If it makes you feel any better, this is the stuff that finds it's way into my shop.
Someone else's idea or a repair. ...yes, that's normal window screen in there.
Here's a proper repair with metal welded in.
This stuff is a big reason I strip vehicles to see what's been done before. Some decent looking cars were absolute disasters under a shiny paint job. As long as you're doing it, do it once and do it right. I'm excited to see this one progress.