MTFCA Forum

So the front fenders are stripped and sanded for Hay Wagon to Speedster project. I noticed a small crack at one of the front fender hanger mount bolts. Should I drill the ends, weld it shut, and grind off the excess, or leave it alone, or...? The beak straightening went well. I think I can do the rest with a light skim coat of filler. However, the top flat nose was bent down. I bent it up but the rear part near the crease is hard to get to with a hammer to straighten it out. Is that what the pick end of a body hammer is for? Other than that things are coming along. I splurged on a Dewalt DWE6401DS sander. It worked well but you go through expensive sand paper disks quick especially when doing edges. I tried a Dewalt corded random orbit sander that was $20 less than the DWE6401DS but it was too weak for the job.

If you leave it alone, the crack will get longer. the only way to make that repair look nice would be to remove the rivet, weld & metal finish the crack repair, then re install the rivet.

When using any power sander/grinder, be careful around edges, moldings, rivets and such. The sander/grinder is great on broad surfaces, but it won't reach down into grooves or small dents and dings or inside corners, and it will grind metal off corners, rivet heads, raised moldings, and such. It can also deface any stamped in numbers, logos, etc. The idea is to remove the rust and old paint and not take off any metal. An air-powered, hand held die grinder can be useful for cleaning out tight areas and inside corners and channels when used with a small diameter rotary wire brush. Always use good quality rotary brushes on high speed die grinders. The cheapie stuff will will wear very quickly and probably fly apart. These brushes are available in several shapes, including small discs and ball-shapes. Wear good safety goggles when using any kind of powered wire brush, since they can and will throw wire bristles when in use. Use steel bristle brushes on steel parts, since brass will rub off on the steel you're trying to clean. The die grinder will run at very high speeds, 20,000 RPM and more so handle it with care. Keep the chuck tight. It's best to start the tool rotating, then quickly apply it to the object to be cleaned to limit the speed somewhat. Keep the tool moving to prevent friction hot spots. Heating old paint may cause it to melt and smear. The die grinder may deposit some oil on the parts being cleaned, so de-grease them carefully before applying any paint.

Will this work? https://www.permatex.com/products/adhes ... cale=en_us