SOT... rust panel replacement

[B-Doon]

So....last weekend I was watching the powerblock on spike Tv. If you haven't seen those group of shows, they promote companies like jegs and edelbrok by souping up old cars with their products... anyway, they did a little bit about repairing rust. They took a cut off wheel and removed rusty sections, cut a used part to match the removed section, and used something called panel bonding adhesive and and roll on self leveling primer/filler to to finish the project.

Has anyone had any experience with this type of repair? I don't have access/or knowledge of welding, and I'm looking for a viable DIY alternative to repair my rear wheel arches that are completely rusted through....Any thoughts or comments?

Brian

72inka

[philv]

A guy I work with had his MG redone a couple of years ago.He needed

a couple of lower sections of the fenders replaces and the guy used panel

adhesive. The stuff works real well as long as it's not a structural part

of the car. For doing small sections of panels like you described it's a viable alternative to welding. You don't have to worry about warping the metal with

too much heat.

[philv]

A guy I work with had his MG redone a couple of years ago.He needed

a couple of lower sections of the fenders replaces and the guy used panel

adhesive. The stuff works real well as long as it's not a structural part

of the car. For doing small sections of panels like you described it's a viable alternative to welding. You don't have to worry about warping the metal with

too much heat.

[SteveJ]

I'd be partial to having new metal welded in, but now that you mention it the adhesives that are available now are unbelievable. When I did my flared 02, the rear panels were basically just glued to the car. You only got ONE chance to get it on there right.

[Dirt]

I saw the same thing and was intreagued by the process. Many things get a lot easier if you're using adhesives instead of welding. I may experiment with some of that on my car.

I have to say that I've gotten a lot of inspiration and ideas from the power block. Most of the shows are very well done. Their selection of on-air personalities is quite good because most of them do all the wrenching and fab work on the show.

I liked the old incarnation of the show "Trucks!". Even though it is about a kind of vehicle that I'm not particularly fond of, they did some amazing fab work and restoation on that show.

I confess. I have a Jessi Combs thing too. There's something damn appealing about a chick that fabs like she does, has a star tattood on her arm pit, can kick my ass at arm wrestling and look good doing it.

Sorry to take this thread in a different direction. I'll explore some of the panel adhesives when I get to that point in the restoration.

Pete

[Martin]

I usually prefer to MIG-weld patches, but I have used 3M panel bonding adhesive for a few jobs and it seems to be great stuff. I used it on the fender lips when replacing the quarter panels, and as part of a rear window repair. The applicator gun is kind of expensive, but a local supplier has been selling 'em at cost to promote the product (3M has other sealers and adhesives that use the same gun). The first time I used the adhesive I was able to borrow a gun for weekend (with deposit). My dad and liked it so much that we bought our own gun. He has since used it extensively on his '50 Ford Woodie.