tips on filling trim holes

[DannyB1970]

I have got a good short bed to replace my old one but my truck is a sport custom and new bed is for a ranger. Whats the best way to fill all the wide trim holes specifically the 2 at the back edge behind the sidemarker light. The 2 beds look very different in this area to me. Maybe the bed is completely different for a ranger, I'm not sure. Would appreciate any help. Thanks

[tac]

Best choice is to weld them. If you can get behind the the hole to grind to bare metal you can put a metal patch behind it using panel adhesive.

[MAK]

I filled the trim holes along the bump and tailgate on mine by backing with a piece of copper and then filling in with the mig welder. Very easy even for a poor welder like me.

[DannyB1970]

I might be able to get to backs of some holes from underneath the bedside. Someone told me they make a brass or copper paddle I can hold behind to fill the hole and weld wont stick to it. Ever heard of such a thing.

[DannyB1970]

I type to slow. I guess there is such a thing. Thanks

[MAK]

I type to slow. I guess there is such a thing. Thanks

Just find a piece of scrap copper pipe and pound it flat or to the shape you need.
See the tailgate pics and you'll see some of the hole filled and a piece of copper clamped under one hole in my thread here:
http://www.fordification.com/forum/view ... 22&t=76558

[DannyB1970]

Yeah I can do that. Thanks

[tsherry]

I used copper sheet on the back, as mentioned above for larger holes. I used 16D nails on the rest. Put the nail through the fender from behind, weld from the front, nail melts off, touch up any remaining voids, clean both front and back, rustproof back liberally, grind/file the front, done. Very little body filler required. My F250 long bed had around 100 holes in it total, between the trim strips and innumerable holes in the top for various canopies, ladder racks, tonneau cover snaps, etc.

[3West]

The old school way is to fill the holes using lead and a torch then feather out with a DA sander, no body filler needed. A similar approach is to use coat hangers in place of the lead.

[BrockGrimes]

Eastwood makes a product like lead but without all the harmfulness.
Melts like lead and fills holes, I've considered it for body seams.

[youngone]

Anther way is to use a piece of aluminum. Works as good as copper.

[Kurt Combs]

Remove the paint around the hole you want to fill, either by sanding or grinding, then back it with any type of copper or brass (maybe aluminum would work never tried it) and use a mig to fill the hole. I can't even imagine using anything else. Any dissimilar material used to fill the hole is going to crack over time and be noticeable. If filled with a mig and ground down you will never have a problem in the future as it completely melts the base material and bonds with it.