Austarion

Hey guys,

I have a bit of rust that needs to be taken care of in a few different spots on the car, basically in both front side panels down near the bottom of the door (in the front panel, not the door), a bit of bubbling in the top of the door frames and roof, some rust "grazes" on the sides of the doors, and the tricky one is some in the passenger side rear quater.

Would you guys recommend attempting to fix this rust up myself? Has anyone done much rust repair themselves on the forum? How much work is involved? How much would I get hit up for at a rust place do you think, I know this is sort of like "how long is a piece of string". Does anyone have any good rust repair places in the hills district area that they could recommend?

Rust repair is a piece of piss! The only thing is, when your finished it'll need a respray! If your not going to do the spray yourself, just get the sprayers to repair it, they have have to bring the original paint back anyway! From what your telling me, you'll need some car bog and maybe some fiberglass! Both are easy to do, the bog being idiot proof! Just sandpaper the spots back to where they are are clean metal, spary some rust protectant on it, then using a little plastic, flexible troul, place bog over area to higher level then the body! Allow to dry, then just sandpaper with 1200 wet and dry back down to original level! Rust repaired! If there's a hole though, the fiberglass is needed first, but again, easy job!

The only hard bits are the larger hole in the drivers side front panel as it isnt in the middle of metal (ie, its not a hole in the centre, its an entire corner that is missing). Other than that it doesnt look too bad...mmm maybe i can have a crack myself (but im getting someone else to paint it anyway)

IMHO rust can only be repaired by welding a new section in. You need to cut all rust affected metal out often leaving a significantly larger hole than first thought. Then simply shape a new piece & mig weld in. Obviously hard if you don't have a welder.

Bogging/fibreglassing will work but the rust will reappear eventually.

Hmmm yeh that is difficult as I dont have the required tools and i dont know how to weld....yet :P ill get some quotes from local rust places and see what the deal is with them first i think.

Welding new material in is theonly way your going to 'fix' the rust, I was a lucky bastard and aquired a mig welder on long term loan from a friend, and have been watching my father patch up his truck. Going to tackle the rust in mine in march.

An alternative to welding new bits in:

http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/621471/2

fibreglass sheets don't sag like bog

i have some sheets of fibreglass that i can mould into the car, might give that a go if the rain holds out long enough tommorrow.

I haven't tested the results, but this is what I use:

Sand it
Rust Remover (removes rust, whats left is treated and paintable)
Sand it
Rust Remover
Whipe it
Metal Fibre Filler (prevents rust, and contains metal fibres for strength)
Lots of sandpaper etc etc
Primer it

I found a big hole in my car :glare: So I hope my little plan here works.

its not as easy as it sounds rust repairs take hours of prep , from sanding back paint for bog prep , cutting out and forming new replacement peices , welding , applying the bog u could be goin back and doin it 2 or 3 times to get it right . then u have to make sure it has no highs or lows and that the paint is feathered and the bog itself has a smooth finish , then the paint side u might have to blend into panels , it goes on and on and on not an easy task , i say if u want the job done properly get a qualified person to do it .

Paying someone qualified to do it will get a good result, and be easier. But i dont think theres any reason you cant tackle it yourself and get just as good a result. Couple of pics of the patches my dad has done on his truck:



Think: big, rusted dents and large holes. All cut out and patches made and welded in. Bog is only 1mm-2mm thick, just for shaping.