General discussion about welding

thejinx · Nov 30, 2013

Sat chatting to a mate last night and he stated the following "you can use pop rivets to attach panels instead of welding then skim over the top" I said that would let in water at some point he said it was a recognised repair method. Has anyone done it

89Rallye · Nov 30, 2013

:shock:

It was something they used to do back in the day, I remember my dad doing it with some works arches on a mk1 escort (although they were fibreglass not steel) . Problem is the rivets work loose and the filler/panel will no doubt end up cracking etc.

So yes it probably was a recognised repair back in the 70's! But with today's technology and the availability of welders/spot welders etc would you take the risk?

I'd say in today's society it would be classed as a botch.

lhu128l · Nov 30, 2013

Unless you drive a railway carriage or other similar modes of transport I'd give the pop rivets a miss ,

thejinx · Nov 30, 2013

my point exactly, I said he would be creating weak points in the metal that could in time come apart and cause rust. A few beers were involved as well mind. He argued it would stop any distortion in the large panels from heat, I had to admit he would be right it could work, in the same way that a cut and shut would be ok on the road as long as the welding was done well. :shock: TW** IN case anyone gets the wrong jist of this I was being sarcastic about the cut and shut

vwcanuck · Nov 30, 2013

Body panel adhesives have been around for years, used regularly in auto-body shops and modern auto factories. The risk of failure if the surfaces aren't prepped properly are high so not sure if it's wise to use for the average do-it-yourself project.

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