Mercy! Mercy! That Dang Nabed PERCY!

Giving the "Beater" some Respectability

Giving the “Beater” some Respectability

I found out my lift had another good use….body work. I hate working on a concrete apron on my knees. With the lift the work is brought to a comfortable, shop stool level.

I picked up another S-10 cheap because there were some holes rusted out and some rust along the rear box wheel wells. Not an uncommon problem. The truck had 140 K miles but had been well maintained and otherwise everything worked. It is a very nice little truck, not withstanding the body issues. There was also a deep dent in the passenger’s side door that had stretched the metal.

I‘m a self taught body worker and use a technique for replacing rusted out and bad dings that I will share with you. It is based upon the premise of why spend 30 K for a new vehicle when the old one, despite some issues, is only halfway through it’s service life? If it has rust holes and bad dents, the trade in value will fall to next to nil. If you can double the life of the vehicle with a little simple body work you can keep that $30K in your pocket.

There are several techniques that could be used but the one that I favored in this instance is using an industrial bonding agent to make the repair. Some call it gluing in a patch, some call it using epoxy and some purists call it “Bull-Poop”. I wonder how many body shops weld in patch panels or still hammer out dents these days. Not many would be my bet…. They buy new panels and bolt them in or use epoxy.. Its like the glass guy that only replaces windshields he can order from the wholesale house and charge you or the insurance company $300 a pop.

Phase 1

The way the repair works is to cut out the offending rust or dent using an air tool with a cutting disk. You take a sharpie pen and draw the square or rectangle of the area you want to remove, making sure you encapsulate all the offending material.

Phase 2

Once the blemish is removed cut three ( or more) sheet metal strips that will be glued behind the hole you just cut. The size of the strips depends on the hole, however, there are several considerations. First, these strips will be a backing for the patch you cut later to the full size of the hole. Thus, they must provide a backing for the shoulders of the hole and a strip down the middle. As a rule of thumb, half of a given strip should be underneath the hole and concealed with about one half showing. Next the strips must be small enough to fit in the opening and not so large that they will prevent clamps (Small C-clamps) from holding them in place. Cut the strips from a piece of sheet metal using snips, a nibbler or a shear and use the clamps to make sure everything will attach smooth and tight.

Phase 3 Now you need to mix the 2 part epoxy. I use a product called Fusor 108B made by LORD. It uses one of those metal ratchet guns specially made (and priced) for the “Goop. ” When you get it loaded take off the tips and squeeze out what you need….normally two or three squirts. (Note, there are long mixing tubes if you want to do a big repair but for little ones, set these aside) Then put the tips back in the proper nozzle hole they came out of. (If you reverse them up they might not want to come back out for the next application) Anyway mix the two parts thoroughly. With this version of the epoxy you have about 15 minutes before it sets so make sure you have all in readiness at the repair site.

Phase 4

Put on the glue to the underside of the repair and the adhering part of the repair strip. (The part underneath the hole) Clamp the strip in place underneath, leaving room to drill in a pop-rivet hole or two. Once the hole (s) is drilled, put in the rivet. It will hold the strip tight while it cures overnight. Put in the other strips in the same manner. When you are finished you will have the strips riveted in place with a space between the three strips that lets you get the clamps in and out. Wear disposable hospital latex gloves or some equivalent and clean up with acetone or mineral spirits.

Phase 5

The following day cut a patch to the square or rectangle that fits as precisely as possible. Apply the glue to the backing strips and the underside of the patch and again pop-rivet in place. (Note it is probably best to use steel rivets for steel sheetmetal and aluminum for non-ferris sheet metals (aluminum))

Phase 6

Let things cure for a day…. Grind down the rivets and finish using a skim coat of BONDO or a similar compound. Paint with a “Rattle Can” matched to the color of the vehicle.

There you have it… It is about as quick, fast and good a repair as you can ask and involves no welding or buying expensive replacement panels. It might be a bit time-consuming but no more so than the other alternatives. With a little practice you can complete a phase in an evening on five or six bad spots.