ideas for a small hole in battery compartment

[EMBPilot]

while im waiting to pack the CV joint i figured id get an idea what the battery tray looked like...its bad, but ive seen worse on my old 924...

the hole is about the size of a nickel and is right over the passenger foot well. The car is kept in the garage and its rarely (if ever) parked outside.

any ideas how to clean this mess up? and fix the hole? i can think of all sorts of creative ideas but im sure you guys would have the 'correct' approach for fixing the small hole.

[JivenJim]

Sand and Two part Epoxy. Maybe use a quarter as a plug and do it from inside first. Let me know results cause I have same problem.

[EMBPilot]

from reading the other posts i see some of the guys using "JB Weld" and bed liner after sanding?

K-

[EMBPilot]

heres the plan, sand the compartment, tape it off, sandwhich and JB weld two small pieces of metal, let dry, then spay rubberized undercoating into the box.

[Dantilla]

Originally posted by EMBPilot
heres the plan, sand the compartment, tape it off, sandwhich and JB weld two small pieces of metal, let dry, then spay rubberized undercoating into the box.

Almost exactly what I did.

[Eldorado]

i had the same thing...
I used a paint/rust stripper attachment on the end of a drill... stripped down to bare metal nice and shiny... used bondo to fill the hole (you can use screen from a screen door.. or bondo comes with a metallic mesh you can use to cover the hole)... sanded it down flat, painted... looks great now.

[EMBPilot]

change of plans after sanding, the metal feels pretty thin in one area in particular, so i put two small patches on with JB weld, once that sets up, im going to glass over the very front and very back part of the compartmet floor, once thats good and set up, i'll spray the rubber undercoat over everything... thanks guys.

[Ferrara_racing]

Just curious guys, why JB Weld? Bondo is easy to get, comes with metal reinforcement strapping for plugs and sands smoother and easier than JB..Good luck with all the repairs.

[Dantilla]

Originally posted by Ferrara_racing
why JB Weld?

Why not? It's also easy to get, and is more durable than bondo.

[Zero10]

JB weld is much stronger than bondo, and much less likely to crack.
My personal method is to wire brush the crap out of the area until all of the offending paint and rust is removed, then sand the area with 200 grit sand paper to make sure that the surface is uniformly rough.
Then cut a piece of fiberglass mat to cover the hole and any weak areas, set it in and brush a small amount of resin on it. Don't go overboard or it will be dripping into the footwell and ruining your carpet. Some people apply resin to the metal underneath then place the fiberglass over it, it is not too different either way.
If the thin areas are extensive then I will apply a second and/or third layer of fiberglass over the hole. Once the resin has set I will sand it smooth and paint it to match the rest of the car. After a day to dry and set I then re-install the battery.

[Granite 944]

Originally posted by EMBPilot
while im waiting to pack the CV joint i figured id get an idea what the battery tray looked like...its bad, but ive seen worse on my old 924...

the hole is about the size of a nickel and is right over the passenger foot well. The car is kept in the garage and its rarely (if ever) parked outside.

any ideas how to clean this mess up? and fix the hole? i can think of all sorts of creative ideas but im sure you guys would have the 'correct' approach for fixing the small hole.

THE "correct approach"?

Well.........that would NOT include using JB weld! THAT, would be the "cheap" and "easy" way out.

Its a matter of "correct" over time/money approach. WHICH way do ya really wanna go? What does it REALLY mean to YOU?

Grinding all the rust out,and getting to clean metal and checking both sides of panels for such is essential, getting rid of ALL rust is crucial, and then welding in patch metal, or whatever required, etching/primer/painting would be my definition of "correct approach"

But then again, we all gotta make the time/expense call, and besides that..................if done "correctly, we wouldn't have the "Previous Owner" complaint and or whining opportunity!

YOUR CALL!

Note: ya "see" a "nickel sized" rust spot/hole, trust me.......its generally, much bigger than ya think.

[Eldorado]

agreed.. mine was about the size of a pencil... i touched it and it became the size of the neck of a beer bottle.

[EMBPilot]

well thats why im going to glass it, because the nickle sized hole is okay once it was sanded and cleaned, but the pin sized hole on the other side turned into swiss cheese once i got all the rust off

welding, dont think so. i think the JB patch, glass and rubber coat will be just fine.

[Slam]

I've got a battery box that's mostly fibreglass now. Tried a number of things and always came back to glassing it, followed by undercoating. Use a good rust killer on it before glassing, and like Zero said, be careful not to have the resin drip onto the carpet.

[Zero10]

Ah yes... the 'correct' solution.
The right thing to do is to take it into a body shop. Have all of the offending rust and paint removed, and sand it down to bare metal in the surrounding area. Then have a patch welded over it, and the entire edge of the patch well sealed. Then treat the area with POR-15, and color paint over it.
This route is difficult and expensive however, so most people do not pursue it.
I forgot to mention in my above post, that you should use POR-15 over the fiberglass patch and over the surrounding metal. It is an epoxy based paint and is VERY tough and VERY rust resistant. You can then paint color overtop of it and it will be almost invisible, especially with the battery sitting ontop of it

[EMBPilot]

good call on the POR15, just ordered some from a place in state after reading your post, i forgot all about that stuff, i'll glass it sunday when i get home from work, and then por15 it on monday.

[VINMAN]

I have a hole in mine the size of a battery...

[Eldorado]

aren't you missing a hood? :P

[Dantilla]

Granite 944, I'm not sure your post was tounge-in-cheek or serious. Sure, to keep the car as original as possible it's time to get the welder out.

But my 944 is a race car, and will probably meet it's end someday when I do something stupid, and wander back to the pits with nothing more than the steering wheel in my hand, the rest of the car nothing more than scrap steel being dragged off the track so the next run group can go.

Most of us are on a budget. For a twenty-something year old car, I see nothing wrong with a quick J-B Weld patch job to keep acidic water from dripping inside the car.

I doubt that 944s will ever gain the value and respect that makes it worth spending the enormous amount neccessary to restore the car to concours standards.

A pristine example is worth keeping that way. For most of the "drivers", I'm all for a quick patch, and enjoying the car.

[VINMAN]

Originally posted by Eldorado
aren't you missing a hood? :P

Ooh that was cold!!
It's not missing, I know where it is! Actually, it is sitting on the car(just not connected to it).