I ripped off my sideskirts the other day in prepairation for paint, and under them I found about 50 1.5mm diameter holes drilled about an inch apart across the side of the car. Looks like the previous owner did this so the glue would stick.

so now im faced with the task of repairing this to keep my cost at the painters down. Im planning on using a ball peen (sp?) hammer to flatten the holes which came outward while removing the skirt then scoring with a metal brush and bondoing.

Will this last forever, if i get the car painted and these holes show through ill be more than livid.

suggestions?

Thanks, Mike

 

IMO that wouldn't last forever. Best to hammer the holes slightly so they are flush or slightly below and then weld them shut. Grind the welds smooth and then a skim coat of bondo.

If done properly you could fill holes that small with bondo but given that you have so many holes (and therefore more chances for one to crack) I'd weld them.

 

Bondo filling the holes will hold moisture and rust. Even if you live in a really dry climate it will crack and fall out.

Weld and grind baby!

 

thats what im afraid of. Ill have to look into getting them welded, im on a time frame tho cause im supposed to drop the car off monday. I guess i could always do oem sideskirts later on if one cracked :/

 

Third vote for welding, and you may want to consider taking your car to Zeibart or similar place afterward to seal it (re-seal) from behind. If you have a trusted shop, they may be able to do it for you.

 

Jeff knows what he's talking about. I personally would cut off the hand of the individual who allows Bondo to come in contact w/ my car - even if it's still in the can/bottle There simply is NO substitute for good bodywork, period.

 

well im glad i posted this, you guys have swayed me to weld the holes regardless of the cost

i guess its true: do it right, do it once.

Mike

 

 

I would weld it too if I were you.

 

I would weld as well, but make sure it's done right. You COULD potentially make it much much worse.

50 consecutive welds in such a small area might lead to some horrible warpage.

And even when you get it done perfectly, you will still need a small skim coat of filler.

 

Weld!!

 

Were they for rivets on a previous body kit or something? As ehos mentioned also be careful of warping the panel with everything being so close together, you could end up with panels that look like the ripples on a little pond all way down.

 

Yep, been there........ done that. Welding that thin metal will warp the heck out of it and you'll end up using 10 lbs of glass/filler to fix it.

Spot welding is your friend.

 

Actually, I wouldn't weld it up. (100 holes at 1.5 mm each, hmmm, I'd stress about the welding...). Then you still have to bodywork it (it will still have filler, there's no way it's going to look smooth without it).

I would use something like Masterseries CT and re-cover with sideskirts!

 

Tap the holes down witha a hammar
gind the area
spot weld them
grind the spt welds down
use a skim coat of filler (not bondo, it is just too hard to work with use a quality brand filler)
prime and paint


If you dont have them spot welded it will show back through, to pevent this you can use a fiberglass reinforced filler but it still may come back. You should also have the shop spray something on the inside to prevent rust.

 

well i got the holes welded and grinded (patman helped me)

dropped her off for paint today, this was my last look:









Mike

 

that was alot of holes

 

Ouch.

 

some progress pics of the car at the bodyshop, im hoping to have it back before xmas