Repairing Rusted Holes and Perforations

Using a grinding or wire attachment on an electric drill, remove all paint from the damaged area and from an area approximately 3 cm wide around it. Equally effective work can be done by hand with sandpaper. After removing the paint, assess the extent of metal damage from corrosion and decide whether it is advisable to repair the panel (it may be more reasonable to replace it entirely, if this is possible in principle). New body panels can often be purchased for far less money than it seems - it is enough to spend a couple of days visiting city dismantling yards and scrapyards.

Remove all body trim from the damaged panel, except for those elements that can serve as a reference for restoring the original shape of the damaged area (for example, the headlamp bezel, etc.). Using metal shears or a hacksaw blade, cut away all loose, poorly attached and hopelessly corrosion-damaged pieces of metal. Use a hammer to bend the edges of the hole inward to form a recess for holding the filler material.

Use a wire brush to remove powdery rust from the damaged area. If access to the back side of the panel is available, treat the area around the damaged section with rust inhibitor.

Before applying filler, the hole must be covered. This is usually done by bonding or screwing a piece of sheet metal, fine mesh wire screen, or aluminum foil to the back side of the panel in the damaged area. Once the opening is securely blocked, you can proceed with applying filler to the panel and then painting it.

The best material for covering large holes is fiberglass cloth or fine-mesh plastic mesh. Cut a piece of material to the appropriate size, insert it into the hole, and secure it with overlap on the back side of the panel using lumps of body filler paste.

For repairing narrow holes, aluminum foil supplied as adhesive tape is best. Simply remove the protective film and attach the foil to the back side of the body panel, securely covering the hole. For reinforcement, the foil can be applied in several layers.