I've got a few rusty spots that I'm looking to address (all body panels - no structural stuff). They range in size from about a thumb print to a paper dollar or so. I had an idea to cut out the rusty spots and use some wire mesh from those gutter cover things (easy to cut and shape) to lay down a base for some fiberglass. Then, I'd sand off a good bit around the area and layer it up with 2-3 sheets of fiberglass (so the fiberglass is what's making it stick to the rest of the body). Then, slap on some bondo and paint. My old man doesn't seem to think that fiberglass will make the patch stick to the rest of the body very well. Thoughts?

 

Does the rust go all the way through the metal?

 

Yup. it's gonna have to be cut out and patched.

 

I'm not a bodywork guy at all but wouldn't you be better off welding in patch panels? Seems like about the same amount of cutting and sanding, but a little more permanent

 

I've thought about that, but it seems like the wire mesh would be a lot easier to form properly with the curves and such. Plus, I don't have very much welding experience. I just got a MIG welder a week or two ago and have yet to grab a tank for it.

 

use flux cored wire if you dont have a tank yet. just tack weld metal then form the metal a little more and tack weld that spot keep doing it till its done. fiberglass would be a temporary repair year or two down the road the metal will rot out more and it will fall out

 

If you have a welder that's your best bet. Even if its rough it will be better than fiber glass
My first patches I made weren't perfect. the welds sucked.. some fell off.. other burned through. I got better with each weld and after a bunch of grinding it came out decent. Just remember its only metal and you can always bend, cut hammer, or add more to fix it.
Metal is pretty easy to get a rough shape out of if your creative. Use object you have laying around to bend/hammer the metal around like pipes, wheels, other tools, a floor jack, ect.
Take your time welding spaceing out each tack weld so heat build up doesn't warp the metal. Practice on some scrap pieces to get used to adjusting the welder to get good penetration without burning through.

 

I'm like ever one here metal is the only way to go fiberglass will come back to bite you i have seen it start falling out in 3 months fiberglass is ok if you are working on a fiberglass part

 

Biggest problem I see with it that hasn't really been addressed is structural integrity. The fiberglass patches would not reinforce the panel at all.