welding holes

[pfc70B]

I'm restoring my car & I'm doing away withe the belt molding. The trim clips were attached through a 5/16 hole on fenders & doors. When I close them, should I dimple the hole about.030"? I made a die on the lathe 7/16" dia. X .030" & did a bunch of coupons which turned out well. My concern is if different densities in the sheet metal will show through the finished paint.

[CARS]

5/16" is pretty big. For a quality job I would punch out a bunch of blanks and weld them in the holes. Less clean up afterwards, especially on the back side.

[Rick (madera)]

Originally Posted by CARS

5/16" is pretty big. For a quality job I would punch out a bunch of blanks and weld them in the holes. Less clean up afterwards, especially on the back side.

that's the way I would fix it also

[Bill Gibson]

I agree, and would add that when you put the discs in you hammer and dolly them so they expand in the hole. this will keep them tight but will also pre-stretch the material so that when it shrinks from welding and from the ginding heat, it won't pull the surrounding metal as much. this makes it easier to control the warpage because it doesn't affect as much of he panel.. I would fuse weld the discs in, with the TIG. That way there is no need to grind.

[pfc70B]

I just want to follow up. I followed the advise given above with excellent results THANKS to ALL

phil