Welding holes in doors

[d510addict]

The P/O must have tried out like 23232 types of mirrors and my doors are riddled with holes. Any tips on welding and covering/sealing these bad boys up to the point of having a nice looking finished job? I am afraid of warpage and not looking good underneath the paint.

[510kevin]

The P/O must have tried out like 23232 types of mirrors and my doors are riddled with holes. Any tips on welding and covering/sealing these bad boys up to the point of having a nice looking finished job? I am afraid of warpage and not looking good underneath the paint.

 

 

would it be easier to cut a patch out of a junk door and replace the whole area?

 

if not, i use a short piece of 1" copper pipe that is smashed flat one one end and bent at a 45degree angle to help fill the holes..

 

 

your weld wont stick to the copper pipe, hold it on the back side of the door skin over one of the holes and weld from the outside.

 

 

one tack at a time.....seriously

[Guest kamakazi620]

would it be easier to cut a patch out of a junk door and replace the whole area?

 

if not, i use a short piece of 1" copper pipe that is smashed flat one one end and bent at a 45degree angle to help fill the holes..

 

 

your weld wont stick to the copper pipe, hold it on the back side of the door skin over one of the holes and weld from the outside.

 

 

one tack at a time.....seriously

^^^^^^^what he said x1

[thisismatt]

Clean both sides around the holes where you plan to weld.

[I'm BLUE]

Fastest choice is another set of doors ... out them on ... work on doors with holes without down time :)

 

510kevin gave very good advice .... a tack at time ... clean surrounding area... that's it ... no constant welding ... ;)

 

Account for many other issues on doors such as hidden rust, more bondo, etc ...

 

Use good flux wire ... good brand ...

 

Not a wholel lot you can do on thin tin underneath the paint underneath look , but i am farrrrrr from a body man :huh:

[510kevin]

you live less than an hour away from me, if yer skeered, bring em to me and ill weld em!! :D

[Guest 510kamikazifreak]

Keep a bucket and a rag handy ,so that you can cool the metal down to reduce warpage after weld.

[d510addict]

Thanks all, I just gotta get these fuckers filled and window swipes that actually swipe as I am having a bit of a moisture problem atm.

[datzenmike]

Dent the holes inward slightly, rough the metal, tin them and fill with lead. Finish with body filler.

[metalmonkey47]

Might be easier to replace a larger section if they've started to rust away.

 

 

I found rust holes in the bottom of the doors of my 210. I tried welding them, but the metal was too thin and I was burning holes straight through. You may be luckier then me, since they're not rust holes.

[Jester]

Make sure you cover your glass too. Weld spatter loooooooves glass.

[DanielC]

Here is an idea that may help you with the doors.

Make this.

So you can do this.

 

If you need help taking the door apart, so you can get the glass out, to protect it from welding sparks, I can tell you how to do that.

 

I also have some doors that need some dent repair, and mirror holes filled.

[Figbuck]

If the window has to be in the door, make sure you cover it with some cardboard. All it takes is one little tiny drop of hot splatter to blow your window up into a thousand pieces. Ask me how I know. If you got some crap body work around, practice a bit to make sure your setting is working.

 

I have filled bed seams and fender holes from the Datsun badge with solder. In one case I must not have cleaned off the flux or tinner's fluid I used because after about a year it bled through the primer and paint. Mike have you ever used lead? Is it different than say 50/50 sloder? How do you get it to stick with out some kind of flux?

[Shagy]

you could use MUGGY weld....

[DanielC]

In order to use lead as a body filler, you must tin the metal first, and that requires some sort of flux. If the part part is almost spotless, you might get away with a rosin type flux, but generally you need to use an acid type flux, and then you have to be meticulous to remove all traces of the flux after you tin the panel.

 

Normal solder you do electronic work with is usually 60 to 63% tin, and 40 to 37 % lead. This alloy melts at the lowest temperature, and goes from solid to fluid quickly.

Plumbing solder is around 50/50 and has a mushy point between being solid, and fluid as it gets hotter.

Body solder, or lead is around 40 % tin, and 60% lead. it has a larger temperature range where it is mushy. It is used for body work, because it can be formed somewhat, and will tend to stay where it is put, to a degree.

 

Do not breathe lead fumes. They are not good for you, at all.

[hobbes_the_cat]

Dent the holes inward slightly, rough the metal, tin them and fill with lead. Finish with body filler.

 

 

In order to use lead as a body filler, you must tin the metal first, and that requires some sort of flux. If the part part is almost spotless, you might get away with a rosin type flux, but generally you need to use an acid type flux, and then you have to be meticulous to remove all traces of the flux after you tin the panel.

 

Normal solder you do electronic work with is usually 60 to 63% tin, and 40 to 37 % lead. This alloy melts at the lowest temperature, and goes from solid to fluid quickly.

Plumbing solder is around 50/50 and has a mushy point between being solid, and fluid as it gets hotter.

Body solder, or lead is around 40 % tin, and 60% lead. it has a larger temperature range where it is mushy. It is used for body work, because it can be formed somewhat, and will tend to stay where it is put, to a degree.

 

Do not breathe lead fumes. They are not good for you, at all.

 

I agree with the lead idea. I had a ranchero that had the ugly door guard strips downs the side and had 20+ holes to fill after i removed it. The lead worked great. not too much heat in the metal, and was really easy for me to pick up the technique. I bought a kit from eastwood and it came with a video too. :thumbup:

[d510addict]

What about removing the door skins and working them that way? Or is removing the skins a no no?

[K_trip]

- removed -

[ohmrchristopher]

Make sure you cover your glass too. Weld spatter loooooooves glass.

 

How does one get splatter off the glass? My P/O thought it'd be funny to weld my diff, and beside my driver window. Its got a bumpier surface than a pre-teens face. :(

[DanielC]

You can not remove the welding splatter from glass.   The metal sparks are hot enough to actually melt a pit in the glass.  sometimes the metal bit sticks to the glass, and you can knock it off, but the melted pit remains.

Sparks from grinding metal are just as bad.   Cover the glass before welding or grinding anywhere near it.

[ohmrchristopher]

Its more bumps not craters. I'd be ok with craters not bumpy slag wrecking my squeegees.