Anyone that has fixed up a Brat has come across the conundrum, "Do I buy a new tailgate or fix the one I have?" I went with the latter.  Was it the right step? It was for me, but I was bored.

 

Below is the 12 step program I created, so you can see if it's worth it to you to repair your tailgate.

 

I also added a few pictures. Unfortunatly I'm missing a few pictures in the middle.

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Step 1. Take out the components, of the tailgate

 

Step 2. Separate the two shells by cutting them with a grinder. (you can also unfold the edges and drill out the tack points, This is just the way I did it.)

 

Step 3. strip the paint (you wan't access to rump roast much rust as possible)

 

Step 4. use a wire wheel to take off all the rust

 

Step 5. Hit the bad spots with navel jelly

 

Step 6. Paint with rust stop.

 

step 7. hit the cancer with fiberglass ( I used netting and covered it in resin, as the whole top half of the tailgate was getting thin.)

 

Step 8. weld together (Careful when welding. If you get carried away, you will catch the fiberglass on fire ,and then you will have to recover the, now black carbon covered fabric.)

 

Step 9. grind welds. (Careful not to burn back through the metal)

 

Step 10. Fill body dents with filler, and fiberglass any remaining holes. ( I also used sheet metal to cover the biggest of the holes)

 

Step 11. Paint with rust stop again. Then with color of choice

 

Step 12. Re-install components

 

* Step 13. Have a beer

A good look at the cancer

This hole was later fit with a peice of sheet metal

The two halfs cut apart

If you look close you can see more cancer

 

missing the photos where I stripped, sanded and applied the fiberglass...

Here it is painted and welded back together.

You can see where I cut out the cancer and added some sheet metal.

and again here

This will have to be fiberglassed

A closer look at the welds, already partially done.

You can see some ofthe finer work that still needs to be done

In body work, you are suppose to cut out all the cancer. If I did that with this tailgate, I would have nothing left...

As for many of us 'cancer' is not just a word, perhaps you'd like to use the word 'rust' in future.

"Cancer" is a term for rust that has eaten all the way through the metal just as "retard" is a term for turning back your timing. What do you refer to them as across the pond?

Spent the last couple days adding fiberglass and body filler. I forgot what a pain in the rump roast fiberglass is. I didn't mix the resin strong enough so I had to recover it. Now I keep finding patches of pitch, it's awesome. It does work great on that cancer, though.

Finished the body work today...

Took more than I thought and it still needs more, but it's getting a coat of Herculiner when I finish the bed. That should cover up everything else.

No more holes

Here I cut out the cancer and welded in sheet metal, added fiberglass netting and resin, covered it in fiberglass body filler and topped it off with bondo. It's not as thick as it looks.

painted the whole thing with Rustoleum and finished it off with satin black. letting it cure under the heat lamps over night before I paint the other side.

 

The satin black is "rattle can" and the tail gate is going to serve as a test. If I like it the whole car is getting rattle caned.

did you leave drain wholes in the tail gate? if not you should drill some in the bottom, its the reason why these rust out so bad because they get clogged with stuff over years and they get wet inside and never dry out.

Thanks

Tailgate painted...

 

I'll post a set of all the components back on it in a couple days, maybe I'll even buff the paint out. I doubt it though.

 

Edited May 5, 201312 yr by Godsmulligan