Covering trim holes

[craigg1]

I have some trim holes that I need to have filled. What is the best way to do this? I know welding in new metal would probably be the best way, but I don't have the experience or equipment to do that. Would bondo work well enough?

[71swb4x4]

You will be very sorry if you don't do it right the first time. Weld them up. It will only cause problems later if you don't

[walker]

Ditto. Just go hire a welder to do it for you, shouldn't cost too much to weld up a couple of holes.

[grayw0lf]

How would you go about welding those holes? Put a piece of metal behind, tack it, & then grind?

[Randy70C-10]

I'd weld them, but I have bondo'd them before with no problems. Just take the rounded end of a ball peen hammer and dimple the holes in first (just a little) so there is something for the bondo to hold on to.

[grebus1]

I had all of the trim holes on my Burb welded up (there were a bunch since it had both upper and lower trim). I believe the body shop used a mig welder to fill the holes and then ground them down smooth. The Burb now has the newer style pickup lower trim that only uses adhesive. Not original, but it looks very nice and I don't have to worry about water leaking in the trim holes like it used to.

[adamls]

If the hole is small enough you can just MIG it. If it is too big and it is possible to get to the back side of the hole then stick a rivet through the hole and then weld. You can hold the long part of the rivet while welding and then go back and grind it all smooth.

[70c10]

It sounds like you are set on the Bondo method since you don't have access to a welder. If you have "no other choice", do what Randy said by dimpling the hole. I have done it on several vehicles and had no problems. Just make sure to get the old paint off good!

[grayw0lf]

So do you just fill teh hole up w/ wire from the welder, or are you sticking a small sheet of metal behind the hole?

<----- Nearly clueless about welding.

[Woody]

I havn't done this myself ...yet, but others on here have said to put a piece of copper behind the hole then weld it up. They acted like the weld wouldn't stick to the copper (some said they used a penny).

[StingRay]

If you decide to use the bondo method use a glass reinforceed filler as your first layer and make sure they are sealed up from the back side. If you want it to last weld em.

[lock]

Curious of the proper way to weld myself. I have a few large trim holes to fill.

[mocwon]

You can weld just about any size hole (within reason) without a penny by simply tacking it shut. Practice on scrap metal until you get the hang of it. It takes a little patience to let the tacks cool while closing the hole so you don't warp the metal. Like this: tack a little, let cool, tack a little, let cool, etc until the hole is closed. When you grind the weld flat go slow and let it cool too or you will warp the metal from the heat created by the grinding. When you have done a bunch (100's) of these you will get proficient enough with the welding and grinding that many times you won't need filler. Until then, a very light skim coat is all that is needed.