Help fill holes in Trunk lid
I have used All Metal a few times over weld seams, it seemed to work well.
I always use a skim of All Metal over my weld seams. Unless I am lucky enough to get that elusive perfect, and invisible, seam.
All Metal is a
great product, and it’s all I use for body filler. It’s what I used 25+ years ago when I did bodywork at my old man’s shop, and it’s what I use now.
But it’s not for filling holes, not like the trim holes the OP is trying to deal with. Yes, it
will, no, it’s not the right way to do it. It won’t rust out from the back like you get with bondo because it doesn’t absorb water, so, the hole doesn’t get worse. Which makes it better than all the other suggestions so far other than welding. But it’s still not a permanent repair.
Welding is the right way to do it. Lead will work too, but lead to fill holes that size is a pain, even if you can do leadwork. But not a lot of people can. All Metal will leave the hole for the next guy. It won’t be worse, but it’ll still have to be fixed again later.
Not everyone can afford to do that. And / or he may want to do it himself. I am not suggesting that he slap Bondo and fiberglass over rust holes. And I hardly think that doing a repair like this will turn his car into a parts car. That is a bit of an exaggeration. I have owned the 69 Barracuda I have now for about 30 years. When I restored it the first time, about 28 years ago, I did not have a welder, so I fixed several places as described above. After 20 years, the lacquer paint job started to show its age so I blew it apart a few years ago and painted it with modern base clear. All of the places I had carefully repaired 20 years earlier with All Metal were still intact and holding up fine. It may not be the "right" way to fix it, but it will certainly work, and it won't make his car a parts car.
If a welder charges him more than a couple hundred bucks he’s overcharging. That repair should take less than an hour if the trunk is removed from the car and paint stripped from the spots needing to be welded.
If he can’t afford that, he can’t afford to paint the car. Or fix it again later. Have you checked the price of All Metal lately? Ain’t cheap.
If the OP was closer, I’d tell him to prep the holes for welding and bring the trunk by my place, I’d weld them up for a Guinness donation. Probably not worth 12 hours of driving though.
