found a replacement arch for my daily drive mk5 escort. It has a rusty rear arch and was thinking of cutting away the worst of it and using car body filler to bond the new one on and blend it in. I have access to a gallon tin of easy sand car filler so that would be easy for me to do. Is this gonna work or do they have to be welded on?

thanks in advance

Weld it!!!! Don't even think that simply slapping on filler would be a good idea. Filler is not designed as a structural support material, merely as a finishing material.

 

With stresses in the body, it'll simply crack and eventually fall off.

weld is best, but you could fibrol it on, thats what my (and most other wide arch) kit is stuck on with

Weld it!!!! Don't even think that simply slapping on filler would be a good idea. Filler is not designed as a structural support material, merely as a finishing material.

 

With stresses in the body, it'll simply crack and eventually fall off.

 

was just asking as I don't have a welder so it's gonna be a shop job then. Don't want to spend a lot on the car as it's just a workhorse and mechanically sound

weld is best, but you could fibrol it on, thats what my (and most other wide arch) kit is stuck on with

Is that fibrol stuff a trade names stell's ? Where I get that stuf from that sounds good

Stuff like fibrol is ok on panels where there's structural rigidity. If you're cutting metal out leaving an inner skin and an outer skin with no structural bond, then it'll crack and fall off.

 

If you want a cheap job though, I guess you could bond it on with no more nails or something leaving the rust underneath and intact metal.

its actually called fibrol, you will get it at any paint shop supply place