Maybe it was a good luck present?

 

Random Guy? lol Perhaps that was it's purpose? (on a random)

 

looking good, hope to see more

 

This morning I finished adding the spare tire rack before work. The one I got from the junk yard fit nicely. I already grabbed a matching hub cap from a truck at the yard, now I just need to find a rim and I'll get a matching tire to go with my new tires.

 

Well it's been over a year since I did anything besides drive Walter.
This week I decided to start working on repairing the rust spots.
The worst of which was this hole. I had never done this before, but I watched a lot of YouTube videos, so I'm practically an expert. <sarcasm>



Here I am vacuuming some debris out of the hole, which got much bigger after I grinded all the rust away.


I used a steel mesh patch and applied a couple coats of Bondo.

 

I think this was after the first coat.


I discovered some old rust spots that someone had already fixed when I knocked some big chucks of Bondo that were flaking.


These holes were revealed after grinding off rust along the passenger side back window.



And I ended up some holes on the roof and along the top of the windshield.

I'll have to get some more pictures of fixed areas.

When I've got some time, I'll continue sanding the entire truck.
Then on to priming and eventually painting.

Hey, does anyone have a strong opinion on which is the best method of breaking down the old paint?

 

It'd be best to have someone weld in patches in those spots in my opinion. Fix it now the right way and shouldn't have to deal with it again.

 

I'd agree here. I'm sure your repaired areas will look fine for a while, but you aren't fixing them. There's still rusted metal inside that hole that needs to be cleaned and sealed, plus this is just bondo over a hole. That'll chip/crack/fall out eventually.

Not to harp on you or anything, it looks like you're doing good work and all... just not the right way to do it. Heck, you could even get new panels and use an adhesive to install them, I've seen that done as well.

 

Thanks for the input you guys. I appreciate the criticism, but I really am just doing this with minimal investment and with the limited resources and skill that I have.

I'm sure there are much more effective and permanent fixes, but I just wanted to get this done so I can paint it and move on from the faded white/grey/red stripe color scheme. It's definitely not going to be a show truck when I'm done, but hopefully better than the way I found it.

Maybe since I live in Florida and never have to deal with seasons or road salt, the patches will have a longer life.

 

I'm sure it'll last a bit longer because of those, I'd just hate to do all the work and end up with the same issues in a few years. Metal doesn't like being damp...and I hear it's just a wee bit humid down there on occasion!

Either way, the work you're doing looks pretty good!