I was fixing the door handle to my 2001 Toyota Camry and in the process I messed up the car door a bit and the door handle doesn’t perfectly fit back in so it has created a gap.
I’m thinking of using this epoxy to cover the gap and then painting over it. Will this idea work to cover the gap. Haven’t really worked much with epoxy, so I’m looking for some feedback.
This is the epoxy I’m thinking of using https://www.amazon.com/Permatex-84101-PermaPoxy-General-Purpose/dp/B000ALJ4NS
Which door handle are we talking about, the inside one or the outside one?
What did you mess up, and why not just un-mess it up rather than patching over the problem?
The exterior door handle. I messed up the car door metal because I did not know that you needed to remove the door lock when replacing the handle so I tried to basically force it out and warped the metal, which caused the door handle to not go in fully. It just out a bit on the right side and I want to fill that gap.
being it is a older car. you could try tapping the metal in with a wood or rubber mallet. or call someone like Dent Dr. to fix it. a picture would help.
Is epoxy not a realistic solution? I’m just trying to do a quick fix, as I only did this during my free time and I don’t really want to spend much more time working on it. Just want it covered so snow doesn’t get in.
I’ll post a picture in a little bit. Not near my car right now.
You buggered up the door. Using epoxy as a fix will likely make it look as bad or worse. Unless you are a skilled body repair specialist or a talented diy er, it will look lumpy and the paint will make it look worse. Your question tells me you are not a talented diy er and this is not the right product. Body repair is hard and it takes practice.
a liquid epoxy will probably run down. if anything you can use something like… J-B Weld 8267 SteelStik Steel Reinforced Epoxy Putty Stick.
but if you plan on getting it fixed the right way in the near future, than just put a piece of duct tape on it for now.
Thanks. I’m really only looking to do a quick fix so that should work to keep the car going for a bit longer.
The gap won’t hurt anything.
Not knowing what kind of gap, gee at least use an automotive product. Rope caulk is used for sealing but it is non-hardening and might be hard to get in the gaps. There is seam sealer that hardens and is used to seal seams as the name implies. Free time or not, wouldn’t it be better to try and straighten the sheet metal a little to fit better?
My preference would be an RTV sealer. That is available in various colors including clear. You did not state the color of the car but maybe it would match (somewhat) some RTV which is available just about everywhere.
RTV would also be removable without more buggering of the metal if epoxy was used.
Like @Mustangman said, there’s not really a need to seal it. Water gets into the door anyway. There’s a vapor barrier in there to keep it away from anything that can’t get wet. It’ll just run down the inside of the outer door skin and drain out of holes in the bottom if it does get in there.
My preference would be to try a paintless dent repair.
Often times us DIYers end up botching the job the first time. We just call it a learning experience and go on to try it a second or third time. That’s how we accumulate new tools. Suggest rubber mallet and dolly.