following up a message from Sean Dunbar to Cloyce Osborn:
 CO> I'll tell you a little secret.  If you go to a commercial
 CO> communications store (a real radio store, not a Radio Shack), they'll
 CO> be glad to sell you a handfull of rubber plugs made to patch antenna
 CO> holes in sheet metal.  I once bought a Wildlife Department pickup
I didn't catch this whole thread, but I'll add my two-cents and hope it might 
stir the inventive juices.  The father of my first girlfriend used to restore 
old cars and he used to 'lead' up any holes he found.  I'm sure you could 
find the procedure for this in almost any restoration manual (or perhaps here 
;).
IMHO, I've tried the body-putty, the fiberglass, and the plug way - none of 
which have worked very well.  The putty always seems to expand and contract 
differently than the surrounding metal and eventually the hardened surface 
(paint) 'orange-peels' occur.  The fiberglass is not as bad, but a bear to 
work with.  I've used both the rubber and the metal plugs, both of which let 
in just enough moisture to rust the metal around the hole, plus the rubber 
ones harden with time and become brittle - a quick fix if you don't want to 
do any repainting and don't mind the visible signs of 'plugged' holes.
The only method I haven't tried myself (other than the lead) is wire-welding, 
but I'm going to try that to close up the sliding window cutouts in the side 
of my panel-van.  I heard that it takes special equipment and a steady hand 
but lasts the life of the vehicle and since it's metal, it works to a smooth 
OEM finish nicely.
Whatever you decide - good luck...
All the Best to you and yours,
       Bruce LeGrande
           NC2003
--- GEcho 1.11+
---------------