Rant: I saw a guy at the Mid-Ohio Collision Expo just weld a patch panel right over some light surface rust.

He was working a demo on a quarter panel and said 'it's fine, it'll hold for years.' I was taught you grind it all down to bare, clean metal every single time, no exceptions. That was two years ago and I still think about it when I see a quick fix. Has anyone else run into this kind of corner cutting at a show or training?

3 comments

3 Comments

murray.jana1mo agoMost Upvoted

That "it's fine" attitude drives me nuts! I see it all the time, and it's just lazy. Grinding down to clean metal is the only right way, no question. It's wild that a guy at a show would teach people to do it wrong. That kind of corner cutting just guarantees the rust comes back twice as bad.

tarabell1mo ago

Ugh, totally! It's that same mindset of "good enough for now" that makes my coffee maker break right after the warranty ends. Feels like everything's built to fail fast so you buy it again.

emma_flores1mo ago

My old truck had the same issue. Got a wire wheel on a drill and went down to bare metal like you said, and it's held up for years. Tarabell is right, that "good enough" approach just costs more later.