ml> cut out the area and then weld/braze in a new piece... then grind and
ml> smooth the seam... finally, proper priming and painting ;)

 MH> I have never welded before and currently don't have any tools for
 MH> doing welding. 

that's why i also stated brazing... brazing is done with a torch and
brazing material... it is very much like soldering except that you are
melting a stronger metal than lead... HVAC lines are brazed together...
generally with copper rods... i've also seen brass used and a silver
material but i'm unable to recall exactly what, of several, it was but it
is also what i would use if it were me doing the work... brass and copper
are too soft, in my opinion, for patching body panels on cars... they are
also different enough from normal body metal that they would likely also
not stick properly...

 MH> Not sure how difficult it would be or if there is a "weekend 
 MH> mechanic" toolkit for doing this type of repair.  I'm not sure 
 MH> where to get the proper metal for the replacement piece.

i would think that plain old sheet metal would be the thing... not
galvanized, though... magnetic sheet metal... you should be able to just
get the proper thickness and go from there...

 MH> It is no more than 3" by 4" where you can see the rust bubble 
 MH> effect under the paint - just on the one side.

yeah, i'm familiar with the flaw... a pinhole in the paint allowed moisture
to get in and now it has spread... something like this might be able to be
handled by simply sanding off the surface surrounding area to the bare
metal... then using primer, layer it on so as to bring the level back up...
this is what is being done when a car is being primered and sanded,
anyway... layer on the primer, wet sand to remove the high spots... put on
more primer and sand some more... the sanding takes down the high spots and
the multiple application of the primer raise the low spots... depending on
the depth of them, this is generally ok... really deep stuff is tapped out
from behind or cut out and replaced... i know there is also a way to shrink
streched metal from a dent but i've not seen it done...

ml> i guess this depends on what you really want... i'm rather spoiled from
ml> watching the TV shows where they go and swipe someone's old vehicle (with
ml> help from a family insider) and a week later they present a completely
ml> rebuilt vehicle... there were, at one time, three of them on the air...
ml> these days, chip foose's Overhaulin' is all i can find...

 MH> I want the exact same show all the time.  Overhaulin' is a great
 MH> show.. I wouldn't mind if they paid me a visit..

i hear ya... too bad they seem to be limited to the CA area and more
specifically limited to the city where their shops are located... but yeah,
great show and they do display some of the techniques needed...

)\/(ark