I got a hole in my door!

[unbludictable]

When I found this '86 Chevy 3/4 ton truck, the body was perfect! No rust, no dents, no nothing! The seller had a guy pull the motor and tranny, but some how the door got ripped. The hole is a little larger than a Quarter!

What should I do? Can it be fixed? Please don't tell to buy a new door...Please!

[Grim 82]

You should be able to put a piece of sheetmetal on the inside of it and weld it. Grind, bondo, and paint. Do you have a pic of it?

[Swims350]

They have lower and half door skins, or as mentioned you could cut it sqqaure or something and flange it, or flange the new piece so they sit flush, then you can plug weld ir or butt weld or whichever and it'll be closer to the original needing less to almost no body filler then putting it in the back and welding.

[Grim 82]

I'm referring to taking a piece of similar gauge sheet metal a little larger than the hole, and placing it on the inside of the panel. From the outside plug weld the perimeter of the hole to the backing piece and avoid building it up too big. If it's just ripped and still has the metal there pound it out the best you can, leave it recessed in a bit, and weld a stitch in it.

[Swims350]

I don't follow you at all sorry, I'd have to see it in person to understand, but I've just always cut it, flanged it, and that makes it flush, weld, grind, smooth over with a little bit of filler and be done.

[VileZambonie]

Who don't you follow? Grim? I follow

[jaredts]

I would take something a little bigger than the hole and form it until it conforms to the spot being replaced.  Then scribe a line all around the patch, cut right on the line and butt weld it in.  Peen down any high spots and bondo away.

[Swims350]

yea gri, putting the piece in behind is gonna leave some to build up.

[Grim 82]

At worst you would have to fill the thickness of the metal, and that's only +/- 1/16". That would be without using a hammer and dolly. The idea is to get sufficient weld without building too much to the outside. By backplating you have more room for more weld. If you flush weld it and then grind it back off you defeat the purpose.

[jaredts]

Butt welding is a sound repair and considered by most to be a step above lap welding.  Putting the piece on from the inside might be tough, maybe not, IDK.  If you weld in a piece from behind it will leave an overlap that can create rust.  Butt welding, properly done, penetrates the thickness of the steel and is plenty of strength.  You can beat the weld back a little with a hammer before grinding to leave a little thicker weld if you like.  If you patch it from the inside it'll still turn out fine though.

[Swims350]

if you flange one of the ares they will sit flush with one another and you can plug weld the piece, grind down the weld and be done except for just a little bit of filler that's my point. I've seen it done on tv and I do it myself.

[Grim 82]

If you don't have access to a welder, you could research some of the non welding patch kits that Eastwood makes. I have never used one, but that may be another option for you.

[Swims350]

I have and they ARE NOT WORTH IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I tried that with some replacement upper wheel arches and they cracked before it got painted, fixed them, cracked again first trip down the road. I used silaprene or something panel bonding adhesive or something from raybuck auto and it did not work. I even left the rivets in the pieces and still cracked.

[Blazin]

Silaprene is not a bonding agent. Its used to seal joints in cargo boxes and trailers. We use it all the time on chip trailers. A bonding agent will have two parts that need to be mixed together. Allot of them have a special nozzle tip that mixes them as you squeeze it out with a caulk gun. I have done cab corners, wheel arch patches, etc. with several brands and have had great results. I was a bit skeptical at first.

[VileZambonie]

Panel bond adhesive works great!