Bodywork

[Dean]

Hi all.

I'm after advice/help on how to de-rust the DLX. I've not had much experience at bodywork, so would very much appreciate your tips.

Main areas are:-

Under headlights,
Rear Arches,
Windscreen pillars,
Bottom of tailgate,
Bottoms of doors,
Tops of doors, under rubber window strip,
Sills and inside door opening.
Inside filler cap cover.

I'll post some piccies when I get hold of the girlfriends digital camera.

Sorry for starting another rust thread, but would really like help from others who have done this before

Cheers

Dean.

[H48HPE]

firstly theres two sorts of rust, surface rust and rust from the inside. surface rust isnt too difficult to treat but internal rust is a nightmare.

with a panel suffering from internal rust the only answer is to cut the effected area out and weld/fill it, you can clean it up and re paint from the outside but it comes back through within a couple of weeks in my experience.

the panel under my headlights was suffering from surface rust, mainly from stonechips that occured over the years (so im assuming yours is too). because this is surface rust, its easier to treat. Remove the headlights and grill for better access, then rub the metal down 'till all the rust is removed and all the rust patches are shiny new(ish) looking metal. then I brush painted the whole panel with comma rust stop paint. let it dry, rubbed down till smooth but not back to bare metal. then mask all areas you dont want paint on off, and spray the repair area. use very thin coats, built up over how ever long it takes to get a good surface finish.

rear arches need to be cut out and replaced to do them properly as If they are like most it will be internal rust efecting these. if its only a small part then you could cut the rust out like i did with a dremmel multi and wack some filler in, this sorts the area out nicly, but the real problem is that it'll be a similar story all around the rest of the arch which means that you'll sort one area out then a month or so later another bubble will appear 3 inch's away from the last. I would suggest new arches, properly rust treated from new this is the path im going to take.

doors and tailgates will be rusting from the inside, again replacments are best they can do just the lower half. however, my doors were like this and i repaired them 2 years ago and they are still ok, I sanded the paint and rust away from the effected areas and used comma rust stop paint as a primer, then sanded smooth, because you can see even minor imperfections through the final paint its important to take time with this. I had to smooth the comma paint down and re apply several times before it was a good smooth layer that tapered away nicly into the surrounding panel. then you'll need to use a priming paint in a spray can because there will be unpainted bare metal. mask off the area and spray on. a few coats, not too thickly or it'll run (very thin coats lots of times is the answer). Once satifsfied with the priming you need to spray the colour coat on as always very thin coats lots of times. the real proplemis sorting the rust on the inside. because the door skin can be got at from inside its not too bad. take the door card off, wash the inside of the door to get rid of the dirt and sludge etc. then let it dry, clean the flaky rust and paint away then blast it with waxoyl. waxoyl is fantastic, it kills rust then leaves water tight wax over the bare metal. I did this on my door and its lasted two years as I say, although, it wont stay good for ever, Im going to replace my door skins when this happens.

If your unlucky and the rust is in a place where you cant get at the back of the panel then your going to have to cut and weld/fill to stop it coming back within a few weeks.

inside the filler cap is another big problem area. most cars suffer in here. only way to deal with it is to get a new one put in if its bad whih they usually are

I have yet to find a way of sorting rust in body seams economically, a professional will be my option.

under window rubbers is another pain in the neck, the rust will probably be under the screen rubbers and the screen needs taking out to sort it properly. only cheap and tempory option here is to clean up what you can see and paint it as the other areas have been done.

sills are structural so really need welding up if there are any holes. rust here could be internal or external its hard to tell. just clean up and paint if its not bad. ultimate answer is a set of new sills welded in.


Final pointers are. buy lots of waxoyl and spray it everwhere where there are panel recesses. buy your colour paints from rover, ive found them to be the best match..

have you jetwashed all the mud from inside your arches and under the car? if you havnt do it now! the mud holds water and salt against the car which never dries out during winter, slowly eating away at your bodywork. get rid of it and itll definitely slow down deteriation, its the main cause of wheelarch rot.

Andy

[John S]

Here's some good rust eaters that you could consider purchasing. If your car has a black/grey lower half, concealing rust will be much easier so DIY should be no problem e.g. black hammerite can be painted directly over rust (not for the fussy but very effective).
I really do recommend the tailgate to be filled as a cheap measure as well because it will last long enough before it starts rusting again.

[Alan the Vanner]

Ah, Jenolite. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Wire-brushing the loose rust, treatment with Jenolite (Following the instructions to the letter helps enormously - I type from experience), and then whatever paint you choose (Like a couple of coats of Hammerite for the underside). There you have it!:D :D :D

[G24 BDG]

respray the whole car...then its dun correctly

[Quality]

if only that a40 had sorted the rust out before the respray it wouldn't have a large area one each wing with plenty of paint covering rust lumps:banghead: :banghead: :banghead:
:banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: