should i bondo or weld the holes left from the side trimming of my car?

Id say come to Mojave and I'll TIG 'em for you, but shit - thats a lot of holes.

 

Duct Tape

 

I learned how to do this when I was 16 and borrowed a friend's MIG welder. Backed it up with an aluminum block and went slowly. I started by drilling a whole bunch of holes in a scrap fender and practicing on that until I could do it without warping. After that practice, it took only a tiny bit of glazing compound to smooth over any warping I got when I was done with the real panels. If you warp it badly with a MIG, you'll have a hell of a time stretching it back out. As noted, MIG welds are brittle.

Anyway, 15 years later, and it still looks as good--no cracks. My advice: If you can't borrow a gas MIG, don't try the tape-it-shut solutions--put the chrome back on. If you can get the MIG, practice A LOT first on a big flat panel. It's easy to get cocky after the first few and dive in, but you want to do this right the first time.

 

How small could the hole be to not use a filler piece? My badges have very small holes - ~1/6-3/32" Can a straight shot with the welder cover these small holes?

Jon

 

wow sorry guys, i havent checked the thread in a while.

well, i read every single reply, and it sounds like this:

welding>>>>bondo

its obvious i should have it done right the first time so i dont have to ever go back to doing it again.

now... some of you say "put the trim back on", i would almost 80% of the cilps that held them on were rusty and shitty, and wouldnt go back on there if i tried. plus it looks a lot smoother and nicer without it (in my opinion)


i read that one guys post about going to Mason Designs in bakersfield, that place is less than a minute away from my house, and i didnt know it, its on the way to my gym. so i'll try that place tomorrow after work (for an estimate)

...as for everyone saying "just learn how to weld kid", i want to, and we have a welder, but its not a mig, its something wierd. i'll try using that on scrap pieces of sheet metal to see what i can do.

*btw if people need pics of how big these holes are i can go take some right now if u'd like, thanks for all the help so far*

 

Lets see some pix of the trim holes and the whole car.

- Joe

 

bondo only cracks if it wasnt properly done. lead cracks if its not properly done. if the substrate is not properly cleaned , if it is not properly mixed, or if you only cover it with primer you will have problems. it doesnt take a genius to mix this shit. bit it will hold if you take the proper precautions. just weld up the holes and cover them up. i have used the epoxy you talked about on fixing radiators. it might work. if you really want a cheap temporary fix. get some quarters or metal slugs and stick them on the back of all the trim holes. fill over them with plastic filler. do not use bondo brand. shit sucks. a local paint shop should be able to get you a gllon for under $20.

 

<center>















</center>

they were taken all today, the holes are around the size of a finger nail i guess. and there are a lottttttttttttttttttt of them

 

Lemee get this right....you are going to remove the trim, and weld up ALL those holes, just because the trim clips are rusty?
You're out of your mind!
Buy some new fuckin clips!
Geez!

 

nooooooo...

if u had read some of my posts you'd know that i said i dont like the trim on there because i think it looks better with it off

i was just saying in general, that they are to rusty anyway for the trim to go back on.

 

looks good with no trim, if that was my car i.d put some tape behind the holes and fill them with tiger-hair. then i`d give the car a new flat black paint job, i might even try to sand out some of that rust you painted over last time, with the fill you havent really hurt the car, the holes can be opened up again if someone wants to put the trim back on or they can weld them shut, let someone else be all fussy, drive the car and have fun.

 

Cool ride.... I think it's great that you are 17 and not wasting your money and time on a rice-burning piece ok crap!! Like so many of other kids.

I've been teaching My 10yr old to weld with a mig, but I learned with a ooold welder that didn't even have a name on it (still works I got it when My dad passed away). The process of welding is the same with any kind of welding. You are melting two pieces of metal together with a rod to hold them together.

If you learn to weld the sky is the limit on what you can do. The Bondo/Epoxy fix is not a good way to go. DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME.

If you have a stick welder (I think you said that somewhere). Go to either a welding supply or a farm supply store and get some 1/8" mild steel welding rods, should be less than $5.00. Get you some scrap steel, flat plate, angle Iron ( not sheetmetal) anything steel and learn to weld a bead. It is alot eaisier to learn on steel than sheetmetal. These rods are to large to weld on your car but are a great size for the beginner to practice with. A mig welder is not required ( but is a heck of a lot eaisier) I've fixed a thousand holes with a stick welder it just takes some practice. Like some said go and get a book on Beginning Welding ( your local library will have them to check out for free).

If it were Me I would take one panel at a time and strip it and weld up the and then prime it. You should be able to do one a week or so as a beginner.

The good thing about learning to weld is that you can put in the new floor and body panels that you need.

Good luck!!

 

i'm with a lot of the other guys, don't take it to a pro, save up that money you'd spend there and get yourself a mig welder. i bought my fairlane when i was 17 too and my first purchase after that was a nice miller mig welder. I'd say just save the cash because you will NEVER regret buying it, if you want to build cars, you really should have a good welder. And when i got mine i just took some big flat pieces of sheet metal and drilled a bunch of holes and just practiced welding holes and running beads and welding pieces together at different angles for a few days, then just go for it man. don't let anyone scare you with that "you'll ruin your whole panel take it to a pro" crap. this is hot rodding. practice, take your time and it'll turn out good and then you can be proud of doing something yourself. sweet car btw

Frank

 

i like all the responses i got after my post from earlier. maybe its cuz i had a bad day at work and got my toenail ripped off and this was reassuring stuff to read

but ya we used to own stick welder before it got stolen. i think my dad mentioned that he tried it one time and he got shocked cuz he touched it up against something?? not sure.. but ya one reason why i cant really get a welder is the power source. i dont remember where or what i heard, but u have to have something powerful to run the thing? and we dont have that. but i might as well just buy one, find somewhere to hook it up and practice.

and thanks for the compliments for my car. i wanna save up and get a pro paint job and get a nice flat black color, slap some moon discs on it. throw a 292 v8 in there. just gotta be patient i guess

 

Dont you have a clip on you tube with the sound of a glass pack or something???
seems like I remember you and your dads car???

 

if you have electricit at your house you should be able to run a welder. you can get nice little welders for 110 for around $300 at home depot.

 

save up and get a MIG welder. the smaller ones will run on 110 and it will pay for itself doing work for your buddies.

 

ya i do, they're old clips though. i think i have like.. 2 of my car, 2 of my dads ranchero. but theyre like 2 years old, i need to update em and do some better videos


and ya i'll just save up for a mig i guess. go to the junk yard, find something easy for me to weld on for a first try.

 

I did that for the belt trim on my 52 Chevy. It is a temporary fix while I do more body work, but it looks cool.

 

Dave-- Do you have a source for these different types? I've only been able to find acorn heads and allen heads. If there's something out there on the web I'd appreciate a link to it.

Sounds like kind of a cool idea.

Thanks,

Joe

 

Save your money up buy a cheap flux core wier welder and then practice practice practice. I on the other hand put 1" spikes in the holes where the trim was.

 

Home Depot has a nice little Lincoln for $250..

 

It may or may not be the best way (everyone on the HAMB has their way of filling holes) but here is an illustrated article on how to weld trim holes on your car. (They say a picture's worth a thousand words.) Good Luck, I like your '58, always thought they were under appreciated. Here's the link:
http://www.carcraft.com/howto/3065/

 

I recently did a fill job on a tub for a guy I worked with , he sat there with the duster gun all day while I welded all the tarp holes and panel seams solid and shut the fuel door and the aerial hole.Making sure the steel around and in each hole is clean is easier with a little hand held blaster.....it's critical.Anyway , I'd do three short spots and he'd cool it with the air gun I ground 'em with a combo of flappers and 3.5's on the die grinder, took all day but it was bare metal and the guy who was painting it was blown coz it was dead flat no bondo.

When you make a patch piece for larger hole leave a 1/32 gap around it so it can be ground flush .You will get conflicting advice because the guys who have done the most of this will have done it in a business where time is money....when your time is your own you can spend all day on it.....flush fits with a gap take longer , but are better....

Keep the shroud on the mig clean , use a little Inox spray in it , make sure the metal is super clean and BE PATIENT....if you watch carefully when you weld panel steel you can see the heat going into it , on this job you are hitting it with half second bursts max. Crack , crack , crack ...pfffffffft.....next.........

 

What's wrong with bodymen in the collision repair field?

 

Welding it is the right way to do it,BUT it can be done with plastic dont use BONDO thats the stuff you dope on your mid 80s caviler to make it threw inspection,If you want to do it the rightest way with plastic take a pick hammer and tap in EACH AND EVERY little hole in just a little bit so when you sand it they dont just fall out,then fill the holes with some duraglass and block it down and smooth it up with some name brand plastic like USC or EVERCOAT block again the prime.

 

5 pages and not one persons mentioned using lead for the finishing instead of plastic. Yes I know the safety risks but it doesn't crack up if the jobs done cleanly.

 

Lead........

if you do those trim holes right there won't be any room or need for it , bondo dust is bad for you ....hot lead , sheesh , that'll put hair on your chest! let alone the leach or whatever it's called to flux the metal.....then you need to remember we're talking a vertical surface here...dozens of separate holes.....I thought a couple of days to weld 'em up was being indulgent.....things a bit quiet over your way DV?

 

weld them holes man...

bondo...lol you're kidding right???

 

I didn't bother reading through this whole thread so this may have been discussed already. If you still feel that bondo would be the best route for you then I would recommend that you at least hit the back of the holes with fiber glass prior to bondoing the outside of the holes. Once the fiber glass is all set then it will be very hard and possibly as strong as metal if done right. This is only if you still wish to do the bondo method. Take care.

-Chris