rocker panel drilling for side skirts
 

Is it true that the Rocker panel where it has that textured paint is made of plastic and not metal? I’ve drilled into the bottom of it to put on some bottom line side skirts. Do I need to worry about rust now?

you drilled it. what kind of shavings came out?

POR15

You couldn't tell by the shavings like soundman98 stated? Maybe you meant to say that you had someone else do the drilling?
In any case, it's metal.
https://youtu.be/m3AyCXISNSs?t=615

oh cool a used quarter panel replacement, god i hate these YouTube rebuilders.

What's the issue here? Them being on Youtube doesn't change that recycling used parts has been a thing. I've had used doors and other parts on my cars in the past

recycled doors and most other parts are bolt on parts, you will destroy the used quarter panel separating it to get it off the used clip. once you drill out those spot welds you no longer have material to resistance weld or rivet (depending on the manufacturers procedure) the used panel to the vehicle. Used structural parts are not an approved repair procedure and if a shop is doing it they are not doing a proper repair.

Makes sense enough. Thank you for the info, I'll keep that in mind should I have some rotten panels I need to replace in 10-15 years

I have to wonder if there is a difference between acceptable practices between states.

Procedure taught at one of the main autobody training schools in West Michigan in regards to the reuse of structural components was in fact to drill spot welds and reattach using MIG (GMAW) to fill the holes (admittedly this was over twenty years ago; I have no first hand knowledge of current instruction/practice; I did not remain in the field). However, given the fickle nature of resistance spot welding, I have no reason to doubt MIG filled holes with adequate penetration are equal (possibly superior) to the original spot welded union.

(I paid for college working as the quality control department for a Tier 1 automotive supplier to GM, Chrysler, and Honda (that I remember). Part of my position was performing destructive tests on spot welded sub-assemblies to certify the structures would remain intact up to defined loads. We were constantly adjusting the robotic resistance welders; one hour the assemblies might only pass because the sheer quantity of marginal welds held just well enough, the next hour the parts would be covered in 3” metal spikes from molten steel ejected from the weld pools. Minor variances in stamping tolerance, the roll of steel the stamping came from, wear on the welding tips, pre-weld component temps, etc. all contributed to the inconsistency.)

What I’m getting at is: I don’t understand why reusing a structural component would not be an acceptable repair if done well.

FWIW at least for the guy from the Youtube video, he's not professionally trained in auto work. He was a software engineer and then turned his side hobby of "fixing" cars into the Youtube job.

you do not have to understand it but OEM repair standards are OEM repair standards in any state and country they don't change based on state lines, and if you are an actual shop and go against the repair procedures you are responsible for what happens if the vehicle is in another collision.


https://www.repairerdrivennews.com/2...o-body-repair/

From the article you linked:

I haven’t watched the “B is for Build” series to know how he reassembled his vehicle, but the autobody program I mentioned previously was teaching how to use parts from an auto recycler using a procedure that roughly corresponds to the quoted Honda procedure. In the case of the linked article the shop panel bonded the structural roof instead of welding it, but nothing in the article appears to detail whether the parts were oem replacements (often from recyclers, not overstock) or from aftermarket duplications. Recycling structural components was totally a thing, I can’t say for sure that it still is, but the availability of various structural cuts from my local recyclers leads me to believe it’s still a common and acceptable practice.

I can assure you no OEM procedure supports recycling structural components and you cannot follow OEM procedure with it. The article had nothing to do with recycled parts but to show if you don’t follow procedure as a shop big things can happen. Using recycled structural parts might still be done but by no means is it an acceptable practice.

home depot sells home renovation supplies to anyone with a credit card--even if it's not theirs. to draw a parallel, would this mean that any home renovation done via components procured through home depot inherently meet all applicable building codes?