Front wing repairs

Here we go on fixing a knackered holey front wing. Following on from my previous post where I investigated the reason for paint blistering and rust in the top corner of the front wing, today I had the day off work so spent a good 8 hours cutting, grinding and welding. Here was the hole we started with:
 

 

The doors and hinges came off OK on drivers side, and that was the worst so I started there. Ground back the area to find good metal as you can see. Luckily it was a good day for it, absolutely boiling hot... not great in welding gauntlets but better than rain I suppose. I always keep two grinders on the go - one with a normal grinding disc and one with a diamond cutting disc for making up the patches and cutting back the old metal.

 I use the bonnet of a car I got from the scrap yard as my donor metal. I just cut a bit out of the outer skin - it's a good thickness and the one I'm using at the moment in galvanised to a bit more rust protection, although that makes it splatter more when welding. Here's the first patch fully welded in and ground back. My welding isn't great, but the grinder hides a multitude of sins.... I put this piece in to give the bottom of the A pillar some strength as it's currently hanging in space a bit. All came out really rather well. for once welding on the side of the car rather than underneath - so much nicer when the splatter falls on the floor instead of on top of you...

 next welded on the lower patch. I folded over the top to make it like a wrapped over wing (just hammer a shape in the vice and on the floor until it nearly fits, then do the first few welds and hammer to shape from there). A bit of Etch Primer (bubbled a bit due to it all being a bit hot still, but it won't show).

 Then normal primer on top of that - Smoothed back a tiny bit once dry with fine sand paper.

 Then onto the other side. Easier job which is lucky because I can't get the bolts out of the doors so had to do it with them fitted.

 And finally throw a bit of Rustoleum on top to make it water proof. Deal with colour matching later.

Should do for another 10 years hopefully. I'm happy to say it's probably the best welding job I've done yet. As no-one looks at the quality of the welding anyway due to the paint job, as long as it's structurally OK, I'm happy.