At 12:57 PM 8/24/04 -0400, Alex Greenberg (AGreenberg@aol.com) wrote:
>.... There's a spot on the floor were I can put my finger through ( though
>I didn't) under the steering wheel. What should I do given that I have
>very little time or money to spend on it.
>....
Ah, one of my fovorite subjects, Grapes of Wrath repairs.
If the rust hole is not too big, you can power sand away any rust to get to
clean metal. Then use a ball peen hammer to ding down the edges of the
hole just a smidge. Cut a new piece of sheet metal and carefully trim it
to the right shape to fit the hole, overlapping on the bent down edges, and
fitting flush to the top surface. For a nice fit on the patch you might
end up grinding around the edges a bit with a Dremmel.
Then mix up a dab of 5-minute metal epoxy (such as J.B.Weld), smear it on
the bent down flange all the way around the hole, and stick the patch in
place. If you're quick with the epoxy you can use it to fill flush around
the edges of the patch. If the patch is not on top of a horizontal
surface, you can hold it in place with one finger or a popsicle stick for a
few minutes until the epoxy sets up. After the epoxy sets solid (maybe one
hour), grind it smooth and fill and paint as desired. For the floor patch
you may be able to grind the bottom side smooth as well.
Such a patch with epoxy all the way around will totally seal the joint so
no moisture can encroach, and it should last long time after painting. I
did this with several small body patches on my daughter's Mercury Sable
station wagon four years ago, mostly in the sill area but also one HUGE
repair on the rear liftgate. The patches are still like new and generally
invisible on the outside painted surface.
For a few small holes in the floor pan, this likely beats the crap out of
cut and weld for being quick easy
Regards,
Barney Gaylord
1958 MGA with an attitude
http://MGAguru.aom
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