Body Flares! - Page 4

b. rock · 02-09-2022, 07:44 AM

Yep, I did grab those - you can see them in the pics above. Hopefully I can re-integrate most of the support they cut away. Might a little creativity. Fortunately the outer skin and interior support separate very easily.

Lilnuts2 · 02-09-2022, 05:18 PM

Quote "use a flare tool to crimp the patch piece"

What does this tool look like and how does it work?

Pntyrmvr · 02-10-2022, 06:16 AM

Look up panel flanging pliers in a body shop supply site.

The tool essentially makes a slight offset lip, say 5 mm, in the patch panel allowing the perimeter of the panel to fit behind existing sheetmetal while remaining flush across the face of the panel.

That offset lip is then welded or bonded to affect the repair.

SteelheadJones · 02-10-2022, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pntyrmvr

Look up panel flanging pliers in a body shop supply site.

The tool essentially makes a slight offset lip, say 5 mm, in the patch panel allowing the perimeter of the panel to fit behind existing sheetmetal while remaining flush across the face of the panel.

That offset lip is then welded or bonded to affect the repair.

Interesting. Do you have to use some sort of filler at the joint on the face of the panel?

Pntyrmvr · 02-10-2022, 11:13 AM

Yes. Any panel work is going to need some sort of filler. The amount depends on the quality of the panel fabricated.

SteelheadJones · 02-11-2022, 08:53 AM

Thanks, that’s good to know. I have a conversion van with much bigger windows than I would like. To make matters worse, one of them is broken and I have not been able to source replacement glass.

b. rock · 02-13-2022, 05:03 PM

Yep - exactly. This is the one I just grabbed:

https://www.harborfreight.com/air-pu...tool-1110.html

Yeah, it's HF, but these 2 panels are the only ones I need to do so it'll be a short term use.

I like the idea of the flange and doing some spot welding vs trying to do a butt weld on a panel this large. It'd be very easy to get some warping.

Life got in the way of cutting the panels to size, but hoping to get that done this week.

b. rock · 02-28-2022, 10:13 AM

Progress update: got the panels marked, cut, tacked on the back side, and starting to spot weld them in along the seam. This process is taking awhile as I'm being very careful to let everything cool off in between so hopefully avoid as much warping as possible.

Crimping tool worked great. Used it to punch a few holes to act as plug welds on the back side but without a 2nd set of hands they ended up pushing the patch panel out a bit, so I cut those off and redid them by just tacking the edge of the panel to the body instead. Might have worked better with a helper but so be it.

Edit: to clarify, I am by no means a body work person. This is my first time working with sheet metal of this size.

TomsBeast · 02-28-2022, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pntyrmvr

That offset lip is then welded or bonded to affect the repair.

I've done enough hobby level bodywork to know I don't like it, but it's a necessary evil I suppose.

I just bonded a partial econoline body skin, onto a frame that I made (propane valve and fill access door). I was going to use a series of little plug welds through the skin, but tried cold bonding instead, using short strand Marglass.

I'm impressed with how well the cold bond method is paying dividends, by reducing the amount of filler needed, in contrast to the adjacent body opening I cut and welded.

I've tried panel flanging pliers from Eastwood years ago, splicing in a outside of a truck bed, the entire height of the bed, a pretty long seam with curves and hard body lines to deal with. They didn't work out on that particular project, I believe they stretched the metal too much, such that the body styling lines on the unflanged panel no longer matched up. I wound up butt (MIG) welding the panels. I have had good luck using them on smaller jobs, though, are still in my toolbox.

b. rock · 03-01-2022, 10:03 AM

Yeah, that's where the pneumatic one came in handy - it made real quick work of the flange part of the process.

Good to know on the Marglass. I'll keep that in the back pocket. The flares themselves come with some kind of epoxy/adhesive and that's all that holds them in place, so clearly welding isn't the only answer.