Defeating Rust

[mmidland]

Any advice on what is the best way to treat rusty panels on our maestro's. I have removed all loose rust from body panels and front suspension by attacking with rotating wire brushes. I cannot get down to bare metal in some areas due to access.

I have tried Hammerite (Kurust+2xHammerite primer+2xHammerite) and have found that the Hammerite primer does not adhere well to the Kurust - it appears to adhere better using Jenolite as a rust treater.

I have also used 2xPOR-15+2xPOR Chassis Black (available from Frosts) but am concerned about the lack of a rust treatment.

I have recently bought some zinc 182 primer but am unsure what is the best combination of paints to reduce the reappearance of rust?

Any advice/experience gratefully received,
Cheers

Richard

[Austin-Rover]

You seem to be off to a good start fighting rust!

I am a bit of a novice when it comes to rust repairs - thankfully I don't have an awful lot of rust to treat on either of my cars!

One product I have used in the past and would recommend is Hammerite Rust Remover Gel. It is a wonderful gooey green substance, and once you have brushed it on, you can watch rusty areas disappear and see a new clean metal surface appear.

[E_T_V]

Firstly you are making a very good start with the rotating wire brushes. They do an excellent job. The next task is either to remove the pitting by sanding/grinding away good metal which is slow and pretty pointless or to "convert" the rust into something that won't make the rust come back. This is usually done by applying a rust "eating" liquid or gel to the surface. I use the one that machine mart sell. It is cheap and very liquid so it gets into all the nooks and crannies. It also came out quite well in a test of these products by a car mag, (sorry can't remember which one). Then to provide maximum corrosion protection a zinc rich primer can be used such as the one you mentioned. Apply this then if you want to go for the belt and braces approach then paint with red oxide paint and then finally primer and base coat then lacquer if applicable or stonechip resistant paint if you are on the underside of the car.

Also bear in mind that most panels on the maestro and montego rust from the seams so a good liberal application of seam sealer before the paint will help stop water getting trapped in the seams. I reckon it is no co-incidence that an anagram of "maestro" is "seam rot". Also panels often rust from the inside out so again treating the inside of box/hollow sections and the areas where panels meet and overlap will help keep the tinworm at bay.

[rpcee]

Is there a good (introductory) book on body repairs. I'd like to know more about such things as WaxOyl, "trivial" rust/hole repairs etc but also what's involved in welding - not that I'd go from a book to actually welding a car but I'd like to understand the process and required equipment at least.
Thanks.

[Austin-Rover]

Is there a good (introductory) book on body repairs.

I am sure there is somewhere...I could do with it too!

[Beaker]

I bought two books a while ago, which concentrate on bodywork mainly, rather than detail into welding itself. I got them from Amazon, I will post up their titles later.

[darrenandsarah]

Haynes do a body repair manual that even I can follow, but I am notoriously tight and got it from the library. I'm sure they will be on Ebay though

[Beaker]

I have

Paint and Body Handbook - Don Taylor and Larry Hofer
Haynes - The Car bodywork repair manual

I think the Paint and Body Handbook is slighter better.

[Austin-Rover]

The front lower valance on my Maestro has started to get a lot of pitted rust spots which have developed from stone chips, and has a bit of a dent on it too. You can see this in the picture attached below.

I am contemplating trying to repair it myself, but have yet to work up the courage to start! I do need to purchase a bodywork restoration manual to guide me through it. However, what is the rough process of undertaking such a repair. I presume it involves sanding, some rust removing gel, more sanding and them some sort of anti rust coating before you begin painting the panel?

I am sure it can’t be all that difficult can it?

:worried:

[G51 NAV]

Stonechips are the easiest to cure - you know you're looking at the root of the rust right there, unless it's corroded right through to the other side. Getting an acceptable job on your front valance should be easy even with just rattle-tins, as long as you've got patience and lots of newspaper.

Apparently you can buy a special transparent sticky plastic covering - like wide cellotape - which you could stretch across the valence when you've repainted it, to protect it from future damage. I read about such stuff on Meguiars forum, though the sticky plastic is not a Meguiars product. Okay it might look slightly unsightly close up, but what's better: that or rust-marks?