Rear Quarter Patch Panel Installation Continued

  After a few more spot welds, it's time to start lining them up to meld the patch with the car.  A nice perk with this patch is the old Falcon door has sound deadening primer sprayed on it, and that is now gracing my car!

  A quick view from afar.  Perfect contour fit and after grinding, primer, build primer, a thin layer of filler, and paint, this patch will look factory.  The best part about this is there are no holes filled with Bondo.  Remember, bubbles in paint jobs are caused by filler that gets exposed to moisture.  Even if the Bondo is painted on one side, it will absorb moisture from the side where you couldn't prep.  In this fix, the new metal is one side, and the paint job on the other.  Therefore there is no atmosphere to draw moisture from, and bubbles don't happen.

  The picture on the right hand side above is the final welding needs.  Using a chipping hammer, I hammer the edge of the patch panel flush with the rocker lip, then weld a few spot welds to secure the patch to the rocker panel.  

  After the welds are complete, seam sealer is applied and smoothed with a wet finger to smooth the edge where the patch and rocker meet.  Make sure to smooth the sealer around the drain holes in the rocker so water can still find its way into the rocker, and not puddle in the quarter panel.

  The finished product.  On the right is a little before and after shot - this fix should last years, and won't end up causing the bubbles in your paint.

  Only thing left is to sand all the paint off the car and primer for the final paint job.  A few pics of that can be seen here.

Mike in Chicago

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