patching emblem holes?

[DarkoStoj]

Doing body work to get ready for paint and was wondering if there was anyway to patch all the emblem holes I don't plan on using without welding them? I've done plenty body work but the reason I don't want to weld them is because the car is completely rust free and if one day I'd like to return it to original I'd still like to have the original emblem holes availible.

 

[zookeeper]

Although it's fine to plug emblem and trim holes with body filler, it requires dimpling the hole to give the filler something to hold onto. That means if you ever wanted to replace your trim parts, you'd have to bang the dents out of every trim hole you filled. I think you'd be better off welding the holes with a mig and redrilling the holes later would be much easier than beating out 73 dents you intentionally put in to avoid welding. At least you'd still be able to see where the holes were located on the backside of the fenders when the time came. I totally understand the desire to not ruin a nice car, since I had to ask myself how badly I wanted a Shelby clone before I cut out an absolutely perfect taillight panel and then took a 3" hole saw to install my brake scoops. Yes, it hurt, but in the end I decided nothing is really irreversable and it is just a plain-Jane 2 barrel 289 car with no real collector value, and at least a high-quality Shelby clone would appeal to me. Like the saying goes, you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs...

 

[rebel65]

good post. i agree even though body filler seems like the end all solution, welding it will make it stay rust free if you think about it. and as zoo said, nothing is ireversable.

 

[danny clemens]

I would also weld and redrill later on. I'd take measurements as to where the holes are and make a template to be saved for redrilling later on. If you do weld make sure to clean the inside of the holes and the back of the holes (if you can get to them) before welding.

 

[limey66]

Couldn't you bond a peice of sheet metal behind the holes with some two-part adhesive? Then you can fill the holes with filler. When you want to revert, you can pry off the small patch behind.

 

[Jester67]

You could try lab metal
http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?itemID=578&itemType=PRODUCT

 

[DarkoStoj]

I talked to a guy that does work on show mustangs locally and he told me to dimple the holes and use an all-metal body filler. He said it wasn't the best way to do it, but it will work.

 

[69 Rustang]

Just make sure you coat the inside of the panel when you are done as body filler is porous. Moisture absorbing into the filler and causing problems would be the concern here.