Jim, depends how anal retentive you are
We have eliminated most of the factory "pinch welds" on the 55 wagon in the rust prone areas, like where the rear pan welds to the lower quarter. The factory flanges were eliminated in favor of a butt weld that is no longer a rust trap. My contention is that OEM's don't use pinch welds because they are the best, they are used as they are the fastest to get something down the assembly line. On coach built cars of yesteryear that were not part of the assembly line process, you saw butt welds and gas welding..
On the flange repairs, my suggestion is to not use them in the center of a panel that the factory originally has as a one piece panel. The factory doesn't use them on exterior panels where they are intended to be an invisible repair, we should not either. The patch panels that come with flanges already IMO are pressed that way for the guys that don't yet have stones enough to butt weld. Cut the flange off and trim the panel fitment nice and tight, and butt weld them into place for best results.
