Question for the guys who do there own body work

[Mo Power]

I was wondering what gauge of metal are the orginal panels on the cars because I  gong to aim to repair my trunklid because of rust in the lip and curious to what you guys use when you don't have replacement panels?

[hemi-hampton]

I think it's around 22 gauge, Thats what I use. LEON.

[hemihead]

I like to use the old clean sheetmetal myself.It not made like that junk HSLA ( High Strength Low Alloy) recyled Chinese junk that's sold now.
HSLA tends to crack when you weld or heat it.It sucks.

[BlueSS454]

I used 20 gauge steel to make some minor repairs.  Most of the pieces I had to make though, were original metal that I cut off my car that was still good.  Such as when I replaced the quarters, I cut the whole thing off, but kept the good metal to fab up pieces that I couldn't get new.

[hemi-hampton]

When I went to the local Sheetmetal place to get a small sheet I said 18 guage. This felt kinda thick I said, she said what do you want it for, I said Patch Rust holes on old car, She said oh, then you want 22 gauge,Then showed me a sheet & I said yeah, that looks about right, I did not do any Micrometer measurements to compare with old metal but visually looked & felt right. One thing to remember is the older the car the thicker the metal, as the newer the car gets the thinner the metal gets. Have you ever seen the Metal on a old 1930's or 40's car, Pretty thick. Ever see metal on a brand new car today? Like peice of tin foil. LEON.