Door advice

[Matt_50]

So I started some sanding and priming on the truck. I started with finding bubbled paint, cracked paint and other rust indicators. When i got to my driver door and really looked at my cracked paint... it turns out its an actual crack!

A PO had covered a big dent with enough bondo to fill it and smooth it all out. I can see and feel the dent on the inside of door and i can see the crack too. Im not sure if it was originally cracked when it got bondoed but it's flexing and the bondo is cracking.

I tried to mark it a bit so you can see. And I got a decent inside picture.

What should I do? I want to make sure I can get the curve of the door when I'm done.

Try to clean out bondo, tack the crack and pop it out?

[mongocanfly]

you need to get all the filler off it.....youll have to hammer and dolly it out or use a puller if you cant get to it....and if its a crack itll need welded up....a straight edge will help you see your contour as you knock it out

[Matt_50]

I don't think I can get a hammer in there. Should I pull it then weld or should I do a couple tacks first?

I've never used a puller, guess there's a first time for everything. Any advice?

[mongocanfly]

my non professional opinion says pull it out then weld it.....i would think if you weld it like it is pushed in then it wont pull back out right......

[Matt_50]

Well... first I'll clean it out and post a pic I guess, see just how bad it is.

[mr48chev]

That's a good idea. I think I would go ahead and clean up the whole door and check it over to see if there was more damage.

Use to be in the 70's and 80's I would't have tossed that door and gone and got a good one but that isn't always possible or practical now .

[Matt_50]

Ok, I got the filler cleaned out. I kept going until all surrounding filler was gone.

The area with the crack and where I can feel the spot from inside the door looks funny. I also expected a crater after the filler was removed but it looks ok somehow. There is a spot towards bottom of door that is a high spot and the filler was used to smooth it all out and cover the lower areas until it blended. You can see where I got down to metal, that's how far filler was.

So... should I try to hammer out high spot, use filler for the rough spots and call it good?

Why is there not a crater? It feels curved to me. I cleaned it up and put some primer on to see it in the light better.

[GreasyLikeaBurger]

Some one probably did an amateur repair. Just knocked the dent out and filled it. Is there still a tear in the metal? Or did someone weld it back up, if its not welded, I would suggest you weld it so the tear does not continue to flex and open up. I had a 56 Merc that had a large crack open up in the passenger door. Started to grind out the the filler and the door was caved in almost a half inch. All they did was fill it so they could sell it. Took a few years of closing the door before it appeared.

[Matt_50]

I'll need to weld it up. What I don't get is how there isn't a crater. I can see and feel the dent on inside of door. But the outside is nice and smooth...ish. no dent...

[MIKESAD50]

someone leaded it back in the day, maybe?

[Matt_50]

Would that explain why the metal looks funny? I have found other small spots that look like this too. Like around the door, see pic.

I've never heard of leading.. is this still common or a old school easy fix? I also had a spot on my fender that looked like it had brass in it to fill a repair.


Should I leave these areas alone?

[Matt_50]

I've been googling lead filling.

Learn something new everyday. Will the lead, I'm assuming this is what is in the dent, give me trouble when welding up the crack?

[mr48chev]

You will have to melt the lead out and clean the area up before you can weld it. My guess is that that area has been repaired at least twice, once with lead and later with plastic filler after the same spot was dinged again. Lead done right will flex some with the steel it is on .
The hacks used to suggest leaving the holes in the sheet metal for the plastic body filler to squeeze though for what they said was a better attachment to the metal but all that does is let moisture get behind the filler from behind and cause it to rust behind the filler. My old cab is a prime example of that as I didn't have the patience to take my time and do things right back in 1980 when I chopped it and now taking those short cuts shows.

If you pull the dent don't use one of those drill the holes and stick the screw in dent pullers, that is worse than leaving what dent there is and putting filler back over it. Eastwood sells a dent puller that you weld a pin to the metal with your mig welder to use with the dent puller and then cut the pin off flush that works pretty well. i have one that will get a lot of use on my Model A.

I'd still figure out how to work the dent out as best I could then use a bare minimum of filler to slick it off.

[DransportGarage]

X2 on mr.48chev's dent puller comment. Harbor Fright sells a "Stud Welder" for a hundred bucks. (Some people call it a pin welder.):

https://www.harborfreight.com/stud-w...kit-61433.html

It works well but tends to pop its circuit breaker a lot. I surgically removed its circuit breaker, realizing my breaker in the wall will protect my house. I haven't had a problem with overheating the stud welder, which is what the on-board circuit breaker was meant to protect against.

[Matt_50]

Well... dang.

Ok, so I've never worked with lead. Can I use my small torch to melt it off? I just wipe it off?

Do I need to worry about it getting to hot and warping the metal?

[_Ogre]

yes, yes and yes

if your young and of child bearing years wear some (breathing) protection and plenty of fresh air
if your old like me... snort away

[Matt_50]

Well thanks guys, I'll do what I can. I think I might be able to borrow a stud dent puller too.

[DransportGarage]

Originally Posted by Matt_50

Well... dang.

Ok, so I've never worked with lead. Can I use my small torch to melt it off? I just wipe it off?

Do I need to worry about it getting to hot and warping the metal?

If you spread the heat across a portion of the lead patch and brush and move as you go you should be OK on warpage. That is the way the pros do it. Just don't focus on a point and turn the metal red.

[JSavoie]

Lead has a low melting point which in itself is good. Once the lead is soft, you will see a change in the color. It usually gets more "chromy". When it is, use a metal brush to take the lead off. You can use a heavy rag (that lead and panel will be hot) to finish cleaning.

Lead is also used on windshield posts where they meet the roof top. If not cracked, LEAVE IT THERE. It is NOT a repair but the way it was built.