How do I fill the holes in my fender lips?

[cruiser]

Mopar Brethren: The previous owner of my 1974 Duster fitted splash guards behind all four wheels of my car. I removed the splash guards, but the 1/8" holes that he drilled into the fender lips to fasten the guards are still there. What's the best way to fill these holes in? Bondo with something behind to reinforce it? Any and all ideas are welcome. Tired of looking at empty holes. Thanks, all!

 

[toolmanmike]

Mopar Brethren: The previous owner of my 1974 Duster fitted splash guards behind all four wheels of my car. I removed the splash guards, but the 1/8" holes that he drilled into the fender lips to fasten the guards are still there. What's the best way to fill these holes in? Bondo with something behind to reinforce it? Any and all ideas are welcome. Tired of looking at empty holes. Thanks, all!

You must not have wheel opening moldings. Putty will fall out and you would need to grind off the paint for it to stick. Grind and weld the holes shut but then you need to refinish. That's why I left my splash guards on. They are small though.

 

[jos51700]

If you're talking about the holes in the flange around the wheel opening, pics would help.

Depending on the color of the car, I might get some satin stainless button head screws, with a washer and locknut on the back. A little silicone gasket crap to keep the water out and the rust at bay, and tighten em down.

Black might also be an alternative if they're properly rust proofed.

 

[niceolddart]

What I would do, apart from the correct way of welding them up, is touch-up the holes with matching color paint, then I would get the wheel lip molding set for it & install them to cover up the old holes. Otherwise learn to live with it. Also, I think if you maybe put some epoxy (JB Weld?) in the holes to fill them, let it dry, smooth them out & touch them up with paint, it will look fine & should last quite a while, IMHO.

 

[CFD244]

A buddy of mine fixed up a small hole similar to yours by pushing a stud puller stud up from the back and welding it with the stud gun. Snipped off the rest of the stud flush from the outside and finished it off with a touch of filler and touch up paint.

 

[MMissile]

I'd have them welded. Minimum body and paint work is involved. You can Flag-tape the perimeter on the outside wheel-lip, and repaint the flat/repaired area. Hit the edge with a wheel, and nobody would see the paint line.

 

[Professor Fate]

Go to O'Reilley, NAPA, or wherever and get some plastic push pins for your size holes; the smaller the head the better.

Hit the head with a dab of the correct touch-up paint, let it dry, push them in and forget about them.

 

[Oldmanmopar]

Clean the hole and behind them, flatten them so the back of the hole is flat and smooth, Use JB weld to glue a small thin piece of stainless, "Cut up a cheap feeler gauge" To the back of the hole and leave the glue protrude through the hole and cut it off when getting hard. Touch it up with paint. Done