I payed a body shop cos my welding skills would warp the shit out of the tailgate.

They spot welded metal strips to the inside of the tailgate then bogged them up. I had them do the rear wiper, brake light and all spoiler holes at the same time. I left the antenna though.

 

so they placed a piece of metal that stretched from the left hole to the right hole spot welded that on and then they bogged them up as in put body filler to make it flush with the trunk? which means they didnt cut out individual pieces of metal for each hole and then weld them flush to the trunk?

 

You can do it eaither way, when i shaved my tail gate on my old s-10 i just cut a single solid metal that fits in the hole and tac weld it in place then i put couple beads down then grinded it smooth then i put some bondo over it to make is flush and clean looking.

 

yeah i figured there was going to be a few was to do it. i just dont know which way i want it done lol

 

smaller pieces are probably easier but you have more welds so it risks warping the metal. Longer pieces harder to fit due to limited room

 

What I did last week was a different method than what I would normally do.

For the 3rd brake light, I cut a piece of 14 gauge about 1/4" larger than the rectangle hole the laght made. That I tacked it in the corners. I kept taking it all around the hole, using a wet rag to keep the peice cool.

Once it was completly welded, I filled in the two bolt holes.

After all of the welding is done, I used a peice of 80 grit on an angle die grinder to sand the welds flush with the outer metal. Once the piece is smooth, just use body filler like bondo to fill the area.

As for the antenna, use the same procedure, and be sure to keep the temp. cool so you dont warp the panels.

 

spyke does the panel kind of stick out farther than the trunk lid since you placed it over top of the hole? i had a guy do the same thing for me but he welds like shit and there are a lot of gaps between the piece of metal and the trunk. which im pretty pissed about. but i knew the guy and he did it for free so i cant be that mad. just made more work than i wanted.

but i am leaning towards putting the metal piece behind the trunk and then body filling to make it flush, after i got a look at the piece over top the trunk i just think its going to stick out more than id like it too. not to sure what im going to do with the antenna hole yet. lol

 

I'm sorry, I should have made it clearer. I put the metal panel on the inside of the hatch. It does not stick out on the top on the panel. You have to pop out the hatch lining and reach inside to hold the metal there.

 

oh i gotcha...i just played with the metal and i like the way it sets on the inside of the trunk. then i will body fill to make it flush. thanks for the help guys.

 

nice post spyke!

 

alright now ive got a question about how much this would cost if i would take this to a body shop. the people that i know keep bailing. im not figuring on it being a lot but its a body shop so who knows.

 

Expect for a complete job to cost you about 400-600 for a complete removal and welded light, plus bondo.

Its too bad that you aren't closer to my shop, we'd do it for significantly less than that.

 

all i need them to do is weld it into place i will be doing the bondo. couple tacs and a few beads. i was hoping for like 20 bucks lol

 

If thats all you want, take it to an actual welding shop. They will probably charge you less. When you bring it down to them, have the surrounding area stripped first, so they dont charge you extra.