Bondo or aluminum tape?

[87Camry5Speed]

After school is over, I'm taking a week off paid vacation from work, and doing nothing but working on my car

Anyway, I got to thinking about the rocker panel work I plan (remove the rubber strips, fill in holes, repaint) when it occurred to me- since there's no rust down there, why not bust out the trusty aluminum tape, put it over the holes, seal with primer, then rubberized undercoat, and then paint? Wouldn't that be easier than focking around with Bondo?

Your thoughts, please...

Steve

[Flashmn]

No both would suck..
WELD WELD WELD

[mr2freak]

rent a mig-welder and plug the holes. then grind till theres no rust, and apply vynil wash primer. you can get that in a can, then apply epoxy primer, sand, and paint

[2wickedtoyz]

rino line it it works wounders even if you get the cheap stuff

[87Camry5Speed]

mr2 tell me about this vinyl wash primer... Also about how much does it cost to rent the mig welder? Can't be too expensive, am about to lose 145 bucks to the state (taxes) and another 120 or so to the court when I go for my ticket on 6/9.

Steve

[warlock]

weld it,then bondo to smoot it out,you can take it to a body shop and get an estimit,then look at doing it your self,to bad you live in NY,if you lived in CA. i could do it for you free(maybe a beer or two after)

[Zrain]

i used fiber glass, worked realy well.

[87Camry5Speed]

Zrain I figured fiberglass would be OK, but we seem to have a lot of welding grand champions in our midst.

I don't think I was clear enough about the holes in the rockers- none of them are rust-related;in fact, there is NO rust down there. The only holes I'm filling in are from the ones the clips that hold the molding on leave behind. (This is the reason for the rubberized undercoat before paint- rock chip rotection AND it hides the bodywork below)

I haven't welded in about 2 1/2 years, so I don't know how that would work out, plus I'm a little afraid of warping the metal from the heat- one, it is pretty thin, and two the rockers are important on a unibody car like Camrys. If I'm not mistaken, they are part of the car's overall structure.

Steve

[Zrain]

nonono i knew what you ment, i removed the same bit of trim on my celica, and patched the hole's with fiberglass and resin. then used filler and glazing pudy to smooth out the panel. alot of sanding and sculpting. welding is a good direction to go, but again, you can warp panels, make a smiple job longer.
i just say use a strip of fiberglass that runs the full length on each panel (conect the dots) then use filler on the top and bottom of this strip.. that way when you go to sand it the panel will be strait.

[mr2freak]

ok, buy a piece of sheet metal, cut circles in it the size of teh holes in your rocker panel. tac-weld it in place(30-40$ for mig).grind the excess weld off and bondo it and make it real smooth(if you have a spot of metal exposed after you're done, the vynil wash primer is about 10$ a can max). then apply primer and sand with fine grit(500) so it is smooth and then its rdy to paint. when you bondo, make sure you REALLY cant feel the edge of the bondo slab.if you cheat yourself, it will show.have fun
it doesnt matter if teh metal warps a bit. if you can fix it with an eighth of an inch thick of bondo, it aint no biggy. even if it a bit more warped, its still ok

[Zrain]

500 grit..... lol.. u mean 400 dont you.

[mr2freak]

naw, i mean 500. hell, he could go with 600 water grit if he felt like it. 600 water is actually the proper way to do it
BTW, im an apprentice bodyman, so i know what im talking about

[Zrain]

500 is just such an odd grit, i dont bother useing it and i didnt think any one else did ither..

[kgasso]

Please be careful... if you're going to be MIG welding on your doors, let them cool off sufficiently between welds, otherwise you WILL warp the door panel. Also, don't forget to disconnect the battery and any electronic components wired up directly (amps, power inverters, etc)

[mr2freak]

oh ya do only half inch sections at a time or youll warp metal