Paint & Body Work Custom Painting | Panel Repairs & Replacement

Cleaning/shaving engine bay questions?!?!

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Old Oct 1, 2011 | 02:35 PM
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Default Cleaning/shaving engine bay questions?!?!

ok so im building another swapped 3rd gen but takin my time on this one. its goin to be a turbo 4.8l with hopefully and t56. anyways i wanna shave the engine bay and get rid of excessive holes wiring and all other junk. i pretty much want it to look like the motor is floating there.

withouth having a welder what would be the easiest way to fill in the holes?

heres how it looks right now:






and this is kinda how i want it to look but with even less holes:

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Old Oct 2, 2011 | 01:09 AM
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on the small stuff (bolt holes mainly) you could probably get away with using some good body filler. Some of the bigger stuff you may be able to use body filler with the "patch" mesh deal under it, although it may crack if there's ever any body flex. Honestly welding is the best option for the most part, you can get a cheap welder from harbor freight that would take care of most, if not all, of the holes you want filled.
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Old Oct 2, 2011 | 04:16 AM
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i wouldnt use regular body filler to fill holes, find some fiberglass reinforced filler.
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Old Oct 2, 2011 | 06:19 PM
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you really need a welder to shave an engine bay.

why ?

body filler cracks when flexed. if you use body filler over a hole it can corrode from the back and it will fall off in time. to get filler over a hole it needs to be thick, filler is not meant to be packed on thick. it will dry over time and crack the paint if it doesnt crack from flexing.

ive shaved a few engine bays. body filler can look ok for a short time, but in the long run you are screwing yourself. take like $200 and get to Harbor Freight to buy a welder and suppiles. its easy to use a mig welder.
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Old Oct 2, 2011 | 08:54 PM
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Love the look of the shaved engine bay.. good luck man!
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Old Oct 2, 2011 | 09:14 PM
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Welding is the only way. Ive seen people try to use different methods, like bondo glass, or even Duramix and it will just crack over time. Your going to waste all that time getting your bondo and such to look good and it will just crack over time.
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Old Oct 3, 2011 | 04:31 PM
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Body filler wouldn't work & welding is best but I have used fiberglass before with good results too. Not the body filler w/ fiberglass in it but actual matting & resin.
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Old Oct 3, 2011 | 04:53 PM
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what about metal filler?
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Old Oct 3, 2011 | 07:04 PM
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just remembered my buddy has a portable welder and would probably do it for me. just have to see when hes free.
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Old Oct 4, 2011 | 10:51 AM
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make sure after welding you paint both sides of the metal panel. ive seen alot of people fill holes without covering the rear of the weld where the paint burned off. while the front looked great, the panels were rusting from behind which causes more issues.
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Old Oct 4, 2011 | 07:22 PM
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well yeah both sides are goin to get repainted. tryin to decide color on things.
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Old Oct 4, 2011 | 09:50 PM
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a bay thats matched to the exterior always looks cleanest.
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