I dug a huge amount of rust out of my jackport and am trying to decide how to patch it. Considering the size of the hole around the port, I'm thinking welding a patch on might be the only option. I don't think I will have access to a donor car to take that swatch out of, and it looks like some sheet metal would suffice ... doesn't have to be cosmetically perfect. Where can I get a piece of sheet metal, and what kind should I look for? I'll add some photos of the damaged area when I get a chance ... it is nasty. Going to clean it and hit it with some POR15 tomorrow, but I'll need something to cork the area missing material. Maybe Marine Tex or Duraglass as some have mentioned in previous threads would help, but I think the area is too large ... once I get photos up, maybe you guys can chime in.

you're BEST BEST BEST bet to get that fixed..is take it to a bodyshop.

unless it gets welded, primed and painted with proper materials, anything you do will only come back and haunt you in 6 months. I see it ALL the time, as I work in the autobody field..

Ypu can buy new rocker panels at shermanauto.com. They will be shaped like the original. About 60.00 each. Cheap enough to cut off the profiles you need.

The right way is to remove the old panel and weld in a new one. Not everyone can do this, but in my case (w201 chassis) it was much easier to do than in most unibody cars since the underbody of a MB is so rigid.

You can buy new rocker panels at shermanauto.com.

That website is parked and of no use.

A body shop is overkill for a car worth less than $5000. You'd put 20-30% of the value of the car into the repair. I think the idea of a home fix is appropriate for the car, depending on the circumstances.

Do you have a welder? If not, do you want to get one just to do the repair for fun? OK.

Can you post a picture of the area?

The most simple patch may be a section of sheet metal with a hole cut in it to fit the jack hole. Hammer it to the right shape, and weld it in place. Seal with seam sealer. Paint. Certainly not a show quality repair but sufficient for a daily driver. The goal is to slow down rust progression as much as possible.

Ken300D

http://store.shermanparts.com/cgi-bin/sherman/product_list.html?img_num=3525

I just got some quarter panel patches from them look to be decent quality, the only problem you cant buy from them directly you have to buy from a distributor they have a hole list of them on there site just put in your location and the prices are cheap enough. if the distributor in your area wants to make up the pices a hole bunch let me know I can get the parts from my local distributor for the prices on the site we know them well and have bought quite a few parts from them

Seal with seam sealer. Paint. Certainly not a show quality repair but sufficient for a daily driver. The goal is to slow down rust progression as much as possible.

Ken300D

Seam sealer isn't the way to do it.

Our cars rust because of the seam sealer....why do you think MB offers re-sealing every 15,000km?