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73-87 Chevy _ GMC Trucks => Body, Glass & Paint => Topic started by: echastain88 on December 31, 2014, 06:44:18 pm

Title: Fix rust holes or replace panels? 83 K20
Post by: echastain88 on December 31, 2014, 06:44:18 pm

Hey all, new member who is purchasing my father's 83 K20. Mechanically, it's pretty sound. Only has about 105k miles on it and aside from a dead battery( now replaced and running) the biggest issues with it are the looks. The body is pretty straight, but the paint is bad and it has some bad rust spots. One of them is a softball size hole just above the rear wheel on the driver side. My question is, should i attempt to clean out the rust and patch it or should i just fork over some cash for a new panel?

Title: Re: Fix rust holes or replace panels? 83 K20
Post by: SkinnyG on December 31, 2014, 10:56:57 pm

I made my own patch panels for simple shapes, such as portions of the rocker panels and door bottoms.  I purchased patches for the bottoms of the front fenders, as my skills are not that good.  I view a lot of body work as "skill acquisition," and I know my skills are far from mad tyte yo.

Title: Re: Fix rust holes or replace panels? 83 K20
Post by: echastain88 on December 31, 2014, 11:55:32 pm

 Im in the same boat. I've worked on vehicles quite a bit but never done any body work. I figured i could just cut out all the rust, weld a piece of metal on the backside and Bondo the outer part.

Title: Re: Fix rust holes or replace panels? 83 K20
Post by: Jason S on January 01, 2015, 09:54:24 am

You might post some photos of your rust issues to give some better idea of what/where on the rust.

Title: Re: Fix rust holes or replace panels? 83 K20
Post by: Captkaos on January 01, 2015, 12:29:46 pm

Depending on how you planning this keep in mind bondo isn't meant to be more than about 1/8" thick.  Post pics of what it looks like.  We have repair panels in the online store.

Title: Re: Fix rust holes or replace panels? 83 K20
Post by: SkinnyG on January 01, 2015, 01:45:53 pm

The box I used had some cracks in the bondo behind the rear wheels.  I had one of my students (I teach high school shop) "chase it" with an abrasive disc just to see where it went.  Apparently it went REALLY deep.  I decided the best was just to re-fill it, and keep my eyes out for another box.  It was over 1/2" thick in places.  It will crack again.