first crack at body work.....

OK, my last truck already had the body work done to it... My question is this....

What's the absolute best way to shave door handles? Cut an area out bigger than the handles and weld in your filler or just put a filler in the size of what you hanldes are supposed to be?

some will say cut out the factory indentions. i never do. just make a filler plate and set it in bout a 1/16th of an inch and do the tack/cool thing. a nuther good trick is eastwood company makes a paste you can oput aroudn it to keep it from warpin also holdin a thick dolly on the back were u tack it will transfer the heat to it also. dont cool it w/ water or air ti will make it warp.

thanks james,


Any other suggestions....

I recommend using a brand of filler called "All Metal". It is made with aluminum powder I believe. The shit keeps any moisture from being absorbed into it, thus, no crackin. I usually do a final coat with that blue body filler "Rage Extreme".

take the handle out, cut a peice of sheetmetal that fits in the hole perfect and sits level with the body. tack a couple times then cool it with water. that is very important to prevent warping. you will probally have to add a curve to the metal too

There was a thread on here a while back with lots of opinions on this. Scan thru, some may help, some may not. Good luck.

Click Here

all depends on how good ur tacks are and how much u grind off them if its gona crack or not. also put some fiberglass bondo( the kitty hair kind) as your first coat and seal the back side of it w/ some seam sealer or por 15 itll keep the moisture out.

if your gonna mig weld the panel in there then just do whatevery one else is saying, but dont cool it with water, cooling the welds down that fast will make them weak, and dont weld it all at once... just tack a few spots..let cool then do some more. i allways went by if you can touch it with your bare hand then your not getting it to hot. if your gonna tig weld it and can get to the backside of it, then u can cut out the area and weld in a filler plate, and hammer and dolly the welds and thatll bring most of the warpage back out....

any other tips/ tricks. or concerns about shaving? I am going to attempt this sometime this week on my bad door. if it turns out OK i am gonna go ahead and do it on both my good doors...

not sure if someone already said this but you need to weld do not use that metal epoxy everyone i have seen you can still see the outline when that stuff was used good luck man