Filling in Trim holes

[oldsmobilekindofguy]

How did you guys go about filling in all the trim holes, It is on my 67 c-10 so it goes up around the wheels, I really don't want to use body puddy,
I thought about using a wire feed welder and just fill the hole in and grind it down and then use puddy to flatten it out but I wanted to know if there was a better easier way?

[67_C-30]

Originally Posted by oldsmobilekindofguy

How did you guys go about filling in all the trim holes, It is on my 67 c-10 so it goes up around the wheels, I really don't want to use body puddy,
I thought about using a wire feed welder and just fill the hole in and grind it down and then use puddy to flatten it out but I wanted to know if there was a better easier way?

That's the best way to do it, and about the ONLY way to do it if you don't want to do it more than once. Just don't get the panel too hot when you weld it.

[70c10]

I remember my dad mig welded his closed. Board member 70GMCer used JB Weld and filled his in real nice. He had a post last year about it. It turned out nice and required no welding!

[N2TRUX]

MIG is good, TIG is better. Just remember, tack and cool, tack and cool, cause warped panels are very, very bad.

[special-K]

If you can ding it in a bit,it helps,IMO.

[70GMCer]

I was looking for another way to fill in the holes other than welding. Even though I have a welder, the sides on my truck were pretty straight, and didn't want to possibly warp them. So,I heard about the 2 part JB Weld for filling in holes. This stuff does not shrink or crack over time, so they say. Anyway that was almost 2 years ago, and still no signs of cracking. Only problem with using it is it takes 24 hours to set up before you can work with it. After that, I just block it down and put a light skim coat of glazing putty on and reblocked. You can't tell I even had any holes there.

Also, I had to use small pieces of cardboard on the back side of the holes, so the JB could hold onto something. I then removed the card board later. You also want to slightly dimple each hole inward so the JB Weld can mushroom outward.

[oldsmobilekindofguy]

Thanks for the info

I might try your JB weld idea on a few holes just to see how it turns out that seems interesting,

For the guys that used welding, do you have to weld on the back side of the hole also or just the out side is good enough??

[bad6772]

when i welded mine (MIG)... i cleaned the hole very very well... and held a piece of brass behind the weld.....this makes for a full weld and the brass will also take some of the heat away from the panel.... as far as the heat on the panels let it cool naturally..do not shock the metal with cold air or water....if anything use warm water....this would also apply to grinding.... a grinding disk gets hotter than you think... i wouldnt grind just the welds... grind outside of the welds as well as the weld its self to distribute the heat more ...done correctly you shouldnt need any filler just raise your sanding grades....and then prime....hope this may help....EDIT IMO i wouldnt do the JB weld thing being you have a welder..and i dont think that in the long run, the JB weld will hold up eventually it may crack out........ ive seen this happen when people just sink and fill a hole with either bondo or a fiberglass alternative........< this is called (ghosting).........

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by bad6772

... I've seen this happen when people just sink and fill a hole with either bondo or a fiberglass alternative..........

That was the process used on my 77 Cheyenne to fill the holes from bed rails. I was amazed that the painter did a supreme quality job on the entire truck but used Kitty Hair (Bondo and glass mix) to fill those holes. Outside in the sun you couldn't see them at all. When it sat in may garage with tons of fluorescent lights I could see the "ghost" images and it drove me nuts.

I had the holes welded up and the top of the bed repainted. Now it looks like it should and will never come back to "haunt" me....(pun intended)

[70GMCer]

I would never use bondo or fiberglass to fill in holes.......the way I see it, if JB Weld can repair an engine block, it's worth trying what I did. This is just me. Saved me a lot of time on doing other body prep. I also had a welder that I have used, & over the 40 years I've been doing this type of work, just wanted to try and see what all the hype is on the this material. So far, so good.......

[oldsmobilekindofguy]

thanks all now I can get started on that

[EAST SIDE LOW LIFE]

Use a mig welder and do it once. No shop that I know of would guarantee a paint job done any other way. I took my truck down to bare metal, removed the box, tailgate, doors, hood, inner wheel wells, etc. At this time any repairs that were previously done were done over at this time. All dents were pulled, all filler removed. Metal filler was used in the body work process as well as very light usages of body fiiller. It takes longer this way but the results are worth it.

esll.

[oldsmobilekindofguy]

thanks, the box has some rust in it so i am gonna take it off and sand blast it, then i will take all the dang clips off and weld the holes shut

[EAST SIDE LOW LIFE]

Originally Posted by oldsmobilekindofguy

thanks, the box has some rust in it so i am gonna take it off and sand blast it, then i will take all the dang clips off and weld the holes shut

**********************************************************

Your going to be happy that you decided to go this route. It's more work, I know but it's our hobby so if your not pressed for time enjoy your build experience.

esll. LOL

[BCOWANWHEELS]

bad6772 has got the ticket. you can use a piece of copper, aluminum also to use as a back stop. weld a little and let it cool. take your time........
bob