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filling engine compartment spot welds

D danieljonesMember
I'm planning on pulling the engine and transaxle out of my white Pantera and
would like to smooth out and repaint the engine bay. I did this on my red
Pantera. In that case, the spot weld dimples were filled with body filler.
I've not had any problems with that car but it has maybe 7000 miles since
the engine compartment was painted. I discussed the issue with a fellow
Pantera owner (MidEngineMike) who is a professional auto body man. He
chose not to fill his spot welds but I prefer the smoother look. Those of you
that have filled them, what did you do and has it stood the test of time?
What would you do differently? I will be welding on brackets for chassis
reinforcement, hiding the air conditioner lines and relocating the pressure
tank at the same time. It will get a healthy stroker motor, too.

Thanks,
Dan Jones
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johnnywoodsjohnnywoodsMember
Dan,

I chose not to fill my spot welds as I quite like the look, and nobody ever asks if it's made of fibreglass when they look in the rear.

I used satin black paint and still like it. I have seen some very nice engine compartments done in mottled truck bed liner rubbery paint. The possible down side to this is it could be difficult to clean without getting it very wet. Look at the different finished available before shooting any paint.

If you do fill your spot welds the filler will only crack in the areas that flex. Your chassis stiffening kit will help this.

Johnny
panterrorpanterrorMy 74 GTS
quote:
Originally posted by Daniel_Jones:
Those of you that have filled them (spot welds), what did you do and has it stood the test of time?


All I did was fill the spot welds with some fine glass filled bondo (swiss glass) then some minor blending with ordinary polyester type bondo, redcap, high build primer, sand, and painted black. I didn't want a gloss finish and added a little flattener for a satin finish. About the same number of miles (7k) and seven years since and no visible signs of flaws.

My car has been seemed welded everywhere so may be a little stiffer than average but has big rubber and a healthy stroker. The bondo was quite thin for me. I dont think it's thick enough to worry about unless you have a lot of movement/flex. As always good surface prep is key.

Best,
Kelly
C comp2Member
JY, I always wanted to practice embossing like that. I now how to do it by laser cutting 2 templates and running it through an English wheel. It would be interesting to see how he got it in the tub like that.

One thing I did to help clean up the back was a panel in the rear. I always felt the rear looked "unfinished". The panel here helped smooth the look:








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