Fill drilled holes in m1009 roof

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to fill four holes that were drilled completely through (daylight shining through) the roof of an m1009 above the driver's head? I am going to paint it next week. A fire department mounted lights previously.

Also, what do you fill the holes in the sides where the antenna brackets used to be (besides just installing new antenna brackets unless they are easy to find)?

Thanks for your help!

Short of welding them up, they sell cap plugs for auto body holes. I've used those with some latex based caulk (paintable) and it makes a first class waterproof plug that is permanent until you pop then out.


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Weld them shut and do the finish work with filler. Never know they were there if you do it right. Use a Mig welder and they go thru to the inside skin do that also. Cover all the glass and interior trim with a fire blanket or heavy cardboard. have a fire watch while you are doing it. But it is simple enough. I weld the holes shut on the bed sides and 1/4 panels of pick ups and blazers all the time. No antennas on my trucks. Good Luck.

I actually just bought a cheap HF 125amp welder. Should I grind off the paint and just start building up the puddle over the hole?

Would it be better to cut off the shank of a bolt in it and basically weld it in place as a filler material?

The holes are about 3/8” diameter, and my experience with welding sheet metal has been burning bigger holes.

Thank you! Just bought an assortment pack from TheAmazon.

Turn the heat down low and trigger weld a small metal patch. Dime size. Flat washer. Tap it down and fill the area with filler. It can be made to be perfect again. Good Luck. Take you time and cover all plastic and glass to avoid spark damage.

cucvegas said:

I actually just bought a cheap HF 125amp welder. Should I grind off the paint and just start building up the puddle over the hole?

Would it be better to cut off the shank of a bolt in it and basically weld it in place as a filler material?

The holes are about 3/8” diameter, and my experience with welding sheet metal has been burning bigger holes.

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Is it a stick, Flux, or MIG welder? Be tough with a flux only welder. You really need a MIG, with gas. Welding thin steel can be a challenge, especially with a with a cheap welder.
Look for backing bars, they’re either Alum., or Copper, used as heat sink to dissipate heat. Google YOUTUBE for videos.
You can’t just start welding thin steel, and keep going. Weld for a second or two, stop, cool, repeat. As cucvrus said, turn heat down low.
Me personally, I would put small patch up against the inside, and then weld from outside.
Practice on some scrap.

Flux core wire

I also have an old 50amp craftsman stick welder I got at a yard sale for $10.

I braze and get great results. But I was taught to braze with coat hangers so if you want to braze have at it. But on a roof it can be very tricky controlling the heat. Can be done but cautiously. The roof skin does have a piece of tar coated cardboard inside between the skins. Don't want to catch that a blaze. Mig wire welder would be best. Low and trigger weld. Good Luck. Stick not so quick.

All steel pop rivets do a nice job of providing filler when you zap it with the mig.

Use structural adhesive and never worry about heat warping or fire
The ones in use today are as strong as steel and will last a lifetime.
They are used on aircraft everyday.
Loctite makes several and its the brand used in helicopter manufacturing.

The stuff I use is for aluminum, but will also work for steel.
Amazingly strong and will work perfectly for the roof.
I used it to repair holes in my S280 Shelter.
Expensive, but worth it.

This should do exactly what you need and not break the bank.
https://m.grainger.com/mobile/produ...ve-52WX57?breadcrumbCatId=3008&fc=MWP2IDP2PCP

Good Luck.

Tinstar said:

Use structural adhesive and never worry about heat warping or fire
The ones in use today are as strong as steel and will last a lifetime.
They are used on aircraft everyday.
Loctite makes several and its the brand used in helicopter manufacturing.

The stuff I use is for aluminum, but will also work for steel.
Amazingly strong and will work perfectly for the roof.
I used it to repair holes in my S280 Shelter.
Expensive, but worth it.

This should do exactly what you need and not break the bank.
https://m.grainger.com/mobile/produ...ve-52WX57?breadcrumbCatId=3008&fc=MWP2IDP2PCP

Good Luck.

