Welded lap joint and method of making the same

A method of forming a welded lap joint in sheet metal panels to form an uninterrupted outer surface across the joint comprising the steps of:

• positioning a metal spacer strip along the edge of a first panel and spaced from said edge,
• bending the margin of the first panel from the plane of the outer panel surface back against the spacer strip to form a U-shaped section with the spacer strip crimped inside the U-shaped section,
• forming the margin of the second panel in an offset substantially parallel to the outer panel surface and spaced from the plane of the second panel surface by an amount equal to the thickness of the U-shaped section of the first panel,
• assembling the second panel margin to the bent back-first panel margin by overlapping the margins and spot welding the two panel margins together, the spot welding being carried out by a small electrode of area comparable to the area of the weld nugget to be formed engaging the second panel margin, which electrode is opposed by a large area electrode which leaves no electrode indentation on the first panel outer surface, whereby the spacer strip separates the first panel outer surface from the weld nugget to minimize marking of said surface, and whereby a small crevice is formed between the outer surfaces of the two panels, and
• filling the crevice with a filler material and shaping the filler material to provide an uninterrupted outer surface across the joint.