Multiple Popped Welds Under Hood

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Qwiglee

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The welds under my hood that attach the support frame to the outer sheet metal have almost all popped over the years. Is there any way to repair this without requiring the outer surface to be repainted? I assume that any new welding would damage the outer paint job.

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It's like seam sealer. It might be. Might even be dum dum.
 
That 3M stuff cures too fast I think. People are saying it cures in like 10 seconds. I have so much separation between the brace and the panel, I need to put something in there then drop the hood and push the panel down from above. I was thinking I would throw a blanket and add some weight on top and let it cure for a while.
Or do I just fill the wide gap and leave the hood panel where it is? I swear it looks like it is bulging on the outside.
 
Whatever you use, it needs to be similar to what the factory used. As mentioned previously, something that does not dry, but cures and stays soft. The reason for this is because you are attaching two separate pieces together. Since the hood opens and closes, everything moves around a little bit. You need something that allows for a little "give" between the two pieces. That's why the factory used something that didn't harden. Doesn't panel bond harden all the way and not allow for movement? I'm unsure that'd be the best thing to use. But then, I'm also not a body man. I think if the factory engineers had thought it was a good idea to have those pieces attached together securely, they'd have spot welded them together, just like the rest of the car. They didn't.
 
This is what I used on a roof skin and a hood skin. I'll be using it on another hood this winter.

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I'm gonna try this 3M product, it is used by auto manufacturers today. I am just not sure if I should fill the gaps as they are or try and compress the hood skin down onto the support frame. I am afraid it might end up looking wavy if I try and compress it. I am leaning towards just filling the gaps.

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I was taught to slip the nose into place it kinda "fits" into the frame.
Then dabs of seam/?sealer , then kinda close rear section, hinging from front, adjust and secure it with a screw each rear corner, let it set. Carefully Test fit
Spot weld where original spots
2 turned out really well, you'd never know , doesn't distort summer or winter .

Bought one bulge hood had been nose down in soil, against a fence for over a decade, grafted whole regular nose onto it.
 
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I suddenly recall finding a wad of squishy foam-like stuff that was half painted in body color. I don't remember where I found it but I now think it came out of one of those gaps under my hood. I guess maybe they were redone in the past with some inferior product or incorrect procedure. This gives me confidence that I should just fill the gaps as they are.
 
Why not pull the hood, flip it upside down and weight the brace down on to the skin? That’s how I’d do it.
 
I think if you look, - all the large shaped tin, " floats " on the frames.
Hood. Roof. Trunk, all seem to be floating on the frames.
They need to expand and contract, - the structure/frame, not so much .
 
Son of a gun, I never knew that! I assumed that they were welded!

NOW the aluminum hood bracing on a Dart Lite/Feather Duster hood makes more sense.

Too bad those aluminum braces won't fit my '72 hood.
 
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