Filling Trim Holes, 69 Dart

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SRT_DSTRHOLC

SRT_DSTRHOLC

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Hey guys, need some help.
I'm having a hard time finding all the correct trim to fill the trim holes on my dart and I was thinking of just filling the holes, but wanted to know what the best way to go about this would be?

I was told if I welded them, that I am going to have to skim the entire panels because the trim holes are on a small body line that will begin to warp
 
Putting a piece of copper behind the hole if you can get to it and zapping them with a mig is the best way. Any way you do it you're going to have some plastic work. Some tap the hole down with a pick hammer and use fiber reinforced filler to cover the hole.
 
Yeah was kind of think of small piece of fiberglass and resin and sand. I just don't want to fill the whole panel
 
I used good ole JB weld! On dash took off station wagon wood grain crap. Holes were almost the size of a penny! Yuck! So I broke the edges(chamfered holes) then scuffed front & back with coarse sand paper for jb to stick. On front stuck a over size piece of duck tape on hole so jb dont drip down scuffed a old penny put a generous dab and stabbed it behind hold stuck another piece of duck tape to hold it while it cures presto holes gone just sand to smooth reapply on pinholes!:usflag:
 
QuickDart360 said:
I used good ole JB weld! On dash took off station wagon wood grain crap. Holes were almost the size of a penny! Yuck! So I broke the edges(chamfered holes) then scuffed front & back with coarse sand paper for jb to stick. On front stuck a over size piece of duck tape on hole so jb dont drip down scuffed a old penny put a generous dab and stabbed it behind hold stuck another piece of duck tape to hold it while it cures presto holes gone just sand to smooth reapply on pinholes!:usflag:
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Lol I have read this too, not too sure how well it will hold up on the outside of the car though
 
Sure is 100 times better than bondo filler! But not a body guy myself so maybe they can chime in to help. But in my opinion it may work fine as long as there is no stress points involved.:)
 
any non metal chemical you put on will eventually shrink and crack.

the only sure way of doing this is to weld them shut.

to do it right, it takes a mega ton of patience.

getting behind most of the holes is a two or more person job and some holes are impossible to get behind with a piece of carbon or copper.

What I did, arc the welder across the holes and create "bridges" with the wire. then turn up the heat and fill it in.

The hard part isn't the welding, its the grinding. When you grind the weld down, it will heat and warp into a low spot so fast that you will almost see it sink in.

Grinding it is where the patience really comes in. You might even get a finer grit grinding wheel and just take a little off at a time .....not letting it get hot at all.

Done right and you can make it look like a hole was never there.

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using the "bridge" method of arcing the wire across the hole one at a time and slowly makes it so that you don't really even need anything behind the hole. The heat flattens it out if you use the right amount heat ...."B" range on my welder.

here is the back side and I didn't even use any copper or anything on the back side at all. My arms are not that long to hold the copper and weld at the same time so I just had to be patient and do this as a one person operation and it took forever!!!!! but now that it's done I don't regret spending the time and making it smooth.

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Nice job Rani. Unfortunately for my 70 Dart, the trim holes is right on a trim line. I didn't do a very good job blocking it cause I could see horizontal waves from that. So I'm going to sand down to bare metal and start over. I ended up using the bridge method also as I was by myself.
 
We welded all the trim holes shut on my Dart. Did it pretty much like Rainy. That is the only way to do it right and clean. It may require a little skim after but nothing terrible. The holes on my car were along the wider top line so it did not interfere as much directly with the body line like the trim that goes down the side of the car on the mid-line.
 
I use drywall screws. Grind down top/bottom edge of screwhead to be able to slide in hole on angle. Then hold screw wth vicegrips pulling against inside of hole, tac weld around
until filled. Cut off threaded part of screw, Grind down flat lil polyester filler, done.
 
I did my unwanted badge holes with rosin flux and wire (solid) tin/lead solder, think it was 50/50 tin/lead. Make sure to clean off the flux carefully with 91% or stronger alcohol. Much less heat than MIG, and very easy to sand/file down without warping the panel.
 
Rainy Day Auto said:
any non metal chemical you put on will eventually shrink and crack.

the only sure way of doing this is to weld them shut.

to do it right, it takes a mega ton of patience.

getting behind most of the holes is a two or more person job and some holes are impossible to get behind with a piece of carbon or copper.

What I did, arc the welder across the holes and create "bridges" with the wire. then turn up the heat and fill it in.

The hard part isn't the welding, its the grinding. When you grind the weld down, it will heat and warp into a low spot so fast that you will almost see it sink in.

Grinding it is where the patience really comes in. You might even get a finer grit grinding wheel and just take a little off at a time .....not letting it get hot at all.

Done right and you can make it look like a hole was never there.

View attachment 1715048484

View attachment 1715048485

View attachment 1715048486
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How do you use filler on the panels after if the holes are on a body line?
 
SRT_DSTR15 said:
How do you use filler on the panels after if the holes are on a body line?
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You would be skim coating a large area so no problems


If you are patient enough and keep it from ever getting hot, you can metal finish and the primer will fill it in enough to be straight
 
Rainy Day Auto said:
You would be skim coating a large area so no problems


If you are patient enough and keep it from ever getting hot, you can metal finish and the primer will fill it in enough to be straight
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Like how large we talking here girl? Lol
 
Getting my garage in order. Finally got compressor back in operation, will continue sanding soon. If ok with OP, I can put my progress here. If not, I'll go to my resto thread. Thanks.
 
Louie70Dart said:
Getting my garage in order. Finally got compressor back in operation, will continue sanding soon. If ok with OP, I can put my progress here. If not, I'll go to my resto thread. Thanks.
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Progress with what part of car?
 
I used nails to fill the holes. Sized right, a small zap and move to another. Cut them off and grind smooth. Very little heat damage.

126357-613028a9476ec9f04ed8fc0b73a0a182.jpg
 
A plug weld tool from VIM/Durston or a magnetic copper backing plate works wonders.
 
SRT_DSTR15 said:
Progress with what part of car?
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Shaping that body line where the trim went. I think I'll put this in my resto thread as that is the right thing to do. It isn't right to step on another person's thread.
 
Rainy Day Auto said:
Gotta be careful with nails.

Welding anything galvanized can produce a deadly gas
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You have to grind all the galvy off first. A regular mask won't prevent the smell from getting through, need special galvy mask.
 
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