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Nice. Now how much is the application gun? I could weld 25 holes shut and still be ahead of the game. I use technology everyday. Sometimes an old way is the least expensive and best way. You could cut the roof off at the 4 posts and put another nice roof on and just do the little bit of body work at the 4 posts also. I am picturing 6 3/8" holes and about 3 hours start to finish to close them on the out side. On the inside I would use a 1/2" uni-bit and ream the holes out to a smooth 1/2" hole and install black cap plugs like the type that are used in closing under coating rust proof holes. And depending on the over all condition of the rest of the truck and it's intended end use. I may just do that to the out surface and seal them. Job done. Have a Great Day. Only make the job as hard as you want it to be. It's a simple task.

Tinstar said:

Use structural adhesive and never worry about heat warping or fire
The ones in use today are as strong as steel and will last a lifetime.
They are used on aircraft everyday.
Loctite makes several and its the brand used in helicopter manufacturing.

The stuff I use is for aluminum, but will also work for steel.
Amazingly strong and will work perfectly for the roof.
I used it to repair holes in my S280 Shelter.
Expensive, but worth it.

This should do exactly what you need and not break the bank.
https://m.grainger.com/mobile/produ...ve-52WX57?breadcrumbCatId=3008&fc=MWP2IDP2PCP

Good Luck.

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If you don't want to buy the gun talk to the guys at auto paint supply, they sell the stuff and the guns but also may still have one the salesmen use for promotion you might be able to use the for a deposit and the cost of the adhesive. If that fails they could probably steer you to a small shop that would be willing to 'glue' patches to the holes for cash. No welding splatter and no fire, no burn thru, no warping, sand it down one quick coat of filler prime and paint done! 3M., Fusor, lots of different metal adhesives out there might even have something at Home Depot that you can mix and spread.

I just went through this myself. The metal is thin and there are two layers. so welding it can be tricky. It can warp. My family runs a body shop. So we ground off surrounding paint and epoxied the holes shut. Tape was applied inside to catch any flow through. We used a 3m fast cure epoxy and spread it out before it set up. Sanded, body filler, paint, done. No welding, no warping, and we sealed 11 holes. You could buy the epoxy for $10-15.

Merddin said:

I just went through this myself. The metal is thin and there are two layers. so welding it can be tricky. It can warp. My family runs a body shop. So we ground off surrounding paint and epoxied the holes shut. Tape was applied inside to catch any flow through. We used a 3m fast cure epoxy and spread it out before it set up. Sanded, body filler, paint, done. No welding, no warping, and we sealed 11 holes. You could buy the epoxy for $10-15.

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Will Gorilla Epoxy (with 3300 psi bond strength) work? That was the strongest epoxy I saw at Lowes.

I recommend staying away from anything at Lowe’s.
The stuff I’m talking about is for professional/Manufacturing use and cannot be purchased at Lowes, etc.

Grainger's will have some good stuff like in the link I posted.
Loctite makes quite a few professional structural adhesive formulas and chose the one you need.

The cheaper stuff will not last as long and cannot handle the thermal heat from sun.
Roof hole repair isn’t an area to be as cheap as possible.

I believe the 3m epoxy was 2500-3000 psi. I would go with a 3m or permatex or versachem brand. The loctite Tinstsr suggested would be great too.
If you are good at welding, that would be the best option to fill the holes. I am not, so I went with the epoxy.

The applicator guns for those epoxy tubes can be had from the auction site for like $15. They must run the factory in China an extra shift without telling anyone and produce unmarked parts because I couldn't tell the difference from a real one except the no name molded into the side.

Mixing nozzles are a few bucks too.

If you really don't want to spend the money just use a pencil to press the plungers in the back of the tubes and mix it on some cardboard.

Augi

Merddin said:

I believe the 3m epoxy was 2500-3000 psi. I would go with a 3m or permatex or versachem brand. The loctite Tinstsr suggested would be great too.
If you are good at welding, that would be the best option to fill the holes. I am not, so I went with the epoxy.

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I was waiting for someone to suggest JB Weld

Sadly it would probably work fine.