I had no idea that Bondo did anything outside of car body repair! Great video just the same. Thank you, Matt. See you in the next one! 🥰🥰🤗🤗😘😘

[@Brittany_Thurman]

I am so amazed at how well that turned out. You can’t even tell at all

[@2BOnU2be]

Good job! Thanks for sharing

[@KenithCopeland]

My man, you just saved me from Having to replace a door. I owe you a beer if you’re ever down in Sydney

[@hickorygolddoc]

Never used bondo but have a cool chest of drawers! My other half had a job clearing out a beautiful old barn that they were moving …and a house that was torn down. Both had not been occupied but the chest was in the leaky barn. He brought that home in his dump truck and I looked it up found it listed on a “gently used” higher end furniture site for over 3,000! Sadly the bottom sat in wet hay and had some wood worm damage and some rot. We killed those buggers and I figured bondo would be best & some wood hardener. The bottom front is not straight across, it’s a bit ornate. Way out of my ability to replace the wood! Just didn’t want it thrown away. Glad I came across this video and I have subscribed. You do make it sound doable. Kinda thinking I will give it a shot this winter. Once we finish our house! The rest of it was in good condition because of the paint!

[@woodstover]

Love Bondo, it has a ton of uses! Thanks for the video.

[@trinity1aee]

Oooh!! A new video 58min ago!! Commenting and liking right now for the algorithm and saving to watch later when I get a min. ❤❤ Edit: Just watched and that is awesome! I have a couple of door trim pieces that loom just like this that I'm excited to fix now! Buying a new piece was not ideal because my house is old and the trim is unique

[@sherrypaxton7394]

As usual, you guys make this stuff look easier than it is cause you're great at what you do! Thanks for the video.

[@TheFixerHomeRepair]

Thanks so much!

[@joewenzel5142]

Definitely bookmarking this for future reference.

[@DanaConquersBoutique]

I usually use Quikwood for repairs like this. I think I’ll give this a try next time to see which I like better…. Thanks Matt!

[@MikeD-ne6ie]

Nice job Fixer! Thank you!

[@jimaronson2323]

That ended up looking pretty darn good.

[@babooll5632]

Quicker and easier to replace the trim. Good idea for vintage work

[@TheJanicetunes]

Excellent job! Thanks so much for the great tutorial. I definitely feel like I can tackle the chip out of my door now!!!❤

[@emilasmith4279]

Perfect timing!!! I have a piece of antique wood trim in my house that was damaged badly in a reno. Didn’t know this product existed. Also inherited furniture that had a couple of damaged corners. Been wanting to paint the dresser but wanted the damage fixed. Can’t believe this vid showed up in my feed! Great job!! And thanks for the demo!!!

[@arosenberger87]

This is one of those repairs that people pay a lot of money to have done. Any good handyman has a can of Bondo kicking around for painted trim repairs. I know my best friend uses Bondo a lot when she paints for other people. She even used it on the walls because it cures faster than plaster repairs.

[@randomrazr]

wouldnt wood filler do same thing

[@PennySue]

@@randomrazr it is wood filler. It's called Bondo Wood Filler.

[@guysolis5843]

@@PennySue Yeah, I suppose so but wood filler don't need a hardener. Personally, this video was irritating. Knowing how to do these minor repairs I would've spent half the time and half the effort to achieve the same results..

[@rupe53]

@@guysolis5843 ... wood filler can't be sanded in 20 minutes. With a little practice you can vary the amount of hardner so you have a longer or shorter working time if necessary.

[@guysolis5843]

@@rupe53 Sorry man, I was rude. I had foot surgery....no excuse. You're doing good. It's not easy making easy to follow videos..You have some interesting topics in your channel..I'm subbing!

[@Paul.Douglas]

Great repair. I hadn’t thought about using a chisel at 1st. Up close, still looks good!

[@dshey6802]

This was a very helpful video. You made it look great!

[@SilasMarnerAuAg]

i can understand doing this on old unique pieces but this is common casing for ~8 bucks so i’d be taking it off and putting a new piece of trim up. lol, you just now stated that. and it is a good how to video for old unique pieces. good job

[@melainenicholson]

Great job. I watched the entire process, and totally forgot where the damage had been.

