Help fill holes in Trunk lid

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gdizzle

gdizzle

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So in my 66 dart, it had the wrong trunk trim, which was too heavy and caused trunk to not fully open. I finally found the original Trim and installed it (the original holes were still there.) But now I have 6 big (1.4in) holes to fill and paint. What is my best bet for this fix? I have never done any body work. Also I notice there is a fair amount of bondo filler at the top of the trunk lid. I plan on removing the lid and repainting the entire thing BLACK.
I guess the prev owner didnt remove the trim when he repainted the car. thus the red. and yes the light bodies are painted black.
trunk lid - 1.jpg
 
gdizzle said:
So in my 66 dart, it had the wrong trunk trim, which was too heavy and caused trunk to not fully open. I finally found the original Trim and installed it (the original holes were still there.) But now I have 6 big (1.4in) holes to fill and paint. What is my best bet for this fix? I have never done any body work. Also I notice there is a fair amount of bondo filler at the top of the trunk lid. I plan on removing the lid and repainting the entire thing BLACK.
I guess the prev owner didnt remove the trim when he repainted the car. thus the red. and yes the light bodies are painted black. View attachment 1715126631
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There's a couple options... first, bondo(don't recommend this one), second, a copper spoon if you can get behind it and simply fill it with a weld pool, third, make little circle patch panels and weld them up.
 
1/4” holes can be tack welded shut with a mig. using a filler rod like tig welding will actually help in this case.
 
easiest and fastest is to tap a small dent with body hammer over hole.pop rivet the proper size peen it slightly after grinding it flush and filling with bondo.i did this on a vinyl top holes.done properly it is a permanent fix
 
1/4” pop rivets are not very popular. There are countersunk rivets too, guys use them for patches. Just drill a countersink into patch.
Not my preferred method.
 
the rivets can be used with a backer washer and be shallow set rivet could near flush after grinding low my the best approach i would agree to find area welder to weld over those if they are 11/4 holes if price on welding or finding one is impossible try votech and see if student could do it when you are there just a thought
 
You can use the head of a nail with a welder and fill those holes quickly and easily. grind off the nail when done and it just leaves the head there
 
dusterjoe said:
easiest and fastest is to tap a small dent with body hammer over hole.pop rivet the proper size peen it slightly after grinding it flush and filling with bondo.i did this on a vinyl top holes.done properly it is a permanent fix
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Hack job 101. And no, it's not a permanent fix. It's a cheap, easy fix used by people that can't do it right.

dukeboy_318 said:
There's a couple options... first, bondo(don't recommend this one), second, a copper spoon if you can get behind it and simply fill it with a weld pool, third, make little circle patch panels and weld them up.
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This. A copper spoon and weld it up. For larger holes you can make a little patch, but for the holes in questions I'd just back them up with a spoon and weld them up.

Bondo should NEVER be used to fill holes. It's not waterproof, it will in fact absorb water if not completely sealed. Using it to fill a hole pretty much always results in the hole rusting out from the backside, leaving a much larger hole to fix when the bondo falls off.
 
Rivet a piece of beer can over it and cover it with some schmutz! ..... not! lol
 
GeorgeH said:
Rivet a piece of beer can over it and cover it with some schmutz! ..... not! lol
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Right? :rofl:

It's funny as hell but the really sad thing is that I've seen it. This is why we can't have nice things. :rolleyes:
 
72bluNblu said:
Right? :rofl:

It's funny as hell but the really sad thing is that I've seen it. This is why we can't have nice things. :rolleyes:
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Saw an old f150 with vinyl siding riveted over the wheelwells.
 
I should update: I do not have welding equipment, so I am looking for options that dont involve welds. I do have some Steel Stick epoxy. Can that work and be sanded/painted?
thanks for all your help you guys rock.
 
Just IMHO, don't use a non body repair specific material and end up with something in there that paint refuses to stick to.
 
gdizzle said:
I should update: I do not have welding equipment, so I am looking for options that dont involve welds. I do have some Steel Stick epoxy. Can that work and be sanded/painted?
thanks for all your help you guys rock.
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There’s only one right way to fix those holes. Everything else will bite you in the *** later. In the long run, you’re better off taking it somewhere and having it welded up. If the shop is just doing the welding and not any bodywork it shouldn’t be terribly expensive.

Your other option is to buy a welder. Even a cheap one that works on 110 will be fine. You will need a gas set up though, flux is not something you want to use to weld bodywork.

GeorgeH said:
Just IMHO, don't use a non body repair specific material and end up with something in there that paint refuses to stick to.
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Exactly
 
72 blu thought a pop rivet over a slightly dented hole was a schmutz job. I removed 12 holes from vinyl roof dinged hole with rivet ground down. Prepped and had car painted by Earl Scheib.The repairs with rivets lasted 20 years without defect till it sold(still were not visible to eye!).Hey to be honest i probably have done sandblasting and most low to mid level paint panel repairs.The issue is time and money.I have a few ideas but pm me . What size drill bit fits hole ? There are methods to fix and not be as perfect as welding,grinding.total refinish.Looking at post pm me and your location tools access and familiarity are why we have not helped. joe
 
Could you maybe dip the nail head in jb weld,pull through the back of the hole,grind the nail down and fill the rest with filler.
 
