welp i didnt think it was this bad, but i guess i was wrong. the right side just feels like a bubble in the paint, i think it was a bad maco paint job from owner before. the right side on the other hand is not so good. it feels semi firm but it does feel like theres a little rot under there. so what do i do?


left side











right side

 

could be the start of rotting, not very bad but might have a small sized hole or so, if i were you id grind the paint off that area, fill it in with some filler primer it and buy a small thing of touch up paint that matches your color, and fix it yourself rather then paying to have it done

 

It's alway's at least twice as bad as what you see. I'm betting you'll need patch panels to do it right.

 

yea thats what i was hoping. either way if its more then the size of a quarter...which it looks like i will be replacing the entire pannel...does anyone know of a good write up on this?

 

Here is a patch I put in before I had a welder, using panel adhesive. Not the same place, but gives you an idea.

 

that looks pretty good....so would you recommend welding or adhesive. i can get access to either. but i want this to be a clean and long lasting repair.


....also do you think i am going to have a hard time blending this paint with the back of the cab. remeber im a complete newbie at painting or any body work

 

I usually weld everything now. Ocassionally I'll use adhesive. It's about all the collision shops do anymore. Paint blending is another story, that takes some skill and seperates the amatuer from the pro. I'm an amatuer.

 

so are ya sayin its prob not going to look as good as it looks right now

 

Not saying you can't do it, I just never have to worry about blending. LOL The junk I start with requires a complete repaint.

 

hahah, i need to befriend a body shop guy lol. would you recommend sanding down some of the clear above the fix and then painting effected area with primer, red paint then blend in clear?

 

Pros's can match it no problem .. In one of the pics , you can see where it was patched before .. the bumps are holes too ..Gonna need some serious panel repair ..

 

I have the same problem on my cab corners. The panel adhesive looks very good , gfw1985 that is some nice work. I only do weld steel sheet metal from time to time. I do a lot of heavy pipe and angle iron. Do you like the adhesive better for smaller patch's or just stay with stitch welding.

 

I had a similar issue with one of my cab corners. I visited just about all of the local body shops for estimates. Actually, I had several issues that needed attention. I really didn't like the answers that i was getting, mostly from the collision repair centers. All any of them wanted to do was warranty collision repair work. Finally, I went to the best, most expensive shop in town. I really didn't like his answer either. Once he was finished, I asked him if he had any recommendations for other people that might be willing to do just the metal work. Luckily he gave me another local guys name, and told me where his shop was. I visited that guys shop and found him to be just what I was looking for. I ended up having him do several things on the truck for me, at a very decent price. If you were near me, I would highly recommend him to you. Personally, I would suggest you go or call every place near you (even the collision supply houses for recommendations), tell them exactly what you want done, listen to their ideas (if they have any that are worthwhile), and go from there. Eventually, you might find someone like I did. All I wanted was someone to do the metal work for me, as I am not experienced at welding (yet). I just wanted the outside of the body done, as I will use the floorboards to practice my welding. I told him to leave it in primer for me, because I am going to do the rest of the body work myself. I purchased my cab corner from LMC, and removed the bed for him myself. I had some work that I needed to do to the underside of it anyway. He was very, very reasonable with his metal work pricing. But, I found him to be kind of high when it came to the painting price. I am thinking of doing that myself, eventually. I had thought about gluing the corner panel myself, but really wanted it welded instead. I figured that I would repaint my truck in the original color (black), and I wanted the body to be as straight and without issues as possible.

 

Butt welding is alway's better, but if I lap the metal, I'd rather use adhesive. Adhesive seals the seam completly without worrying about weld thru primer and moisture getting in the overlap. The patch above was flanged, glued and riveted together with countersunk rivets. Very little filler was needed as the adhesive filled all the cracks. I also use it when there is a high danger of warping thin material due to heat from welding.