Guest Anonymous Posted July 23, 2000 Share Posted July 23, 2000 I have been working on welding in repair panels in the battery box area of my car just about all week and have had mixed results. I am using 20 guage sheet metal to repair the cut out areas. I used a sawzall to remove the rusty areas and as you all know sometimes a sawzall will leave the sheet metal "wavy". I have been doing the best I could to work the sheet metal back to being flat to make it easier to butt weld the new panels in as I am striving for a "factory" look when the repairs are complete. Yesterday afternoon after my dad and I arrived home from visiting Pete's buddy we began doing some sheet metal fabrication on some of the other panels. After looking over the two panels I had welded in we decided that with the aid of the grinder and a little body filler we could make it look pretty decent. My dad started looking over the remaining area that had been cut out and I saw the "light bulb" go on over his head. He said "I think I know a way we can make this stronger, much easier to weld in and look better when it is done". I of course wanted to hear this solution ASAP!!! He is aware of how particular I am when it comes to things such as this so he ask "how important to you is it to have it look 'factory' from the inside of the car?" I said that I did not really care about inside as there will be heat shield on the floors and firewall behind the carpet. So he then proceded to cut some 1" wide strips of sheet metal and said "why don't we weld these strips around the peremeter of the cut out areas with half on the existing sheet metal and half to weld the panel to." I, of course, was kicking myself for the not thinking of this in the first place. Sure enough, it made it 10000000% easier to fit the panels in and fill any small gaps with a bead of weld. It is also much more solid in the firewall area. Has anyone else ever used this method? This is really the first time I have done any repair of this type. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted July 23, 2000 Share Posted July 23, 2000 Sounds like a good solution. I just would like to warn you on traditional polyester based filler...it absorbs water...like crazy! You will find things rusting through again in just a couple years if you use that junk. I suggest using an epoxy-based filler. Go to a marine supplier in your area and ask for West System Epoxy products. They sell base resins and fillers to add to the resin for different applications. this stuff is designed not to absorb water, and with the right additive can be easily sanded and takes paint very well. Just a suggestion...but it could save you much cursing down the road. SpencZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted July 24, 2000 Share Posted July 24, 2000 Spence, Thanks for the advice!! I was wondering what I was going to do for the filler to keep it from abosorbing moisture. Can the marine filler be used exactly like body filler? Even on the body panels? Thanks again, Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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