welding advice for fender flare holes

[Dirty Koala]

I used my Millermatic 211 MIG to weld up all 66 holes. Using the magnetic copper backer was very useful. It doesn't fit behind all of the holes (corner of door and front fenders), but you can use it for most of them. Took me about 16 hours worth of work between welding and grinding, but saved myself a bunch of money by not taking it to a body shop.

 

[Booger weldz]

I stuck a piece of filler rod in the hole, tacked all around it, then cut it off flush and retacked it completely. The few bigger holes needed a 3/32 smaw rod with the flux removed.

I say 'tacked' because it's not welding per say...

I worked all over the truck randomly so no areas got warped or puckered and would need any appreciable amount of bondo. I just used spot puffy..

I think all areas except the front of the rear(door area) are accessible to paint enuf to prevent rust bubbling up thru several years from now(I'm in a very dry area, but wheel mud, snow, water crossings, etc).

 

[1973Guppie]

keep in mind you don't have to worry "too" much about panel warping since you are most likely going to be applying bedliner to the side of the car which will most likely cover any imperfections. When I did mine I just ground down the weld enough so there was no major "bump", and then slapped the bedliner on there.

Tig is going to give the nicest weld for sure.