Hey Bob,
On that part I stitch welded as much as is visible in the photos.
www.RickNeves.com/bodywork Then I filled with lead (Lead Loading). It was
my first attempt at that process and I would have to say the experience was
kinda fun to try out. The Lead loading was moderately successful. Ultimately
we removed a lot of the lead and re welded a lot of the seam, just about
continuous along its length, Back side and front side so that we got good
penetration.
We then filled with some Everlast filler that has short strands of Kevlar in
it to give the panel some strength.
We had gotten ( I should say, I had gotten) so much heat into the panel that
it began to oilcan and it took a bit of hammering to get it back into shape.
We did that hammering as we rewelded the seam (While the panel was hot) and
used a wet rag to cool the panel as we went to avoid getting heat build up
from the process. Then we did the Kevlar filled polyester and then regular
polyester and finished with a overall polyester spray (Very expensive). The
spray is definitely the way to go for the best finish. Its very easy to work
and there are no pinholes. We sanded every step of the way, then primed, and
sanded that to 600grit before final color and clear.
In the end that panel should have been replaced but I leaned a lot in the
process and I ended up with the original panel on the car so that is good.
Rick Neves,
'56 BN-2
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