Hello everyone,

well here i am with a new pair of side mirrors that i want to install on my
Ranger, but i need first to remove the old stock ones, and for that , i would like to know if some one have some kind of experience , cause i want to patch the hole of the old ones and i dont know how to use the bondo material
or the products that are made for this purpose.

The new mirrors that i got are from LMC, and they just need to bolts, so i will appreciate if some one have some info or tutorials , i would like to do it myself
so i committed to perform a nice job, i will post some pics later

thanks for reading.

Marco

 

Marco I'm no body expert but, I'm pretty sure you dont want to use just Bondo. It's always best to weld in the holes. If you don't want to weld, you can use fiberglass. Bondo makes a short hair fiber filler that will work great. After the fiber filler you then sand, primer, and paint. I hope this helped.

 

Thanks for your suggestions, i'm kind afraid of handle fiber glass
but i think i will give it a shot, seems to be worth it.

 

The Bondo brand fiber filler goes on just like regular bondo filler and sands down really nice.

 

The Bondo brand fiber filler goes on just like regular bondo filler and sands down really nice. Look for it at any parts store. Its called bondo short strand fiber filler.

 

why are you afraid of fiberglass?

 

I've done both ways to fill a hole, weld and fiberglass. Both will require bondo though (well usually with welding and always with fiberglass). Welding is for sure the strongest but takes the most time. It's very easy to warp the sheet metal while welding and while grinding it back to flat. You also have to be careful to make sure that the area around the hole hasn't been pulled outward. If it has you may grind through it when you are trying to smooth your weld. Best way is to use a hammer and dolly to make sure the hole is flat or dented in, then weld and grind and then bondo.
The way I have been filling holes lately is to use 2 or 3 layers of glass matt (one layer is just too flexible) and fiberglass resin behind the hole and then to use bondo to fill the hole in. Make sure you clean the back of the hole and surrounding area with 80 grit to ensure a good bond with the resin. This is much faster than welding but still requires you to use a hammer and dolly to flatten the area around the hole (before glass and bondo) to ensure it is smooth.

The bondo filler with chopped glass fiber is good for covering over holes when it has more filler to hold its shape (as in a hole in the middle of a dent). If you just use it to cover a drilled hole and then sand it back smooth there still isn't anything stopping it from being pushed in unless you have a good amount wadded up on the inside (same effect as the fiberglass and resin but not as clean looking)

 

I have two mirror holes in my door that I have to fix. They appear to have plastic collars that the screws run in. I'm mounting different mirrors on it. On west coast mirors is it best to have some type of grommet on them? Or just put the bolts threw the door?

 

The only collars I have seen are threaded metal inserts that allow the factory to not have to hold a nut on the inside of the door to install the mirror. A hole with a nut and bolt will work just fine.

 

Thanks Buckin69, I'm no expert just getting tips and learning from others. I have a buddy that's the auto body teacher at a high school giving pointers to me. Can't wait to post pics of my truck when its done in a couple of months.

 

I'm no expert either but it's amazing what you can learn when you don't have the $ to pay someone to do your work for you

 

3M makes a stick on metal mesh that you can pickup at most auto parts stores. Easy and works great. I used it to temporarily fix the roof on my crew cab. Had a 1 inch gap along both drivers and passenger sides and this stuff along with bondo has held up well.

 

There is also an adhesive called 'panel bond' super strong! If you clean the back of the door then you cut some sheet metal and basically glue it inside covering the holes. Now you can bondo in the holes and feather it out. But be sure the holes aren't pulled like buckin69 mentioned, don't forget that bondo will shrink so let it set a couple of days to make sure you don't have to add more before you paint. This is an easy diy body experience don't be affraid!

 

Don't wait! Half the fun of this forum is to see progress on these trucks as it happens. Post up a build thread for your truck of what you did.

 

When I post pictures it seems to take me two days. I am not that computer savy. I wish there was a earier way. Sleepy got me lined up posting pics, but it just takes me forever. lol.