I had an entire can of PC-7 Epoxy paste left from my Steering Wheel restoration. According to the can this stuff can seal Metal holes, cracks, concrete, pipes (even under water), etc. It is supposed to be a permanent fix and chemical and heat resistant. I notched and ground the holes with a dremel and then filled them with PC-7. Dried overnight and then ground smooth. Skimmed some filler over the area and then feather sanded smooth. I just primed it with high build primer. Will sand, spraybomb the area yellow and then try to wet sand and make a clean transition between the new paint and old ... not sure how the color match is gonna look. I figured I would try this stuff on one fender and check the results before welding and grinding the entire car .. For the rest of the holes I will use the dremel to make a larger crater around the hole to make the repair stronger. I noticed when sanding the small craters I made held the PC-7 well but a larger cratered area would be stronger ... http://www.right-tool.com/pc7epoxypaste.html
I would probably suggest painting the entire panel from the pinstripe down. The only thing I can add about the epoxy products is that a similiar method was used on my orange Maverick to seal up the vinyl top holes. After being painted.......you could just see an outline of where the holes used to be. This is because the metal of the car has a different reaction to temperatures (shrinkage/expanding) than the glue.....so it would "show" where the holes used to be. I wasn't happy and made the body shop WELD the holes shut and repaint the entire car. Personally......I would weld the holes shut......no question about it.
I hear yah ... this is just an experiment ... Home Depot rents a Lincoln Wire-Fed welder for $36 for 24 hours .. gonna do a panel with that as well (on a practice peice of metal first) and see how smooth it goes ... I think I counted 27 holes per side and they are larger than I thought they would be ... about 1/4 inch or so ... I just don't have a grinder so I'll have to purchase one to smooth out the welds ... I may try this method I found on another site: "one option i've used is to take a nail, put it in the hole, then weld it up. Once you've welded it, grind the nail stud off and everything is smooth" Also ... the PC-7 epoxy is not like a glue ... when I think of epoxy I think of the hyperdermic looking thing that mixes like amounts when you push down. This stuff is a thick two part paste that you mix like Bondo .. it is much denser and thicker than bondo when applying .. Here is a guy that fixed some rust holes on his Ranchero with the stuff in 2001 ... I emailed him and asked him how the PC-7 is holding up .. http://www.thebicyclingguitarist.net/ranchero/body2001.htm
dan, i have some ...por-15 puddy... i used on some 3/8 in. holes. this is some good stuff. you mix two parts together and wet it to work it together. you can work it into the hole and smooth it out to a slick finish. you just keep it wet the whole time you are working it. when it sets up you can drill and tap it if you need to. MAV, turned me onto it and my floor pan man was telling me he uses it all the time. the suggestion of painting from the ...pin stripe...down was a good one. ...frank...
Frank ... I noticed some of the panels in the Orange Car terry has have no holes ... did you fill them with the POR-15 paste or are the fenders replacements and that's why they have holes. How have the holes that you filled stood up over time? When I installed the CD player in the yellow Mav I used a 72 bezel and cut it for the DIN sized receiver. I then mounted the DIN insert and cemented it in with the POR-15 puddy ... that stuff sets like concrete and that insert will never be coming out of the bezel ...
Geez Dan, that's the worst looking Grabber stripe I ever saw. Why don't you measure the ones on your red car and see if you can get them a little straighter.
LOL ... that's what I get for eyeballing it! ... actually it's primer over the top of my smoothing job ...
Oh no...your car was looking so good. I think you just started what has been called the snowball effect. But that can be a good thing Good experiment, let us know how it turns out.
Cars always look bad before they can look good! Removing the trim was always in the master plan .. Still need to be done: 1) Remove Trim & close holes 2) Install Vinyl Top 3) Install Rear Defogger 4) Install new 250 engine & detail engine compartment 5) Install disc brakes 6) Add Grabber Hood Decal Already done: 1) Small bumper Swap 2) Install LDO interior 3) Swap 74 style dash to 72 style dash 4) Install Sport Mirrors and Rear Spoiler 5) Install Duraspark ignition 6) Convert to non-EGR setup 7) Convert to Floor Shift Automatic 8) Install white-face guages 9) Install AM/FM/CD with 4-speakers 10) Install Ford Sport Wheels 11) Install Grabber hood My $1200 car is starting to get expensive!
Here's the way to fill the holes with lead ... no high heat, melted trunk or undercoating, no warped panels and no grinding ... http://www.carcraft.com/howto/3065/
I'm sorry Dan, I don't even know you, but from all the posts you've made, I just predict that you won't be done with this car until it is show quality like your other one. I could be wrong though, I know you said you like it to be a little rough so you don't have to worry about nicks and scratches. I welded all the holes on my car and even the shortest weld I could do still slightly warped the metal, course I'm a total amateur.
Just went through my list .... the total including all that I have done plus everything that still needs to be done is a grand total of $2800 .... plus $1200 I paid for the car ... = $4,000 ... of course ... it'll need a nice paint job someday ....
