body work advice, hole filling the bootlid etc...

[sketch]

need some advice really, my car came with a nismo spoiler that I dont like and have since removed and sold and in its place will go and ings style spoiler, BUT! having removed the nismo spoiler which was bonded AND screwed on i now have a bunch of holes on my boot lid! the holes along the very rear edge i have tiger sealed over and cut it back flush as they will never be seen again, but im left with 4 10mm holes in the more central part of my boot lid, i have since put bungs in them to stop rain geting in but need them sorted asap.

 

Ive spoken to a couple of body shops:

 

first place said they would get a ball hammer place it over the holes and tap the centres down (so the filler would sit in a dip and not just pop out), then they would fibreglass the underside of the bootlid then filler and skim the top...

 

second place said the would also do the ball hammer trick so the filler will hold better in the holes, but they said they would weld plates behind the holes from underneith then filler the top

 

third option, im pretty hand with body work (just not the painting) and do the fibreglass and filler job the first place was going to go but do it myself.

 

have noticed a problem with the welding idea tho as the inside of the boot lid has a stick on layer on the inside thats very hard to remove so unsure how he would clean it well enuff to weld it?

 

any helpful input from you guys would be very appreciated! cheers

[sketch]

reading up a bit further maybe i cud get a small metal plate and hold it up on the back and weld the clean metal on the front? i just really do not wanna warp the whole pannel...

[Andy]

I have smoothed over the rear wiper hole, door handles, side indicators and aerial and on all of them I have welded pieces of metal in behind them and then filled over the top. Not saying this is the only way to do it as the other ways would probably be ok as well but I don't know enough about that detail of bodywork to confirm either way to any more degree

[rtbiscuit]

angle grinder is very good at removing crap

 

you need a clean surface regardless of which ever method.

[sketch]

yeah i all good with the surface preparation, think im gonna go with the weld a plate in idea as to me it seems a bit more 'proper', not keen on the idea of fibreglass and filler....

[rtbiscuit]

if your worried about warping the panel, just spot weld it in place

[ikarus]

Just had mine resprayed, I had the ariel removed and the hole smoothed. The bodyshop opted to weld it, they said it was the best way to proceed and i didn't argue.

[stanski]

Tak weld metal plate behind. If your worried about any warping get some cooling compound you slap on near the area for welding ( used to stop warping when gas welding)

fibreglass and filler is for cowboys

[sketch]

well i bit the bullet today, got the car straight in after work, id bin reading up on how other people have filled holes on metal work... i cut some small metal squares and held then in place with a magnet then tacked them, did all 4 at the same time doing a little welding to each and cooling them down with water spray, this way it avoided putting to much heat on any one hole for to long, and im pleased to say it turned out perfectly! im really pleased with it, you would never know there was a hole there, and the boot didnt warp, it only took me an hour to do all 4 from start to finish, there all ground back and painted so they dont rust, just need a skim of filler then paint the boot lid and fit my spoiler.

 

so glad i did this myself, not only from the satisfaction of DIY but that no body shop wanted to do it for me, so now its done properly and saved me some money, not going to attempt the painting tho lol

 

gonna get it in tomorrow and do the same to the wiper hole! shame i never got any pics, im not a pro with body work everything i do is self taught after a bit of research, proof that any idiot can do it if they try lol

[ikarus]

 

Worth putting a coating on the underside where you did the welding, to stop any rust starting up. I'm not sure what the bodyshop that did mine used, but they did say they had done it.

[sketch]

whoo finished it today, did the holes last nite and welded the wiper hole today, really pleased with the results!!! booked it into the bodyshop... who didnt give me any money off his original price, ****... but atleast im a step closer to having it finished, looks awful driving it about at the moment...