Auto body repair & detailing: patching of holes from side molding removal, plastic moldings, rubber molding

Question
my son has a 1997 honda accord that he has removed the side rubber molding strips. he wants to patch the holes and repaint. it is a white car and he also wants to paint the bottom black plastic moldings under the doors white. how would he go about this work. it seems to me that he may want to put some sort of backer behind the square holes in the door to keep the bondo from falling in. thanks. look foward to your reply.

Answer
Hi Rick,

I would recommend using some type of backing to help hold the filler in place. The correct procedure would be to weld them up. However, many body men will use fiberglass mat and resin on the back side of the panel for durability and skim coat the front with filler. This procedure holds up pretty well. Remember, if you decide to weld them in make sure you use a weld-thru primer before you weld to prevent corrosion from forming. Good Luck with it!