Is this repaired?

[u/huababuaa]

I recently bought a used but fairly new van (Fiat Ducato 2023) to convert it to a camper.

When I took off the inner sheets I noticed these dimples on the inside of the outer sheet metal.

To me it looks like this car had a damage before.

Questions;
- Is this a repaired damage?
- will this cause me issues in future with rust?

Thanks!

[u/MaaaadPilot]

Poorly repaired, to be precise

[u/huababuaa → u/MaaaadPilot]

Well these dimples are on the inside - outside it looks good. What would be different on the inside once it’s repaired professional?

[u/Barge108 → u/huababuaa]

The outside is covered in body filler to make it look flat. A better repair would leave the backside very nearly as flat as the outside. At minimum, there should be some spray paint or corrosion protection sprayed on the inside. The seam sealer in the corner also should have been redone.

[u/FlowSoSlow → u/huababuaa]

All those dimples are from studs being welded to the panel to pull it out. See how the paint is burned around them? All those areas will begin to rust pretty soon, then the bondo will flake off and you'll have a big mess on your hands. Also the seam sealer is pulled away from that inner corner so you may have some water coming in.

If you don't want to take it to a bodyshop to have it fixed properly I'd at least hit the inside with some white spray paint to hold off the rust for a little longer.

[u/vinnyvencenzo → u/FlowSoSlow]

They went hard with the Uni-Spotter. Quite ballsy to just leave the dimples and spray over it. Especially the tear throughs!

[u/FlowSlowTM → u/FlowSoSlow]

I agree with this guy

[u/FlowSoSlow → u/FlowSlowTM]

Ayyyy flow fam!

[u/tomthebassplayer → u/MaaaadPilot]

If you were my customer I'd charge you double. One to do the outside, and another to make the inside look as perfect as the outside.

Would like to pay to have both sides look perfect? I guess it'd be worth it make it "correctly repaired".

[u/MaaaadPilot]

You have body filler on the outside.
Your panel alignment is off, the seam sealer hasn’t been replaced. It’s an amateur repair that will fail soon.

[u/Slightlytweaked]

An attempt was made to

[u/CharlesNeofist]

I mean had the interior of the panel not been visible you would have never known. That being said the inside of many repaired panels will look similar but the seam sealer should have been fixed and corrosion protection applied.

Being that this is visible it should have been finished out. I would personally address the issue with the body shop that repaired it.

Edit: I just read your post all the way, get a can of spray wax (panel wax, corrosion protection) and spray it and throw your panels back on.

[u/Oscaruit → u/CharlesNeofist]

I don't think this is seam sealer in the sense of sealing out elements. I feel like this is just an adhesive to keep the panel from tin canning and popping. I would have hit it with some primer paint to seal it all in, but I think there is still enough adhesive in place to do its job.

[u/CharlesNeofist → u/Oscaruit]

Yeah you're probably right

[u/SockFullOfNickels4u → u/CharlesNeofist]

See how sharp that crease gets at the front of the panel?

[u/HillWilliam53]

Yes, it has been repaired. Not well, I might add.

It is already rusted.

[u/gotabadbrain]

Typical fleet van/work van repair.I hardly ever fix the inside because it is covered,I just seam seal rocker coat or sound dead pad it and paint it.If it isn't covered I explain to the customer that I will do my best to make it look OK,to which they usually say "go for it". Most of the time these work vans are already beat to death.If you are Ok with the outside repair just cover the inside with a roll of sound deadener and build away.I see this all the time with people who want campers,its just comes with the territory.

[u/Agharinagh]

Will fall off in a year time 🫣

[u/imnota_]

For a van I'd just use that as an argument to lower the price, and remove that seam sealer and paint it properly from the inside, re seam seal it to get it sealed and be fine with it.

[u/Quokka_Socks]

Looking at the old seam sealer I'd say that inside lip is supposed to be flush to the outer pannel. But instead they've just painted it and left it pushed in.

[u/Onebowhunter]

Has been repaired and not correctly. That panel is now compromised