[@iamwhoiamd7056]

Wow. The after looks so very good. Awesome video.

[@GreenVegan816]

Nice job! I can see how that stuff could come in handy.

[@tonyathomas66]

Definitely came at the right moment. I have a dresser that has some imperfections that I can DIY👍🏾.

[@judithcatlett8518]

Nice work and patience.

[@eeeclaverr4239]

Looks great!! Thx for teaching 👍

[@tsetendorjee9040]

Thank you I love your KZbin!!!❤

[@leslietinyhousebuilderwann3851]

Thanks for the demo!

[@rupe53]

my first thought was to use one of those comb type profile tracers and transfer the shape to a piece of cardboard, then use that to shape the bondo. BTW, I have broken trim on my garage door from the lawnmower wheels and will be doing similar when the weather breaks. Thanks for reminding me!

[@TheFixerHomeRepair]

Thats a cool idea! Good luck with your trim!

[@dper1112]

That's really neat. I've heard of this done but never seen the details before. Thank you!

[@TheFixerHomeRepair]

Thank YOU for watching! Hope it helps if you ever need to do it.

[@SimplyChicFurniture]

Awesome job!!! I am going to try this on some furniture that I just got in that looks like the dog chewed the edges 😮. Love all the helpful tips in your video!!

[@melindamosbey8257]

You're AWESOME TY for sharing!

[@VampyRagDoll]

That is so well done.

[@lindysmith13]

that looks really good. they should sponsor you!

[@deborahhaynes8361]

Very good to know. Thank you well explained.

[@gregmize01]

WOW GREAT RESULTS FIXER!

[@teresab6383]

Thank you I have some trim work that I want to do this same process to thank you

[@happynurse8706]

Nice job also your video was clear and precise

[@norma0826]

Great video, thanks for sharing it. It’s going to save me a lot of time.

[@joewenzel5142]

Much better than how mine turned out.

[@greekperspective2076]

That’s cool I’m definitely going to add this to my tool belt

[@xbrizzcakez]

I find it interesting when someone is teaching the way to repair with Bondo who is learning themselves. As soon as you took out about 4 times what you needed for the first filling I was hooked. The final product was fine. FYI if you are trying to render something more critical Bonda glazing putty is an added step in filling sanding scratches and fine tuning. I recently took on a repair project in a home where the owners dog chewed on the window sills in a living room and destroyed them. The profile had to be completely reshaped. I cut strips of wood and make forms to begin the filling process. I totally rebuilt 3 of the 5 sills. I used over a quart of bondo and a 4.5oz. tube of putty. The owner was amazed that it could be repaired so well. I worked on it for about 4 hours. Oh, BTW the owners dog was a Cane Corso, keep up the good work....

[@nereida116]

Well presented!👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[@lcook0825]

Really great video Matt.

[@carolyncarlson3825]

Great job....alot of work...hugs

[@stevebussell5568]

Nice job. Utility knife blades make a good scraper for small spaces.

[@shereemorgan1430]

Great work!

[@jackfarrell4727]

Simple taping compound works best for damaged trim, windows and doors but it usually takes multiple applications. And can be sanded and shaped easily. Then paint, the paint acts as a hardener.

[@Deliz1]

Well done!

[@pitsnipe5559]

Nice work, looks perfect. Did not know Bondo had a product just for wood.

[@Trust_but_Verify]

Last time I checked I couldn't tell what the difference is between and wood and auto bondo, except the auto one was cheaper and I used the auto/general one as filler without an issue.

[@ritadecassiabrevegomes3188]

Good job, very nice!👏👏👏👏

[@shanaproctor100]

That's incredible!

