Hey everyone!
My 98 cutlass has now become one of the regulars on the road along with the malibu's who seem to all have the same b.s. problem of the paint bubbling around the gas cap and the rust coming through as a big *** nasty hole.

I would like to repair this on my own since fabrication is the only thing really lacking in my DIY area of expertise. I have no problem with putting the time and elbow grease into this project as i consider this a learning experience.

I have heard of punching out all the rust, throwing a wire mesh or some sort of covering there, then bondo, then sanding...???
Another suggestion i have had was riveting a piece of sheet metal on the inside and then bondoing over it??
Im not sure, and would like to get this done before winter as i am a buffalonian livin the life here.

any suggestion, internet forwards, personal experiences are EXTREMELY appreciated!!!
thank you for reading!
jim bernsdorf

 

This is not a long term solution and i wouldn't expect it to last more than 3-4 years, but you can fiberglass it.

You should remove as much of the free rust as possible and send as much as you can off the rest of the rust. If you can cut away the rusted edges of the hole, do it.
Put antirust primer on any exposed sheetmetal, if you will not do it, the area will rust away much quicker.
Put a sheet of fiberglass soaked in resin from the inner side of the hole, let it cure for a while, then do the same on the outside.
Let it cure completely, and sand the fiberglass on the outside to smooth it out as much as posible.
Put bundo on the area and sand it with 200 grid sandpaper or higher to create a smooth finish. You can smooth it out much more if you use micro-filler after the bondo.
Spray the whole area with antirust primer.
Please note that fiberglass and bondo dust are hazardous to your health and you should always use eye and breath protection when dealing with them.

Good luck with it,
Dima.