Help With A Holy Body

I am going to get a fresh coat of paint on my '62 CJ5 - hopefully next Spring. In the meantime, I want to prep it and do some body work - something I know very little about. I am blessed with minimal serious rust. I am not aiming at getting every little dent and ding out (gotta have some "character"). However one thing I would like to take care of is to fill all the drilled holes that are no longer used . I believe most are for the attachment hardware for the various tops that the PO had on it over the years. They look bad and are a source of rust. I know the right way to do it is to weld them closed, grind down, fill, etc. I do not have a MIG welder and if I did would not know how to use it. Are there other methods that do not take special equipment, will hold up well, and will look good? It doesn't seem like bondo by itself would work very well or be very reliable. Your experience would be appreciated. I have attached a picture showing an example. Notice 6 holes are visible just in this one small area. There are many more.

 

If I were you, I'd hit all the wholes with a sander to bare metal and go find a welder who will just weld the holes closed for you. Tell him you'll do all the finish grinding, you just want the holes filled. Couldn't cost much. If they are prepped out he should be able to fill each one of those holes in a matter of seconds.

 

even though i have a welder i just brazed all my holes shut. propane torch and i cant remeber which rod i used but it was not hard at all. just practice a little before you start.

 

I welded some of mine and then others I just filled with bondo. The bondo has held up fine so far.

 

I welded 90% of mine, but not very well. (First time using a welder), I then ground them down, smeared some JB Weld over them, sanded, then did a little bondo touch up. If there was still bare metal, I used some etching primer. It isn't perfect looking, (this was my first expierence with bodywork as well), but looks alot better then the 20 some odd holes all around the tub.

Dondo

 

whoever does the welding, I think I would remove the gas tank from the Jeep first.... for safety sake.....wink wink

 

I took an auto body class years ago and ended up brazing a bunch of holes. It was much easier than I would have guessed (I don't know how to weld either). I think just a torch and some brazing rod. Then grind it smooth.
When I got my Jeep it just had some old primer - no paint. I ended up priming and painting it. It's a bit of work but I think it's easier than just about any other vehicle.