Anyone else smooth out the seams on a 620 bed?

[Bandit240]

Ive been working on fixing some dents in my bed. The only way to fix them would end up covering the seams, so i said the hell with it and went for it. Ive got the drivers side about 90% done. If youve been following my build thread in the project section you would see this.

 

 

I think it looks good with smooth sides.

[Pacific coast Datsun]

Thats a much cleaner look for the bedsides. Good work.

[datsunfish]

Did you weld the seams shut? If not it is likely they will crack out. My friend used body filler on his and they cracked out before he ever got it on the road so he eventually welded it. They are two entirely different pieces that will flex and twist as you go down the road. You might be able to get away with it if you used stranded body filler such as long n strong or fiber fill. Looks good so far though.

[slodat]

Did you fill them with straight bondo? No welding? What's to prevent that thick bondo from falling off in a big chunk?

[datzenmike]

If/when I do mine I plan to weld them closed.

[Bandit240]

I sanded it down to bare metel and used bondo. I cant weld worth shit. Im going to be working a flatbed soon anyway.

 

[1lo620]

I am afraid that they are going to crack out sooner or later....But it looks good for now....

 

[datzenmike]

That daylight I see?

If there is nothing behind to keep the bondo dry it will suck up water and .... You could try taring the inside to try and seal it.

[datsunfish]

Yeah,you are gonna have some issues with that. You really need to at least have some sort of a backer or fibrous structure for that. Welding is the only real solution but You could back it out with fiberglass matt and coat it heavy so its protected. Make sure to finish the outside asap and get it painted so its protected too.

Just thought of this. Since its not too high you could lay some 1.5" angle aluminum behind the holes,mounted to the bed floor(glue,epoxy,glass?)Goop around that for backing support...maybe

Edited December 9, 2008 by datsunfish

[Bandit240]

Im going to epoxy coat the back side of the bondo. Im also making an inner wall for the bed of the truck to prevent anymore dents from the inside out.

[Llittle_Llama]

looks good, but because of the cracking, im welding mine also.

[datsunfish]

Im going to epoxy coat the back side of the bondo. Im also making an inner wall for the bed of the truck to prevent anymore dents from the inside out.

Make sure your surface is completely clean and roughed up. Epoxy will not adhere well to glossy paint. Also,if you do inner bed walls do not seal them up. Make them easily removeable if possible. The reason is that moisture will collect with nowhere to go if sealed off. Debris will collect with openings. Doing inner walls does allow you to batter up the bondo.

[Bandit240]

The inner walls are just going to be wood slats.

[rat tail dragger]

well the bondo will last for about a month or to ,my lower rear qtrs cracked out so i have to strip the crack and weld them smooth then fill them in but i think im going to grind the seams out and then use a small skimer of seam sealer and keep the seam but not as intense all that make sense hahah i was checkin for myself hahah

[dat620]

yep, welded mine, all over the truck, smooth as babies butt, now just need to finish body and paint, yea some vibration and she is all cracked up if not welded, or a little water and also all cracked up, welded is best way to go..:D

[nisrod720]

just wind turbulence will crack it pretty soon,,i welded the ones on my 720 also(the second time!!)

[Guest DatsuNoob]

I'm gonna scrap my welded bed. It's just beat, and I'm tired of trying to get it back to half way fair. On the next one, I thought about using Marglass instead of welding to prevent warping. Marglass is very tough, and guys in the autobody world use this stuff all the time for filling seams, and dents around 1/4" or so. Who knows, I might weld the next one anyway, I'll just need to stitch it down more frequent prior to filling, so it wont warp this time.

[Jekyl.Hyde.Kustoms]

I'm gonna scrap my welded bed. It's just beat, and I'm tired of trying to get it back to half way fair. On the next one, I thought about using Marglass instead of welding to prevent warping. Marglass is very tough, and guys in the autobody world use this stuff all the time for filling seams, and dents around 1/4" or so. Who knows, I might weld the next one anyway, I'll just need to stitch it down more frequent prior to filling, so it wont warp this time.

 

If you are going to a body shop that is flling 1/4" dents, you should definitely turn around and leave. That's just being lazy, dents should be pulled to as close as possible, and any seam or hole that is going to be smoothed, absolutley should be welded. Anything else will not last whatsoever.

 

As for warpage, you have to weld in small spurts, 3/4" at a time, and skip around so that the heat doesn't build up. Take your time and it will turn out fine and you will be happier in the end.

[Guest DatsuNoob]

My bed is just plain beat. I'll be looking for a new one very soon. I think I'm going to use it as a practice for learning how to roll a fender. What I was saying about Marglass is that it can be used for filling seams without having to weld them. It's much stronger than most body fillers, and can handle the job without cracking. I stich welded my seams, and they still warped, so maybe just a spot weld at a time and a wet towel for the next one

[Figbuck]

I used a little propane or MAPP gas torch to solder the seams in the front fenders. But they didn't work for the bed because it was just too big of a heat sink.

 

I used an acetylene torch that I have for plumbing work and big bars of 50/50 solder I get at the sheet metal/HVAC supply house. I had to use a small amount of tinner's fluid after I scarfed out the joint of all paint and crap to get it to stick.

 

It took me a minute to get the feel for how hot to get the metal, but I got it to flow out well and fill the joint pretty fast. I didn't have to grind like with a wire feed, just sand it with a little pneumatic disc. I acid washed the bare metal and used a metal conditioner to neutralize the flux and acid wash. I used virtually no bondo.

 

So far, after a year and a half of pounding over the three nasty speed bumps on my street no cracks. :)

[slayer]

i have used this before to patch hole in the floor but i wonder if it would work to smooth out the bed

 

[78kingcab]

hey guys im a newbe to the ratsun but not a newbe to shaving bed seams you got to weld them up. trust me they will come back if you dont

[Guest DatsuNoob]

i have used this before to patch hole in the floor but i wonder if it would work to smooth out the bed

 

 

Yeah... I'll bet that stuff will work. It's the same stuff dwnshifter uses to weld together c-notches and his four link so it must be good.:lol: