moulding holes
Cargo Master
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 2,281
Likes: 18
From: Northern California
moulding holes
I have some holes in the back of mine where a crome trim piece is supposed to go, I'm going to fill it with Bondo. These holes are very small about 1/8" and will fill with no trouble. IF you do this, you should clean the backside as much as you can (if you can) so that the bondo will seal to something clean. If the holes poke out, use a hammer to tap them back. You should go down to bare metal or at least get to the base coat of primer around the hole. I also use a scracher to make deep scraches around the area to be filled to allow the filler to have some tooth to hold on to, this helps it to not fall out later. By the way, I think the trim molding on the sides of the 73-79 look great! You might want to consider leaving the mold there or replacing it.
Elder User
Joined: Nov 1999
Posts: 733
Likes: 0
moulding holes
I'M not going to say karljay is wrong.But the next level is to use a mig welder.Just weld them shut!If you know how to run a mig good,nine times out of ten the metal will shrink just enough to make it a little lower.Just enough to gring smooth or slight amount of filler.
Just a thought.
And Karl,I am no expert but this works great(if no mig)Karl's idea is the option you might have to use.
...blue
1970 f250 4x4
Just a thought.
And Karl,I am no expert but this works great(if no mig)Karl's idea is the option you might have to use.
...blue
1970 f250 4x4
Senior User
Joined: Jun 1999
Posts: 140
Likes: 0
moulding holes
Definitely weld them Q. I would assume that you will be painting your truck after doing these holes. Its not worth the risk of that mud fallin out after all that work. Do it once and do it right. I know, I found out the hard way bra!!
New User
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 10
Likes: 0
moulding holes
I suspect you have more than one hole to fill and your truck is something you feel is worth spending money on otherwise you would not go to all the trouble of removing the trim and leaving a bunch of holes. As others have suggested MIG is a good tool to use but you can speed up the process using a different method. If you select the MIG here is a tek tip - hold a piece of brass metal on the back of the hole (inside the door) and weld on top of this. The wire from the MIG will not stick to this metal. I made a spatula of brass for this purpose. I found this method takes less time and less time means less warpage. A second method that is quicker and as effective (usually, quality is lost to speed) is using the new panel adhesives. Operation: Cut a small piece of metal, put adhesive around hole(inside of door), place metal over hole, cover metal with duct tape, let dry. The product to use is 3M Door Skin Bonding Adhesive Kit Part No. 08109
This product is advertised as a door skin bonding adhesive.
Not: make sure to clean the back of the door(inside) well.
Good luck
This product is advertised as a door skin bonding adhesive.
Not: make sure to clean the back of the door(inside) well.
Good luck
New User
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 22
Likes: 0
moulding holes
q_ball,
I agree that welding them shut is the best option. As for the door skin adhesive, I personally have never tried that option. If I were doing the job and the customer didn't want them welded. I would take a small body hammer & tap each hole until they are slightly low. Next, I would grind the paint off the rear side of each hole. Then I would cut small squares of fiberglass matting and mix the resin. Apply the glass matting, coated with resin to the rear of each hole and allow to dry. Once they have set up, I would then grind the front side of each hole & wipe with duraglass. (duraglass comes in a can like bondo but is water proof because it is fiberglass. It's much stronger as well.) Allow this to cure and then block sand each hole until flush. If any of the holes are in need of more filler after the duraglass, it is then safe to use polyester putty to finish the job. I hope this helps.
Casey
I agree that welding them shut is the best option. As for the door skin adhesive, I personally have never tried that option. If I were doing the job and the customer didn't want them welded. I would take a small body hammer & tap each hole until they are slightly low. Next, I would grind the paint off the rear side of each hole. Then I would cut small squares of fiberglass matting and mix the resin. Apply the glass matting, coated with resin to the rear of each hole and allow to dry. Once they have set up, I would then grind the front side of each hole & wipe with duraglass. (duraglass comes in a can like bondo but is water proof because it is fiberglass. It's much stronger as well.) Allow this to cure and then block sand each hole until flush. If any of the holes are in need of more filler after the duraglass, it is then safe to use polyester putty to finish the job. I hope this helps.
Casey