Anyone thought of fiberglass? Cheap & easy and no welding. Any good hardware store should have it.
 
Took like 10 post to get fiberglass on the list. Sometimes people over think everything. KISS. Keep it simple stupid!
 
gdizzle said:
I should update: I do not have welding equipment, so I am looking for options that dont involve welds. I do have some Steel Stick epoxy. Can that work and be sanded/painted?
thanks for all your help you guys rock.
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Not everybody has a MIG welder in the garage. Here is what I'd do if I were in your shoes. Taking the trunk lid off is a great idea. It will be easier to put filler on a surface that can be positioned to be parallel with the ground as opposed to perpendicular to it. Grind around each hole with 80 grit about 1-2 inches out from the hole. Then, with a small ball peen hammer, tap each hole so that it is indented a little. Put a piece of tape on the back of each hole so that the filler will not go through the hoe. Stand the trunk lid up so that the part with the holes is parallel to the ground. Mix up a little bit of filler at a time and spread it over the indented holes. You are far better off mixing up small batches and only doing a few holes at a time. DO NOT USE REGULAR FILLER NOW. It could crack / pop out eventually. I'd use an All Metal filler. They go by different names, but any store that sells body work supplies will know what you mean. All Metal type fillers have a high metal content. They mix and spread like regular fillers, but they will be much more resistant to shrinkage and cracking. Then sand and finish off as normal. You can use regular filler for the final finishing now. Done properly, this repair will last a LONG time. Before I had a welder, I repaired holes like this all the time.
 
Fiberglass cloth and resin is not a cure all either. Different expansion rates than metal and usually doesn't take long to crack. Resin has zero strength by itself and the only thing that holds the patch on is the thin boundary layer that forms between the metal and first layer of glass. Like bonding a glass scoop to steel hood it only lasts a short time. I would use long strand reinforced filler before I used cloth and resin if I just had to cave and pave.
 
dusterjoe said:
72 blu thought a pop rivet over a slightly dented hole was a schmutz job. I removed 12 holes from vinyl roof dinged hole with rivet ground down. Prepped and had car painted by Earl Scheib.The repairs with rivets lasted 20 years without defect till it sold(still were not visible to eye!).Hey to be honest i probably have done sandblasting and most low to mid level paint panel repairs.The issue is time and money.I have a few ideas but pm me . What size drill bit fits hole ? There are methods to fix and not be as perfect as welding,grinding.total refinish.Looking at post pm me and your location tools access and familiarity are why we have not helped. joe
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Yes, pop rivets and bondo to fill a hole is a hatchet job, period. Shade tree, flip job BS. Somewhere out there the owner of that car is cursing your shoddy work, because it’s much worse now then before you “fixed” it. It started rusting from the back the moment you finished.

Do it right or don’t do it. Half *** work just makes for more parts cars later.

72Dart6pack said:
Took like 10 post to get fiberglass on the list. Sometimes people over think everything. KISS. Keep it simple stupid!
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I know! And here I thought people had finally figured out that you don’t fix metal with fiberglass! How silly of me.

Fix it right or don’t bother. This thread is turning into a flipper’s handbook on how to screw over the next guy that buys the car.

harrisonm said:
Not everybody has a MIG welder in the garage. Here is what I'd do if I were in your shoes. Taking the trunk lid off is a great idea. It will be easier to put filler on a surface that can be positioned to be parallel with the ground as opposed to perpendicular to it. Grind around each hole with 80 grit about 1-2 inches out from the hole. Then, with a small ball peen hammer, tap each hole so that it is indented a little. Put a piece of tape on the back of each hole so that the filler will not go through the hoe. Stand the trunk lid up so that the part with the holes is parallel to the ground. Mix up a little bit of filler at a time and spread it over the indented holes. You are far better off mixing up small batches and only doing a few holes at a time. DO NOT USE REGULAR FILLER NOW. It could crack / pop out eventually. I'd use an All Metal filler. They go by different names, but any store that sells body work supplies will know what you mean. All Metal type fillers have a high metal content. They mix and spread like regular fillers, but they will be much more resistant to shrinkage and cracking. Then sand and finish off as normal. You can use regular filler for the final finishing now. Done properly, this repair will last a LONG time. Before I had a welder, I repaired holes like this all the time.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the “all metal” filler will definitely last longer than Bondo, as it doesn’t absorb water. But it’s still just a filler, and shouldn’t be used to fill holes. It’ll last longer than bondo, and it’s not as shade tree as rivets, but it’s still the wrong way to fix this.

Take the trunk lid off and take it to a welder.
 
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