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spot welds on 1/4s


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what is the best way to remove the existing 1/4 panel from the trunk weatherstrip area without damaging the panel its welded to?  thanls

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I use a spot weld drill bit ,looks like a mini hole saw. Just go slow and try to just drill through the top panel(quarter panel) as not to go through the lower panel that you need to reuse.

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If you don't care about the panel that you're removing I like to use a flap wheel on a grinder or a cutoff wheel in a die grinder. When you're about to break through to the good panel the metal will start to turn blue, letting you know that it's time to ease up. I pair that with a thin chisel, or you can use a spot weld separator. That helps remove any hidden or doubled up spot welds.

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I usually use 'bullet point' drills. They basically shave the spot weld off. You'll see when it's thru the first layer of metal.

When I started doing paint/body work in 1990, one of the top metal guys in the area told me about these.

Back then, the 'spot weld cutters' Kevin mentioned were real expensive and available only at paint jobbers or places like Eastwood (Amazon has them all over the place now though). One of the complaints about that style was they tended to break the teeth off or didn't last long, but usually that was a function of operator error.

 

bullet point.JPG

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 "One of the complaints about that style was they tended to break the teeth off or didn't last long, but usually that was a function of operator error".

 

Lol  Maybe that's why i went thru about 10 of those other bits!   LOL

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very good info ,allways best to get opinions from other folks.thanks to all, I think Ill try the flap wheel method first.

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When I first  started my project, I bought a couple cheap harbor freight spot weld cutters. I was convinced they were all garbage after using them. I then went to a supplier and bought a Blair brand spot weld cutter and I've drilled dozens if not a hundred welds and it hasn't broken a tooth yet. Wish I would have gotten a good brand from the start.

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