I am in the process of cutting out my rear quarter panels, how do I find the spot welds to drill out?
How do I locate the spot welds for rear quarter panels?
- Thread starter Jackson Hanes
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Try looking from the interior of the rig, above the wheel well structure where the steel is flanged. On the exterior, they should appear as dimples unless someone already filled them . . . IH8PriorOwners.
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so could I strip some paint on the outside and be able to see them?
The welds follow the line of the inner wheelweel/ rear deck. Measure up 3 1/8" from the outside horizontal flange of the wheelwell; thence straight back to the curved rear panel, going toward the front the welds follow the slant of the inner wheelwell.
Yeah, if you can't see any little dimples on your quarter panels from the outside, there's probably some body filler covering them. Since you're removing the quarter panels anyway, strip the paint with a wire wheel on an angle grinder, in the area where the inner wheel well touches the quarter panel. You'll be able to see them relatively well then.
this thread shows where they are (one of the first few pics)
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#11 Dune Beige bodywork and paint 40 series
FYI, This is labeled "11" because the other 10 are in the 60 forum. New to the 40 section here, so this is the first. The project: 1. Disassemble vehicle, remove doors, top, fenders, and windshield. 2. Strip entire vehicle to bare metal. 3. Remove rear tub half. Disassemble and rebuild. 4. New...
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A line of little dimples or rust
If you removing quarters just get a flapper wheel on grinder and strip the paint off till you see them. Quick and easy
if it's down to bare metal, DA it. They will pop right out. I'd be careful with a grinder, as is it really easy to take a lot of material and leave a big low spot.
What does "DA it" mean?
Dual action. Sander/polisher
X2 on this, a 4" angle grinder (which is what I assume we're talking about here) can do a bunch of damage in a hurry, especially if you don't have a lot of hours under your belt honing your grinding skills. If you're getting this deep into one, you'd do yourself a favor to invest in a 1/4" pneumatic angle grinder and some 3" 36 grit 3m roloc discs and arbor for grinding duties. Use a gasket stripping wheel on the same roloc arbor for "faster than d/a but less destructive than grinding" paint/filler stripping to find your spot welds if they're buried under multiple coats of paint and/or filler. Do not go apes*** and strip the whole thing with this- it's not really made for paint stripping and it still leaves grinding marks that will need dealt with before paint- just use it where you believe there is a hidden spot-weld. Careful you don't put too much heat into the panel when using the gasket wheel. Also a Blair cutter.
Roloc is the only way to body work. I like the 1.5" for material removal, 3" for blending, all 36 grit.
Amen to that.
Orbital Sander
Just hit me your mixture of disc sizes. I use the exact same setup. Do you also turn your wore out 3" into 1.5 by putting them on the smaller arbor then "scribing" the outer edge off them from the backside? Gets a little more bang outta your buck.
Sometimes. They sure aren't cheap. I also dull them out at ton to use for very soft blending as well. They last a pretty long time if you are nice to them.
I also have the ones I use to try and cut sheet sometimes too. Sometimes it works, sometimes they shred. I go through a lot more 1.5" than 3". I feel like I take too much base material trying to remove weld with the 3". They flex around so much more.
The good news for me is they are supplied by work.
Agreed with the flex on the 3", I feel like you can use a lot more of the face versus just the perimeter with the 1.5 vs 3...lucky! I'm my supplier on these so I get everything I can outta em before they hit the trash.Sometimes. They sure aren't cheap. I also dull them out at ton to use for very soft blending as well. They last a pretty long time if you are nice to them.
I also have the ones I use to try and cut sheet sometimes too. Sometimes it works, sometimes they shred. I go through a lot more 1.5" than 3". I feel like I take too much base material trying to remove weld with the 3". They flex around so much more.
The good news for me is they are supplied by work.
