I have to do a patch panel huh?

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ESP47

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I've had this car 10 years. A couple years ago I prepped it and took it down to get painted. After a few months I noticed bubbling on the rear quarter. At first it was real minimal so I thought it was the paint reacting. I took it back to the paint shop and they told me it was rust so they reprepped it and blended the paint. After a while the bubbles formed again and the shop was out of business. I got lazy and didn't mess with it until today and now I have a bunch of pin holes. So now I have some questions.

How do you guys think the moisture got in there? Could it be from the body plug behind the quarter? I never had a problem with it for years with my old paint job and as soon as I got it painted this all started. I'm kind of confused on how it could happen again after they fixed it. It doesn't snow here, I'm not near the ocean, there's almost no humidity and there's never been leaves or any debris caught up back there.

Anyway it looks like I'm going to have to do a patch panel, something that scares the **** out of me. I have a welder and gas but I really need to practice because I've never welded anything this thin. How do I go about doing this? The inner quarter panel looks ok to me. Do I just cut the outer quarter off, clean the inner quarter and then weld a patch on? Do the patches come with both inner and outer metal? Also should I patch all the way to the rear or cut a line vertical in the middle and just weld half the lower quarter on?



 
How do you guys think the moisture got in there? Could it be from the body plug behind the quarter? I never had a problem with it for years with my old paint job and as soon as I got it painted this all started. I'm kind of confused on how it could happen again after they fixed it. It doesn't snow here, I'm not near the ocean, there's almost no humidity and there's never been leaves or any debris caught up back there.

Anyway it looks like I'm going to have to do a patch panel, something that scares the **** out of me. I have a welder and gas but I really need to practice because I've never welded anything this thin. How do I go about doing this? The inner quarter panel looks ok to me. Do I just cut the outer quarter off, clean the inner quarter and then weld a patch on? Do the patches come with both inner and outer metal? Also should I patch all the way to the rear or cut a line vertical in the middle and just weld half the lower quarter on?


could have been moisture left on the metal before paint. Could be anything. I can attest that the AMD patch works and fits well I used the 70+ Dart style. There are a few spot welds you can grind out should be 3-4 on the bottom and a few behind the bumper. Drill those or grind them out first. Then you can cut the bad area. Cut an over sized piece from your patch and lay it up there. From there a few ways to do hang it. As far as welding you make small stitches almost like tacks at different points till its all welded. grind down skim over with some Duraglass short strand or similar then your plastic filler prime and paint.
 
The rust was there when you bought it. Eating its way from the inside. There is moisture in the air, that moisture over time fed the monster. I had similar spots on my right rear. Take out that body plug and blow som air down throug the trunk and I bet a lot of crap and dirt comes out.
 
One thing to consider is that the panel got rock chips on it and it rusted from the outside in.......
The body shop just ''bondoed'' over the pin holes and caused the problem to get worse. The plastic filler actually acts as a sponge and absorbs moisture through the already present rust holes from behind. The time is now to fix it right.
It's really an easy fix to cut out and correct the problem area with new metal.
I really wouldn't be too worried about it, there are lots of videos on you tube about this if you do some research.
 
Dartnut said:
One thing to consider is that the panel got rock chips on it and it rusted from the outside in.......
The body shop just ''bondoed'' over the pin holes and caused the problem to get worse. The plastic filler actually acts as a sponge and absorbs moisture through the already present rust holes from behind. The time is now to fix it right.
It's really an easy fix to cut out and correct the problem area with new metal.
I really wouldn't be too worried about it, there are lots of videos on you tube about this if you do some research.
Click to expand...

This is possible too. You have to prep and kill the rust or it will come back yo bite you. Mine was rusted from inside out, but much lower. Water got in the trunk and sat in 40yrs of dust/dirt accumulation in the narrow confines between the panels and did its thing. Other problem areas i had were where water got into seam sealer where it had shrank over the years. Our patch was pretty small and we used metal cut from a junk car door. Free is free. :)
 
Mine (a California rust free) rusted the same way. Don't be surprised if you find a big blob of caulk/seam sealer down in that area. Water will just lay on top of the caulk, finding its way thru the pores. Might plan on putting a trunk extension on that side as well. Along with the caulk my body guy found a crap of nails that had been down there for a while.....
 
Thanks guys I'm going to order an AMD patch panel and spot weld cutter from Summit and give it a go. I'll see how the bottom portion of the trunk extension looks once I get it cut off.

Is it easier to take it all the way back to the rear or should I just start halfway between the wheel well and bumper?
 
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