Patch Panels

[Jspafford]

How hard is it to repair rust spots?

For instance, on the back of my B2 right at the bottom behind the doors directly in front of the tire the bottom corner is rusted out. There are also rust spots under the mirror brackets. The ones under the mirrors are just bubbling, not broken thru yet. The ones at the back corners are broken thru and I can see the back of the inside sheetmetal.

Is there anything I can do to repair these parts easily without cutting the truck apart? I drive it daily and need it in moving conditon.

How do I fix this?

 

[rickcdewitt]

how big are the holes? for a lot of small rust holes under the size of a dime i use a die grinder with a rotary file to clean up the hole and put a piece of flattened copper pipe behind it and then weld up the hole with small spot welds every 30 seconds or so. be careful to stop every couple welds to let it cool so the panel doesn't warp that much.then grind it flat,sand blast front and back, use filler and paint.the copper will keep the back side flat and wont stick to the steel.
for larger holes cut out a piece of sheet metal from scrap and shape it as needed.try and cut it the same size as the hole so it slips in without much gap.then do small welds for it as well.if it wants to burn through use the copper backing.you want the welder to be just hot enough to penetrate the metal but not so hot it melts through.use small welds evenly spaced and give it time to cool every couple welds to reduce warping.don't try to lay a bead just do lots of small blob welds.
if you don't like the welding you can clean up all the rust front and back of the hole and use automotive grade adhesive to glue the patches on the back side of the panel and use more filler on the front side.i don't envy you guys living where rust is like a cancer.i worked at a bodyshop on the coast and it was almost a waste to paint those cars since you could never get at all the rust in the seams and hidden places.

 

[mjonesjr]

use filler

i disagree with that. Instead of using filler, use primer. A good primer will fill.

For a large area, I would go find a good section in a junk yard, cut it out, and then weld it in place of the bad panel.

 

[rickcdewitt]

if you lay down primer too thick it will shrink a lot later showing sanding scratches ,etc.most people think filler is a bad word when its perfectly acceptable under 3/16 thick.some people go through a rediculous amount of work to avoid a little filler,but if the lower part of the quarter really is bad then i would weld in a patch panel just so i could get in there and clean up clean up the surrounding area while the outer skin is off.

 

[hunt-n-fish]

if you lay down primer too thick it will shrink a lot later showing sanding scratches ,etc.most people think filler is a bad word when its perfectly acceptable under 3/16 thick.some people go through a rediculous amount of work to avoid a little filler,but if the lower part of the quarter really is bad then i would weld in a patch panel just so i could get in there and clean up clean up the surrounding area while the outer skin is off.

+1

A little 'mud' on body panels won't hurt. It is almost impossible to get a nearly perfect 'metal-only' job. Sheet metal is too thin to work just to avoid body filler. My $.02

 

[mjonesjr]

if you lay down primer too thick it will shrink a lot later showing sanding scratches ,etc.most people think filler is a bad word when its perfectly acceptable under 3/16 thick.some people go through a rediculous amount of work to avoid a little filler,but if the lower part of the quarter really is bad then i would weld in a patch panel just so i could get in there and clean up clean up the surrounding area while the outer skin is off.

i didn't realize that.....thanks for clearing that up

 

[Explorin94]

Watch the next show that shows you body work. They use a skim coat of filler to get the panels straight even after the patch panel has been applied. The body filler they have now is ten times better that the body filler lets say 20 years ago. Plus 20 years ago that is what DIY people would use to fill major body damage.

 

[Jspafford]

Here are some images of the rust I am trying to repair.

I was thinking I could just sand down the rusted areas and then repaint? How in the world will I find a bottle of paint to match a 1989 model truck?

I can't afford to paint the whole thing.

The last two pics are of the hood line.

Since the crash the driverside hood sticks up higher than the cowl. Is there anyway to adjust the hinge? It looks to be welded into place.

 

[rickcdewitt]

the rust in the corners of the quarters looks bad,use a sand blaster to get it all.
your trucks paint code is on the drivers door sticker in the left hand lower corner.it should be a two letter code that you can take to a paint store.they can mix a very similar color but to get it perfect you need to fade it(called a blend) into the other color so the eye doesn't pick it up.
try putting a washer between hood and hinge at the front bolt hole of the hood hinge to see if it rotates it down.your might try just putting your palms flat on the hood and try to press the corner of the hood back down