Screw holes in body, how to seal up?

[Mikes Z car]

Hi all,

I have some screw holes in my car, most I can blame on the PO but I did a few myself unintentionally. I tried soldering one of them closed but not sure I got a good seal. Is there an easy way to seal these holes off so I don't have to worry about water coming through? One of them is under the driver's feet, one is over the gas tank. Thanks for ideas.

Mike

[geezer]

You don't want to do a mig weld repair and these are in areas that are not seen and can be easily checked occasionally, correct? If so, if it were me, for just making a few screw holes disapear, you could prep the area, use a touch up gun or brush to apply some epoxy primer and then flow an apropriate amount of JB Weld or similar two part epoxy product over it and allow it to cure. Take care of both sides if accessable to prevent any water traps, then flare out the repair area with a suitable paint/sealer.

[EScanlon]

The solder technique of sealing holes works best with:

a) Acid Core Solder

Tinning liquid

c) a nicely cleaned hole and small part of the surrounding (just past the exterior of the hole).

If necessary you want to "ream" the hole to make sure there's no rust or schmutz inside it.

Apply a drop of Tinning liquid to the hole, then heat up your iron and once it's hot, insert the tip into the hole and sweat the solder into it. Once the iron is warm, you can usually do these in 20 seconds or less (depending on the size of the iron and hole).

I can usually seal all the holes on the side of a vehicle due to the rivet-on vinyl strips, in less than 5 minutes and most of that time is spent moving the equipment from hole to hole.

Emblem holes can be done, but they require that you can literally "sheet" the solder across the hole, meaning that you carry the solder from side to side. This is where having a small area around the hole without paint and also tinned becomes critical since without it it is darn near impossible to "gap" the hole.

But I agree with Ron, for hidden holes that you want to seal, JB Weld, or some epoxy would do it. Just don't use Bondo, it's porous and will soak up humidity.

FWIW

E

Edited January 9, 2013 by EScanlon

[hr369]

To heat up a car body enough to solder a hole requires a big solder iron. I did it once on an old cop car that

Had light bar holes in the roof. I cut out a little metal piece to cover the hole and flowed solder around the patch. Worked really well

[tlorber]

If you can't get the solder iron hot enough, you can heat up a piece of steel with a propane or map gas torch, then heat the body metal and melt the solder with it.

[EScanlon]

I've had my soldering iron for over 30 years. It is a real "old-timer" as it was used when I got it.

I did find the right style / wattage / size on-line, but was surprised at the price:

http://www.all-spec.com/products/3138-150.html?gclid=CLKhqovP2rQCFQVcpQodqGYA5g

I also found a vintage one with the right wattage although the style of the tip / body is somewhat different:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/100844855/vintage-150-watt-drake-soldering-iron?utm_source=googleproduct&utm_medium=syndication&utm_campaign=GPS&gclid=CO62so3P2rQCFcZfpgodlzgAbA

FWIW

E

[Mikes Z car]

geezer, EScanlon, hr369, tlorber,

Thanks! Thanks for the idea of mig welding, not sure I could make a completely sealed repair that way. Someone more skilled than me might be able to though. Some holes are in areas where there is vinyl covering, so epoxy would work in those locations as I will have to stay away from heat there to avoid melting the vinyl. I didn't know about tinning liquid, I guess that is the same as flux. Some holes are accessible from both sides but not all. I tried using rosin core solder, will have to get some acid core and try that.

Most of the holes are from a PO who had a 400 watt amp connected to a pair of 6X9 speakers plus a pair of 5 inch speakers and a 600 watt bass amp connected to a pair of 8 inch speakers. The larger speakers were mounted in their own large enclosures. Both amps and the speaker enclosures were screwed down in the back hatch area. Looking at the physical size of the speakers and the amps connected I had an idae not to turn the volume up too high for fear of blowing out the speakers. That was confirmed when I pulled out the 8 inch speakers and saw that each is rated for 15 watts! I likely would have blown out all the speakers if I had turned the volume up much. I plan on making all of that removable and not screwed down.

Thanks for the ideas, I will start with soldering with a 225 watt soldering gun and if that fails will use JB weld.

[geezer]

...I likely would have blown out all the speakers if I had turned the volume up much.

Get one of those volume knobs that goes to 11.:laugh:

[ZCurves]

Your best bet is to Braze with a bronze rod and grind smooth. If you do not know what you are doing, have a body shop do the work or practice on some scrap first. Too much heat will warp the metal leading to other problems.