[65's]

When welding in patches do they need to be welded completely, as in water tight or can they be basically just tacked in position and covered with a fiberglass mixture then bondoed etc from there. I have a '65 tempest wagon that I'm rebuilding, while its a nice clean Arizona car there is some rust in very confined areas. The worst is the passenger side rear window bottom side. Seems as if water sat on top of the metal behind the window trim and ate small holes (most about 1/4 dia.) thru the metal. Nowhere near as bad as the rust we have here in the salt states but it still needs patching. I can't get to the backside of alot of these patches and I would hate to cut out the whole bottom side of the window frame and try to fab up a replacement. I am afraid that in the long run I may have moisture seeping back in from underneath and starting the rust going again.

What would be the best way to stop the rust in areas that you can't get at to paint or clean-up? Is there something I can coat on the inside? The body is on a rotater right now. I can spin it around to work on it but i just can't reach these areas.

[Bad Karma]

After you patch use some ZERO RUST Or eastwoods anri rust stuff Then it wont rust again.

[Jeffzilla]

I reccomend welding the entire perimeter of the patch, then do your glass or filler. I would also sand blast the welds before I filled, unless they are ground flush and clean.

[PetesPonies]

weld them completely. Then seal the weld with an epoxy primer of a product like Master Series. I use a light to make sure mine are completely welded, but by sealing them you can guarantee they are air tight and keep moisture way from the welded seam.

[Goin' Topless]

I second PetesPonies post. Weld it complete, grind it down flush then epoxy and fill it with a powdered or short strand fiberglass filler.

[mike nixon]

Originally Posted by PetesPonies

weld them completely. Then seal the weld with an epoxy primer of a product like Master Series. I use a light to make sure mine are completely welded, but by sealing them you can guarantee they are air tight and keep moisture way from the welded seam.

ditto to the repair advice here.

when the car's painted find an undercoating gun and spray the heaviest gear oil you can find into all the panels, as far up as you can get it. a couple trips thru a dusty area won't hurt immediately after this also.

you'll want to park it outside when this is done for a couple days to let the excess drain out.

the oil coats the inside of the exposed areas and will also seep into cracks that undercoating won't.

it makes a mess and stinks but is worth the effort.

mike

[Vrroom]

I just did this over the weekend in my garage. It's my first patch panel. I welded it in with a cheapo flux core MIG welder. I'm pleased with the results.

It helps to have a little knowledge about welding too.

Vrroom