how to fill trim holes without spot welding

[gmc1971harwich]

im goin to be working on my bedsides today, and i have to ask u guys what is the best way to fill trim holes on these bedsides without welding them? i have no welding experience and cant afford to have a welder do it.

[DPowers]

Do you have a torch that you could braze them?

[Kayotic]

You can use body adhesive.

Was shown on "Trucks" some time ago. I think the truck was 'Project S10 K'

[Blazer1970]

Do it like a crappy body guy. knock 'em in with a ball peen hammer and bondo 'em over. Personally, I would pay someone to weld them up. It doesn't take much time at all.

[Quackaddict]

I have some holes on mine where someone had the small mirrors and put bigger mirrors. I bought one of those crappy arc welders from Wal-mart for $50 on sale and it worked perfect. I am no welder but I taught myself how to do small jobs.

[TheSeeker]

I guess I am a crappy body guy then, As I did what was mentioned. Clean the area around the holes really well, Scuff with some 80 grit. Knock a tiny indent with the end of a ball peen, Fill with filler and smooth. Sand, Smooth, Fill more, Repeat. As of now, I have a completly sanded, smooth, primed truck with absolutley no way of knowing there were ever trim holes there. Cost me a whole 37 bucks in materials to do the whole truck. Going on a few years now and it looks good. Just take your time and it will turn out great no welder needed. Oh and one more thing, In case you are worried about the filler shrinking later, do what I did and lay a thin layer of jb weld over the bondo, When it dries its like steel and will leave that finish looking great! Good luck and post pictures when finished.

[junkyardjohn]

I'VE PAINTED A FEW, & HAVEN'T FOUND ANY PERMENANT WAY TO FILL THEM WITHOUT WELDING THEM CLOSED. EVERY OTHER METHOD I'VE SEEN (OVER THE LAST 50 YEARS) HAVE BEEN A TEMPORARY AT BEST FIX. THATS JUST MY EXPERIANCE, & MAYBE THERE'S SOME MAJICAL METHOD THAT I DON'T KNOW OF. JOHN

[mbgmike]

NO welding?
then with no equipment the next best way is to lead them. you can use a bottle of gas and get a small torch on a hose. SOld most places.
Make a paddle out of hard wood. Read up on leading. its not hard

Next is use ALL METAL probably the best with a low cost. and if your not used to working with heat you won't do much damage. You can redo some day when you have the equipment.

If you knew how to braze you could do that but that takes more skill than Mig IMO.


like stayed above might get someone to weld them for you. It does take time as their is a lot of holes in a bed.

don't use bondo You can but its not as good as ALLMETAL and its the same amount of work


We weld them all and I know thats what you wanted to do, i just gave you my order of preference as I have done them just about every way known through the years

[gmc1971harwich]

i went the easy way out and put a coat of bondo on the bedside il sand most of it down then put a top coat sand that down then primer. il try and get some pics nect time im working on it maybe tomorrow

[68 c10 ls2]

You do know that just putting bondo over/ in the holes it will show through. Doesnt matter where you live water will work its way in and you will have bigger problems/ rust rust= bigger holes than what they are now! ALLMETAL is the only way to go if you cant weld up the holes.

[BIG ORANGE]

Save your money and take it to a guy with a welder and some knowhow and let him weld it up for ya! So NO to bondo...............

[7T2]

I've had good luck with two-part epoxy putty. POR-15 markets one type, but there are at least two others I have used, although the name of them escapes me right now. The stuff looks like two different bars of modelling clay. You cut off equal parts of each and knead them together until they are all mixed up in a ball. Then you apply them to whatever you want to build up, fill, etc. It woks especially well if you can get to the back of the hole and put a little blob on the back and the front. Takes about 15 minutes to set up, and during that time you can mold/shape/smooth it with a wet finger. After it dries it is rock hard, and supposedly you can drill and tap it if needed. When dry it can be sanded or filed to blend in. You can even apply it underwater. I have done a number of minor rust/hole repairs with this and it seems to hold up great.

http://www.por15.com/EPOXY-PUTTY/productinfo/PU/

One pound goes a long way. Other companies make it too. They all seem to work about the same.

[TheSeeker]

Dont worry about using the bondo, In my experience, the only people who do not like bondo have no idea how to use it properly, Or have never actually used it and just listen to what thier friends tell them.

[tim21391]

a small mig welder u can pick up for a few hundred bucks.. and it takes no skill to fill a hole up.. just bump the trigger til you fill the hole the grind the weld flush and use a little skim coat over it.

[Shane]

Funny, I see the guys that work with Bondo for a living are the ones saying not to use it ... <shrug>

[HuggerCST]

Originally Posted by gmc1971harwich

i went the easy way out and put a coat of bondo on the bedside il sand most of it down then put a top coat sand that down then primer. il try and get some pics nect time im working on it maybe tomorrow

The reason that Bondo doesn't work well (long term) for stuff like this is because it will absorb moisture through the hole from the back side. First it will swell, (after 1-2 years in my experience) and you will see where the holes were, then rust will form under the filler, and eventually the filler will simply fall off. Since this is the route you chose, try and seal up the holes from the back side with something like undercoat or seam sealer. It will make your repair last a lot longer.

[LockDoc]

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I have to agree with not using regular bondo type fillers. My experience is that they absorb moisture and start rusting between the bondo and body metal. I use a product called Metal-to-Metal on all of my projects now, especially on this type of fix where the back would be open to moisture...

LockDoc

[made2drag]

i filled an antenna hole,wiper hole and tailgate latch hole on my s10 blazer. used a peice of sheetmetal then jb weld and then thin coat of bondo. i got the truck painted 7 years ago and the holes are starting to shrink and you can tell where i did everything. it is something that i notice and now wish i would have welded it.

if your truck is drivable......drive it to a muffler shop and get them to weld the holes. i would say for the little bit of time they spend, you can hand them a 20 and they would be happy! also go when it raining out and they dont have alot of business!

[made2drag]

also may want to bring some 16 penny nails with you. they can stick the heads in the holes and weld. then you just go home and grind as smooth as possible and put thin coat of bondo, sand and prime