How to Drill Out Spot Welds on My Car Trunk

Most modern cars are held together by spot welds, located in the seams of the doors and underneath moldings. They're not difficult to remove if you have the right tools, but even if you don't it can be done with a little time and patience.

Instructions

1

Find the spot welds. In a truck, these are generally around the perimeter and stick up to hold molding. Try pulling off the rubber seal between the trunk and decklid and look for the welds. They will be round and look like the metal has been punched with a hole punch, then filled.

2

Drill with spot-weld cutting bits to remove the welds. Place the bit in the middle of the weld and start drilling. The bit is designed to remove the weld itself without moving a lot of metal.

3

Consider another option, which is using a series of drill bits. This isn't optimal because it will cut through both sides of the sheet metal that the weld is holding together, but it will separate the welds.

4

If the weld is sticky and difficult to remove, use an air hammer with a chisel attachment. Stick the chisel between the two layers of metal until the weld is free. This will frequently distort the metal, but ultimately it can be fixed with a hammer and dolly if need be.

5

Continue removing the other spot welds in the trunk so that you can remove the panel you're looking to replace.