I have a 69 Chevelle with two small rust spots in my passenger door. One is located at the lower front of the door and is about the size of a quarter in the form of a blister under the paint. The second spot is at the lower rear of the door. It’s a little larger and the blister has lost a little paint so you can see the actual rust.

I visited a local body shop for an estimate. They proposed cutting out the rust and using a product called Allmetal to make the repair in lieu of welding in a metal patch. I was told that they would have to paint the entire door if they tried to weld in a patch. If they used the Allmetal they could paint only the lower part of the door which would be easier to color match.

I have read that the best repair is a metal patch that is butt welded, not lapped. Has anyone had any experience with Allmetal? Is this a quality repair?

I put around 8,000 miles a year on this car so it sees all kinds of weather and I’m interested in a quality repair that will last.

Thanks,
Bubba

Hello. Is anyone home......

Rust??? Glue??? Don't think so.

Gotta cut it out, clean as much debris out as you can, treat what you can't get at, make sure the drain holes are clear and then POR the in side, Epoxy prime the outer side, top coat prime/paint.

No magic, just real elbow grease.

If you have these things coming up in a door, pop off the door panel and get a good look at the backside. You might find more than you bargined for.

In fact, you might wanna see hard it is to find a rust free used door in your area. That way all you would have in it would be primer/paint, which is what you'd have to do after fixing yours. :cool:

All metal is a filler (Bondo) run from that shop and don't look back. Have it welded and painted do it right the first time.

Like Dave said its a body filler with aluminum beads in it. Some say its water proof compared to regular filler, but its not. If you look on the can you still see the main filler material is talc which is used in regular filler. Its NOT water proof, it might resist water alittle longer but not water proof. All the filler repair method is doing is prolonging the needed repair. It will simply come back to show itself sooner or later, might be a week or two years!!

Like you stated the best repair is cut out the rust and put new metal in its place...period. By the time you would grind out the rust and feather out you would have probably the same amoutn of filler in it if you welded in new metal...Eric

Thanks for the responses. The body shop was concerned about color matching the door and for that reason only wanted to disturb the lower body panel. I had never heard of Allmetal but thought I’d ask. I’ll have new metal welded in and take my chances with the paint matching.

I have had the door panel off and there is no indication of rust inside the door or around the weather stripping. Hopefully I’ve caught it before it had time to do much damage.

Thanks,
Bubba

Rust holes should never be filled with bodyfiller of any kind and I wouldn't use AllMetal if it was the last filler on earth, I've done my own testing and the stuff is no better than your average filler, it soaks up moisture like a sponge. For a strong base filler on correct metal repairs I would recomend Evercoat's Everglass, Marson's Marglass, and USC duraglass. These products are very strong, waterproof, provide excellent adhesion and do not shrink after 24hrs.