I found some rust in my long (how strange). The hole is about 2" x 8" after cutting out the rust . Should I cut a piece of metal the same size (pain in the ass) and butt weld, or can I cut an over sized piece and weld it over the hole.

Either way that suits you. Butt weld if you are restoring the LE. Patch panels work the best I think if you drill 1/4" holes every 1 1/2" on the overlap flap and puddle weld and then weld the outside by seam welding.

Geoff

Thanks Geoff, I think I will overlap with the holes drilled, the patch will be hidden anyway.

QUOTE (Bleyseng @ Mar 15 2005, 09:25 AM)

Either way that suits you. Butt weld if you are restoring the LE. Patch panels work the best I think if you drill 1/4" holes every 1 1/2" on the overlap flap and puddle weld and then weld the outside by seam welding. Geoff

Sounds like a reasonable repair, that will be plenty strong.

Butt welding in the patch will not be any more work than cutting to size, however.

but welding would def keep from rusting as easily, since the metal to metal leaves places for moisture to hide. If you do overlap, you may look into some 3m weld through primer for longevity issues, and try to coat the inside afterwards...yeah.

Here's what I did. It was a pain, but not THAT bad. Only took half a day.

Hole