Expert: William Forster - 5/3/2008

Question
Hello William,
the hatch door has a 1/2 inch triangular rip in the metal. The rip is left to the handle to open the trunk - above the license plate. The metal points outward. It is a very sharp clean brake. (We just bought the car with a broken rear windshield and did not realize the "Hole" until we had the glass replaced in the hatch. Everything was covered up in plastic to protect the inside from the rain.) How do I fix this without braking the glass I just put in???
Thank you.

Answer
Take it to a body shop, and have them repair the gate. Surely they can repair it without damaging the new glass., If you want a simple do it yourself fix, tap the metal back dwn flush, grind the area down with a 36 grit disc, (keep it small as possible) and fill and primer the spot with body putty. You might get lucky and find some close matching rattle can paint at Auto Zone or somewhere like that. Bill