So, I’ve come to grips with the fact that I don’t have the time, energy, or inclination to learn to weld. I’m working on a project car that has some minor holes in the bodywork where the previous owner installed a luggage rack.
Can I fill the holes with an epoxy putty, like QuickSteel or JB Weld Quick Stik?
How big are the holes? I tried to fill the spoiler holes on my 1st day with J.B weld and it didn't go very well. I've also heard stories of them falling out over time with a number of heat cycles
I'd take it to a wedding shop and have them weld up the holes before trying epoxy. If you explain that your willing to do the finish work like grinding them smooth it might be something cheap and easy for them to do. I was going to offer my welder and help but you're a bit far away.
In reply to classicJackets :
I wasn’t thinking of the gooey JB Weld epoxy. It’s a putty that comes in a stick: you cut off a piece and knead it.
In reply to Stampie :
Just screw holes from a luggage rack. Not sure the exact size, but not much bigger than what you’d get with a drywall screw.
In reply to LanEvo :
Wish you were near. Bet you we'd spend more time shooting the E36 M3 than it would to tack it a few times.
Are the pieces easily portable or attached to a running car? I'd just have someone weld it and then do the grinding and finishing yourself.
Panel adhesive to stick a piece of tin on the back, Fill with kitty hair and finish wth bondo..
Pete
NOHOME said:Panel adhesive to stick a piece of tin on the back, Fill with kitty hair and finish wth bondo..
Pete
^^^ This, probably don't even need the kitty hair.
If they're small and you can get to the back of them....
Buy some of the real aluminum HVAC tape. Put 2 layers on the inside of the panel to cover the hole. Fill from outside with bondo.
I've done this on several beater cars and it works great. Not a concours fix, but stays water tight and you can paint over it.
That aluminum tape is useful for all kinds of stuff.
Adding to what I wrote above.
If this is just bolt holes, you will want to actually create a bit of a dent by putting a socket under the hole and hammering into it.
What that does is lets you spread the filler past the edges of the hole to blend in with the panel. If you just fill the hole, there is a good chance that the edges will start to show through after a while.
And yeah, the aluminum tape would work fine for this, but in that case I would for sure use the kitty hair filler as the main filler. The glass strands are there to add a bit of structural integrity.
Pete
Just a bit far away from me as well. It would take only seconds to tack those closed. I use a ball peen hammer to dent holes down a little. I put the ball side of the hammer on the hole and then tap it with a small dead blow hammer. One reason for this is that in many cases the sheet metal is actually stretched up by the fastener so when you try to grind back the repair you can end up almost grinding through the sheet metal in the area where it is stretched up.
If I am trying to do it with out bondo I will grind off the paint then use a punch that is just bigger than the hole and ever so carefully tap it down just a little. The weld puddle then fills the hole and the very small indentation. Done properly it gets ground back sanded and all you need is a high build primer to make it disappear.
I, too, would do it for y if you came by but it would be quite a drive.
Another option would be to just put a nut and bolt through it. A nice button head Allen bolt or something real fancy
I have filled in roof rack screw holes with jb weld in the past with decent luck, though it was on a van roof so too tall to really look at. Dimples with the ball side of a ball peen hammer and sand or grind down to bare metal, and plan on having to putty later to get perfectly smooth.
If it was on a trunk lid I'd probably just get another trunk lit the right color from a salvage yard.
oldopelguy said:
If it was on a trunk lid I'd probably just get another trunk lit the right color from a salvage yard.
That was going to be my suggestion
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