Projects To weld or fill

Quick question for the folks out there. I’m working an off frame full resto and wanted some body work opinions. Near the fender gap there’s a spot where rust has eaten away at the metal. Would someone generally weld in new metal with a patch here and then smooth it with body filler or simply cut out the rust, use a rust preventative and then just body fill the hole? Thanks in advance.

 

That needs a metal patch welded in.

 

X2

 

X3 on welding. If good at what I call slag welding you might be able to fill it with just weld

 

Need more info:

Do you want to do it right ?
Or do you want to do a shitty hack job ???

 

Way too big to fill with “slag”. Cut out the bad and weld in new.

 

I've filled larger areas with my slag method. Slag up the edges and let cool. Then progressively build up weld. Built a quarter size section of one of the doors for my 54 that way

 

the other thing that no one mentioned yet is that you need to cut away a lot of metal to get to a solid area. There are lots of rust pits that are just about ready to break through, that you will discover a year after you paint the car, if you don't cut them out now and weld in new metal.

 

Duct tape soaked in bondo and steel wool ought to do the trick.

 

Put in a metal patch or it will come back to haunt you.

 

The bartender said "You're flagged"

 

^^^THIS^^^
Chase it out until you get to good solid metal........... and then go a little more.
Mark and cut out neatly.
Fabricate and shape the patch to fit.
Tack in, adjusting and hammering as required.
Finish weld (spot-cool, spot-cool ,spot-cool....) while massaging with hammers as needed.
Minimal skim coat filler as required.

Or you could follow some of the dodgy advice.......

 

Be sure and use Canadian bondo

.

 

Don’t use that razor blade for the patch!

 

Just builder up like so many before.

 

^^^this^^^ If I had a dollar for every vehicle that come thru the shop in the last 45 yrs that looked like that I could retire tomorrow.....

...

 

Man that's UGLY!

 

One more vote for metal. Since you are asking I am assuming that you don't have a ton of experience with body work and while I am at best an amateur I can tell you that the time and effort you invest in welding in a patch and skim coating it with filler vs using multiple applications of filler to build it up won't be significantly different. If you've gone to all the work to do a "full frame off resto" then now is the time to do it right.

 

Why take chances? Do both!

Seriously....... cut away all the rust to 'good' metal, grind down any high slag, and skimcoat with body putty.
Primer when and where it's needed. Try not to leave any rust magnets on the backside.

 

The thing I have found in life is that if you don't do something the right way, later on you will end up repairing it again. Look inside the panel and see if there is surface rust inside. After the repair, if there is surface rust inside and try to squirt some POR15 or other encapsulator on it too.

 

Canucks know stuff. Their whiskey is good, I wonder if their bondo comes in a draw string, purple bag.

 

Most bondo is porous, not designed to fill gaping holes. It will blister and ruin the paint finish in time when it has absorbed moisture and rotted the adjacent metal.

 

Purple bag is misleading ...

 

That gives me heart palpitations and flashbacks to some of the cars customers brought in to my dad's shop to get checked out after purchase in the early 2000's. A 2nd gen firebird was tin foil, spray foam, and bondo from the door handles down.

Regular body filler should never be used to fill a hole IMO. Cut it out, weld in a patch, and use a skim of filler as it's intended... To help smooth the panel for finishing.

 

Of course you don’t use body filler to fill holes. Fill it with newspaper first.

 

Yes, I've really seen newspaper used on Utube.

 

I’ve found similar holes in cars filled with underwear and fiberglass lol

 

Jeez , they're freaking cars , not holy artifacts , you drive em .

 

Gotta reinforce the bondo with some window screen, or for bigger areas use chicken wire. As found on project vehicles.



Or do it right, cut out and weld in a patch. Then minimal skim coat. You're doing a frame off,the correct repair. do

 

Red Green is a smart guy Canuck