[Captn_Jim]

Up front, I am a beginner at body work but having a lot of fun messing up and redoing my mistakes but my question... I see a lot of use of cleco clamps to hold panels together but after panels are welded programs never show a technique for filling in all the holes made. I want to use them to hold two panels while i plug weld them together but then what do i do with the holes?
Captn Jim

 

[39 master]

I usually use a strip of copper backing the hole and weld the hole up. Of course the weld does not stick to the copper so move it to the next hole and weld again. This method also helps prevent a blowout.

 

[idrivejunk]

I'm anti-cleco. They simply aren't needed. But...

Weld them after enlarging the hole to a sufficient size for that.

Or use screws instead because they allow a larger hole in the top panel.

Flat nosed spotweld removal bits are available which have a small pilot tip and can be used for enlarging the top layer's hole only while leaving the screw or cleco hole small.

Thats what I reach for in this situation.