How to fill molding holes

[D-rock1981]

Figured I would try and contribute something to the forum for what it's worth. I'm doing this all from my phone so it may or may not work! Lol. I work at a hot rod shop in Denver, and this is how I fill up molding holes.

Here is the hole we're going to fill. This is on a Plymouth fury. Using a scotch Brite roloc I prep the area and drill it out slightly bigger to fit the plug we're going to use to fill it.


This is the punch I use to make the plug


The punch creates a divot in the plug. I set it on an anvil and tap it with a hammer to flatten one side. There will still be a small divot on the other side. This is the side that goes out.



I use a piece of tape on the backside to hold the plug for a quick tack. It does burn the tape, so be quick.


One quick take. I remove the tape, then using a hammer and dolly I will tap the plug and get it flush.


Next it's welded up. I tig weld, but mig or gas is also acceptable. Just remember when mig welding it will be hard to hammer and dolly to a metal finish. The mig welding wire is harder then the surrounding metal and is prone to cracking. Remember that divot in the plug? Put a little tack on top of that to fill it up. I do this because I found when putting the plug in the other way the metal got way too thin in this area so I like to fill it up with weld.


Next I use a 60 grit roloc to knock down the weld. I don't take it all the way down, notice you can still see we're the ends of the weld are.


Next I will planish out any distortion with a slapper file and a dolly. Then finish with a scotch Brite roloc.

[jjzepplin]

Nice work! I have heard of this slapper file thing but have never seen one. Could you post a pic?

[D-rock1981]

I'll try to remember when I get to work tomorrow. I made it, just a flat file with 2 bends in it. It's used in place of a hammer. Just a personal preference. The file will put little marks in the steel and you can see where you low spots are. (The areas without marks)

[GRX]

Good work. These type of threads can be too far & in between sometimes. Thanks for taking the time to share here.

[Jurassic-1]

That is a new one for me. I will have to try that.

[White70C20]

I am taking classes in Automotive Restoration at a college in Kansas. Our sheet metal professor told us about slapper files, but he himself uses small body shop hammers. I will be graduating this next spring ('16) and will be out on my own working in a shop. I too would like to see what you have used as a slapper file.

[7tee]

Very nice work, thanks for sharing...

[Bigdav160]

I saw that technique in a Ron Covell video. MIG doesn't work as well because the wire just pushes the plug out of the hole. TIG works though.

[RodnRudy]

For those who don't have a punch to make the plugs, Ron Covell sells an assortment of plugs of different diameters for that purpose. Saved me a bunch of time trying to make them when filling firewall holes etc.

[Lokin4AReason]

nice and simple approach =0)

[alsriv2]

Much better than what a PO did to the bed of my '71 GMC. That PO used a ballpeen hammer on every hole and then filled each crater with bondo. So much damage done that it was cheaper to get a replacement bed.