Quick And Easy Patch Panels - Super Chevy Magazine

Holes happen, whether by rust, distracted drivers, or even from the factory. Thankfully, for those of us who own Chevrolets, the aftermarket companies are in full swing when it comes to reproduction sheetmetal for most of our models. But that is not always the case; sometimes in order to replace metal it comes down to good, old-fashioned, Yankee ingenuity.

If the particular panel that is being worked on is generally flat or has a gentle curve, fabrication is fairly easy. If it is not, homemade cardstock templates will be the order of the day. In our case, the fenders we are working on are from an '88 IROC Camaro.

In our last issue, we shaved the door handles and patched them. This time we are taking it one step further and filling in the side marker lights.

Ultimately, the car will look completely different when it is repainted in Hugger Orange.

Here is the panel we plan to focus most of our time on. It is a salvaged fender off of another Camaro and it is in great shape, minus the layers of paint. The obvious thought here is, why not just make a tracing onto the metal and call it good? That would be the easiest way, but it is the method we are concerned with.
Here is the panel we plan to focus most of our time on. It is a salvaged fender off of ano
The first obvious step is to remove all the paint from the surrounding area where welding will take place.
The first obvious step is to remove all the paint from the surrounding area where welding
After the rubbing is made, the paper is turned over onto the substrate (metal) and, similar to carbon paper, a rubbing is made leaving a pattern on the metal.
After the rubbing is made, the paper is turned over onto the substrate (metal) and, simila

After a few minutes of shaping the piece on the grinder and a few test fittings, the patch panel is ground down to near perfect size. I took my time when shaping the piece. If I ground it down too much, it would be too small and I would have to start over again.
After a few minutes of shaping the piece on the grinder and a few test fittings, the patch
The best method for holding the new piece of metal flush with the surface of the fender is to use magnets. They can be found at any welding supply outlet or hardware store.
The best method for holding the new piece of metal flush with the surface of the fender is
As silly as it may look, using a plain white piece of paper and a kid's crayon worked best. The paper is taped over the hole and a simple rubbing is made onto the paper.
As silly as it may look, using a plain white piece of paper and a kid's crayon worked best

Once the patch piece has been tacked into place, the battle with heat warping the metal begins. The tin on these fenders is only 22-gauge and that is some pretty thin stuff. If too much heat builds up in the surrounding metal, it will warp. The best method I found for stitch welding is taking your time! I tack welded the panel in two places then blasted the welds with compressed air. Only when the metal was cool to the touch did I use the welder again. Weld, blast with air, let cool, repeat.

After the rubbing, a Sharpie marker is used to trace the outline. Now I can handle the metal without fear of rubbing away the crayon wax. Of course, the pattern is a little bit big; the rubbing that was made traces the contour of the outside of the hole, the patch panel needs to fit just inside the hole.
After the rubbing, a Sharpie marker is used to trace the outline. Now I can handle the met
Since I needed two panels for both fenders, the patch piece (once it was shaped and trimmed) was traced onto another piece of metal for the other side.
Since I needed two panels for both fenders, the patch piece (once it was shaped and trimme

About an hour later (yes it is time consuming), the patch piece is fully stitched in and ready to be ground and smoothed. When it comes to grinding, heat build up is a big concern.
About an hour later (yes it is time consuming), the patch piece is fully stitched in and r
The driver's side panel: The same methods were used to weld in the new piece of metal, but we used different grinders and that made all the difference with heat build up.
The driver's side panel: The same methods were used to weld in the new piece of metal, but

Quick And Easy Patch Panels Disc Sanders

When the welds were ground down on the passenger-side fender, I made the mistake of using my electric grinder with an 80-grit flapper disc. Yes, it worked, but the heat build was so intense the panel warped. I spent another hour with the hammer and dolly straightening it back out and it is still not perfect. After all that careful welding and cooling, the grinding undid all my work. Avoid using a flapper disk and grinding wheel, they will build up too much heat for this thin-gauge metal. The electric grinder is better suited to grinding welds on frames and other heavy gauge metal.

The passenger-side fender is complete as far as welding and grinding are concerned.
Flexible 36-grit discs were used on the drivers side panel. And these made all the difference. I didn't use as much pressure when grinding the welds down and only for about 30-seconds at a time, then cooled the metal off with compressed air. I'm not a patient person by nature so taking that much time to weld then grind nearly killed me. But, I can tell you that the metal warping on the driver's side is negligible and will require minor hammer and dolly work just for good measure.
Flexible 36-grit discs were used on the drivers side panel. And these made all the differe