[@TimboStang71]

I'm an electrician not a carpenter, but was always wondering why people use mostly car bondo when they can use the wood filler. 🤔 guess same results, I figured the wood filler would adhere better. Great video too 👍

[@GarryC-xt7jx]

I’ve done many repairs like this. The best way to form the bondo is to overfill the damaged area like you did then take a taping knife that is a few inches taller than the repair. Hold the taping knife against the undamaged trim with the handle parallel to the floor and the edge of the knife touching the floor and the undamaged trim above. Pull the blade around the damaged area using the undamaged trim as a template. You’ll get a fairly accurate profile of the trim. Then with sandpaper wrapped around a wood block sand up and down still using the good trim above as a guide. I often follow up with with a wood filler like Famowood which is easy to sand.

[@gaylemcgee2221]

Smaller putty knife would be better but it came out fantastically!!! Great job. The result is awesome!

[@DrAlexVasquezICHNFM]

Great job that’s a hell of a lot of work for a small detail but of course those are the details that make a difference because if we let them accumulate then the house eventually it looks like a disheveled mess

[@user-mf9pe4dr4m]

An awesome job!

[@chelseasummers2365]

Excellent!

[@vickiblum5315]

WOW that was great I have fixed some molding but not with info I used wood filler I think that’s what it was called

[@Obshowersyndicate]

That new hi bond bondo is really good

[@drummindog]

Nice video, Matt.

[@lupitaayala3690]

Thank you. Great and helpful video.❤

[@TheFixerHomeRepair]

Glad that it helped!

[@masmainster]

That was a pretty good result, I'd probably use a way smaller knife for a job that size, instead of that shovel.

[@debbiesineath1952]

Looks great!

[@fuyu5979]

Awesome n informative vid. Have a dry rot place under the eave that I must repair. Ur vid gave me good ideas on how to repair it. Tried using Bondo for cars before but it didnt work well with my other repairs but might try Bondo Wood Filler. Many thanks ! Kudos for upload. New subscriber because of this vid. Anticipating ur next one Peace

[@bdlii]

Thanks! Awesome!

[@sybilresh1905]

Came out great.

[@HisEmoKitten1-28-16]

Thank you dad of KZbin 🙏

[@lindalove7193]

Excellent!❤

[@robingillespie4467]

Cool fix!

[@traveler7249]

Old houses have trim that can not be easily replicated. Filler (bondo etc.) is the only option sometimes.

[@TexianPa]

Nice. Love bondo!

[@sdavenport7538]

Excellent video.

[@jasonmiller6273]

Top stuff. 👍

[@michaelplays2449]

Great vudeo , Thanks !!

[@riotact10jf]

You could also add a plinth block. It would fancy up the door trim.

[@drh1064]

looks great!

[@redwood1957]

Thank you

[@nevadawolf619]

Thanks for this video !

[@TheFixerHomeRepair]

👍😀

[@n.d.8276]

That little bondo trick works out easier if you make a mold first. Thanks to more than one puppy, I’ve had to repair wood trim and edges on stairs. Love from SAHM/housewife.

[@venegasenmerida6307]

How do you make a mold?

[@67spankadelik]

Just the video I was looking for! Looks great. I have a similar situation I'm going to try this with. Thanks for posting kind man!! New sub here!!

[@TheFixerHomeRepair]

Thanks for subscribing, I appreciate it!

[@kimberlyakers5923]

nice job.

[@claudiamiller7730]

Nice job! I’ve done the same sort of repair on a dog chewed piece of trim using artist modeling paste…it was what I had available in the house…worked out just fine, too. It’s a great feeling of accomplishment to repair something like this, isn’t it??

[@TheFixerHomeRepair]

Yes it is!

[@cantgetright742]

Well done matt

[@TheFixerHomeRepair]

Thanks!!

[@davidadelman6945]

Masterful

[@takismantas1159]

Bondo is a great product but not the right one for this repair. Replacing the whole trim is the best option. The second best is to cut the trim just above where it's broken and put a scrap there with wood glue to the rest of the trim. It will save you time from patching and sanding and most likely it will hold better with time.

[@leilanijanski8664]

Awesome!

[@joewenzel5142]

That happened to me and I used some DAP Plastic Wood, be interested to see how this Bondo does.

[@anoldfriend3901]

Looks awesome 👍🏻.

[@TheFixerHomeRepair]

Thanks for watching!