Filling body holes

82elcamino

Dragway Regular
Oct 22, 2003
793
0
0
Orlando, Florida
Anyone have experience or recomendations on how to fill screw holes in the metal. in my case. its the screw holes that held the bed rails on my el camino.

Thanks!

billy.
 

SLICK78

Dragway Regular
Aug 1, 2009
1,120
0
0
La Porte, Tx
it is best to weld them up using a mig with a .035 wire then make sure you paint the backside and finish out the the outside. if you cant get to the backside then I would use some jbweld clean the hole real good to bare metal then put it on let it cure and file it down then sand it smooth
 

BMR Sales

Frequent Racer
Nov 20, 2008
452
0
0
.035 is a too big for body work, .023 or .025 would be better suited for what you are looking to do. As long as the holes are small you might be able to just tack them in, if not you might have to make small patch panels. If anything just take your time and tack everything. Also what helps is have a wet rag (ring it out) with you, make a tack then just wipe the rag over it. It should keep everything from getting to hot and it wont be a bid enough temp change to mess with the metal.
 

El Camino Junkie

Amateur Racer
Apr 15, 2007
144
0
0
WALTERS, OK
It I remember right, those holes are pretty good size as well, so as stated above, keep somethign close to keep the metal as cool as possible. They are also on a slight curve, so be careful when to file or grind the welds.
 

westexun

Frequent Racer
Dec 27, 2008
528
0
0
Go to the hardeware store and buy a piece of copper pipe about eighteen inches long. Lay it on the garage floor and hammer it flat on one end. Have someone hold it behind the hole and weld it up in one motion with .023 or .025 wire. My mig uses gas so I have no idea what that flux core stuff would weld like. Doubt it would be very good. Make sure whoever holds the backup has on a leather glove because that copper is a pretty darned good heat conductor. The weld won't stick to the copper, works like a champ. I do this with holes up to about 3/8", anything larger I just cut a plug out of some 20ga. sheet metal. Clean both sides of the panel with a 3m waffle wheel is you can. Be careful to not get the metal to hot when you dress the weld. I like to use a cuttoff wheel on edge, they're way cheaper than 36 grit rolock discs and won't get the metal hot, plus they cut way faster. The weld is gonna leave a small low spot from the heat shrinkage but no big deal, just grind and smear a little filler in it and block straight. Also, hold a light behind the weld to make sure there aren't any pinholes for moisture to get through. Better to look for them after the weld is ground flat.
 

Tado

Amateur Racer
Jun 16, 2009
114
0
0
Orem, UT
I filled those hole on my elky about three years ago using a mig gasless welder with .030 wire, I had to hammer them in first because someone tightened the screws so tight it bent the metal out around the holes, then i slowly made a few tacks around the hole going in a circle letting it cool for a few seconds between each tack, then when the hole got smaller after going around a few times i just hit with one long weld to melt it all together, then i just spent allot of time with the angle grinder and the sander to get it all smooth because i didn't want to use any body filler, if you take your time you wont warp the metal and you wont need any body filler. my only issue was there is no access to the back to primer the welds but after three years no rust yet but its only a matter of time, but some day i will replace the inner bed panels and i will address this issue, if not it will give me something to fix many many years down the road if it ever rusted through.
 

ohioelcamino1

Member
Oct 17, 2009
8
0
0
this worked for me i took a small set screw that was just a touch bigger than the hole used a allen wrench to turn it in and cut the thread if you want to call it a thread and then took the grinder and made it flush. and then a little bit of icing over it to smooth it. ive tried it twice now and i havent had one give any trouble
 

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