Repair or replace???

[400/6/PAC]

What would be the best way to repair these rust holes ??
All the skin is in great shape except the bottom.
I cut this piece out of a parts car and was hoping I could repair the holes.
Thanks for any suggestions

[green69rt]

What would be the best way to repair these rust holes ??
All the skin is in great shape except the bottom.
I cut this piece out of a parts car and was hoping I could repair the holes.
Thanks for any suggestions

Two methods, first cut out the rotted area and butt or lap weld a new piece on.  Hard part here is getting a good clean weld and avoiding warping the surrounding metal (how good of a welder are you on thin sheet metal??)  Second method would be to weld a thin patch on the back of the rotted area and fill in with some kind of filler.  Most would probably do the patch method especially if they have the skills.  I have to say that I would probably patch it but be very carefull how I weld.

[Nacho-RT74]

what about fill with lead ? ( tain )

[charger_fan_4ever]

Filling holes with lead/filler is sketchy. Once any moisture gets in there its going to boil out after. In the lower section its bound to get water in there even from washing.

[Nacho-RT74]

tain doens't get moisture. In fact, panels seams are normally filled with tain

[charger_fan_4ever]

Not sure what makes it boil out then  , but all the old cars I've seen here  up north the lead is all boiling out of the roof/quarter area and needs to be heated and cleaned out. Pretty well guaranteed on a vinyl top car the lead will be looking at you once you tear  the top up.

[Nacho-RT74]

thats for anothe reason, moisture trapped down the vinyl due on factory roof with vinyl tops weren't painted, just primered. You'll notice rust begans on edges of vinyl tops and at sides of the vinyl top seam area ( that by casuality, mostly of times meets with lead area )

[400/6/PAC]

what about fill with lead ? ( tain )

What is tain???
Never heard of it.

[green69rt]

what about fill with lead ? ( tain )

I just don't like to work with lead.  It's a pretty bad customer.  If you end up having to file or bring it smooth with any other method then you're taking some big risks.  If you don't want to do a weld repair then use some kind of bondo with a backer plate.  Not my first choice.

It looks like you're going to some effort to replace most of the quarter so why not fix the little area of rust holes  correctly??  You can get 22 ga sheet metal from Lowes or Home Depot that is easy to shape to fit.  Just make sure you clean it up really good to get all the oil and mill scale off before you start welding.  Remember to spend three times as much time on preparation (or more!!) as you do on welding and you should be good.

[Nacho-RT74]

what about fill with lead ? ( tain )

What is tain???
Never heard of it.

sorry... typo mistake
IT'S TIN

[Finn]

Im not a professional welder but personally Id cut out that section, weld in a new piece of sheet metal, then grind it down. Alternatively, you might be able to press a piece of aluminum against that section then fill in the holes with weld.

[400/6/PAC]

Thanks for all the advice.
I think new metal is the way to go.

[Scaregrabber]

Thats a real easy patch panel to make. It's a shame you didn't take the whole quarter (including the back part that you missed). If you had taken the complete quarter you wouldn't have to weld all the way up (about 2 feet of welding, lots of work and big chance of warpage).

Sheldon

[motorcitydak]

Im not a professional welder but personally Id cut out that section, weld in a new piece of sheet metal, then grind it down. Alternatively, you might be able to press a piece of aluminum against that section then fill in the holes with weld.

You can use a piece of aluminum to back the piece while you weld in all the small holes, but aluminum has a low meling temp. A better way is to use either copper or brass sheet (Eastwood has some tools you can use for this). Trim it to the size you want and attach it to the back of the panel with either tape or magnets. Make sure to contour the sheet to the panel. Weld in all of your holes and grind smooth. You can do the back side of the panel too to strenghten the piece since it may have rusted out from the back and thru the to the front meaning that the back side is weaker and may rust thru again in the same spot.

check out some of these tools from eastwood
http://www.eastwood.com/metal-fabrication/welding/magnetic-hole-plug-welding-tool-not-for-gas-welde.html
http://www.eastwood.com/metal-fabrication/welding/welders-helper-3x3-set-flat-curve-anglecop-plates.html

[Finn]

Very cool, I might have to pick some of those up! Thanks for sharing.