Fixing a rust patch

[lolsteve]

So with it being a rover the car has some rust. The worst offender being around the aerial, which although looks nasty it has yet to eat through and leak into the car

I recently got a quote for a repair and they wanted £500...yea..

So I'm going to have a go myself or at least I'm planning to. I just want to confirm with the people before I start ordering bits, do we think it looks like it's just a case of removing the aerial base, sanding back the area some body filler then just prime n paint since it hasn't eaten through yet so doesn't need welding?

Eurocarparts seems to be having a ebay sale on bits

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/350971645681?s...1423.l2649
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/331119449607?s...1423.l2649

[Eeyore]

So I'm going to have a go myself or at least I'm planning to. I just want to confirm with the people before I start ordering bits, do we think it looks like it's just a case of removing the aerial base, sanding back the area some body filler then just prime n paint since it hasn't eaten through yet so doesn't need welding?

Yeh i would have thought that would be fine. Ill be interested in the finish you get though as i would have thought it will be very difficult to blend!

[karl1989]

Depending how bad it is when sanding around the hole for aeriel may enlarge due to rust so be prepared. Sand as much as you can and around. You can get some KRUST witch you can put on when sanded. Not the best of products but will help

[Danny2009]

Hmm what you said seems fine but I'm concerned it's more rotten than meets the eye and will need welding

There's no way to see without cracking on

[lolsteve]

Yeh i would have thought that would be fine. Ill be interested in the finish you get though as i would have thought it will be very difficult to blend!

Yea not looking forward to blending, will have to make sure it doesn't have a start/stop approach when spraying

Depending how bad it is when sanding around the hole for aeriel may enlarge due to rust so be prepared. Sand as much as you can and around. You can get some KRUST witch you can put on when sanded. Not the best of products but will help

Was looking at the Kurust as well, i remember using it on poodles 205 is it just a case of sand back the rust, paint on the kurust then primer and paint over the top when it dries

Hmm what you said seems fine but I'm concerned it's more rotten than meets the eye and will need welding

There's no way to see without cracking on

The problem with cracking on is no going back but as it hasn't eaten through and starting leaking into the car which hints to me that it's only on the surface layer? If it had eaten through would a fiberglass + mesh kit be suitable?

---

Also how would I sand back the rust? would standard sandpaper be suitable? such as
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/310809715891?s...1423.l2649

[powerandtorque]

Just because it's not yet leaking doesn't mean that it's not heavily rusted and liable to disintegrate when you start poking at it and grinding away. Certainly it looks more than surface rust in the photo, but it's hard to tell really without poking at it with something pointy like a screwdriver.

No point just sanding back and painting if there's still rust lurking, as it will reappear again in due course. You really need to remove all traces of rust, and if that means cutting metal out and welding in new then that's what you'll realistically have to do if you're planning on keeping the car long term.

[lolsteve]

Point well made I'll get ordering the filler,primer, kurust and the sandpaper tomorrow when I can scrape away some of the paint to get a better look then cover up the area. If it has gone through would the fiberglass/mesh solution be suitable? As can be seen in this ?
http://www.instructables.com/id/repairin...up-part-1/

[Danny2009]

It's a massive bodge IMO depends how bad it is really

[karl1989]

I have a grinder with a few wire heads bit harsh bit will get into the metal deep to get the rust. I have a welder at hand you could come to my unit and we could have a look. Only thing with the heat of weld it can bubble the paint. DIY job witch is a bodega but works is sheet of metal under neath with chemical metal then fill but it's up to you. Get the roof lining out see if it's inside. You have my number any problems give me a text. Could always get the roof wrapped saves painting and it showing it's been done

[lolsteve]

It's a massive bodge IMO depends how bad it is really

Point taken, would chemical metal be as bodge? I can imagine the roof takes some forces through it while driving but not enough to break the chemical metal bond?

I have a grinder with a few wire heads bit harsh bit will get into the metal deep to get the rust. I have a welder at hand you could come to my unit and we could have a look. Only thing with the heat of weld it can bubble the paint. DIY job witch is a bodega but works is sheet of metal under neath with chemical metal then fill but it's up to you. Get the roof lining out see if it's inside. You have my number any problems give me a text. Could always get the roof wrapped saves painting and it showing it's been done

The chemical metal idea sounds good, same lines as the fiberglass approach i suppose. Welding would be the most secure method but alot to go wrong if welding inside the car and like you say bubble nearby paint.
Cheers though, I'll get poking it and see what the situation is then give you a call if it's going to be a proper shter of a job

[Danny2009]

Bubbling the paint with welder is least of the worries if your not confident/carful you will warp the roof with the heat as it's thin metal

If do it right do it once wouldn't go anywhere near it with chemical metal or fiberglass that's my opinion anyway

[Ricky]

I think once you start poking that you will find a lot more that's hidden. paint hides a lot.

[1616six]

I decided to blank one of my cars roof aerials.. Cleaned the hole up, plated it & then wrapped the roof.. Easy

[C2K]

To be honest, how long do you intend to keep the car? I'd not do anything with it tbh, put the money towards you next car.

[Dean]

i'd just remove the aerial base, sand it flat, try your best to match the paint if it goes tits up just wrap the roof in black vinyl.

[lolsteve]

Ordered filler,kurust,sandpaper and primer for £13. For now when the bits arrive it'll be a case of sanding back and kurusting, if it's bad then I'll have to bodge some chemical metal/fiberglass then filler and paint.
Not keen on wrapped roofing, seems a shame to hide the blue anyway In regards to is it worth fixing, I want to get it sorted before it goes through and leaks into the car also these cars arn't worth alot anyway and bad cases of rust would make it even harder to sell on

[Grant]

Only just seen this:

The chances are that the metal will be oxidised through the thickness of it. To repair it, would require cutting out, and with it being that close to the windscreen, putting a new bit in would require the screen coming out. Hence the £500 tag that came from the garage.

Of course, it could not be as serious as that, and hopefully it won't be. The only way to tell is to have a dig around

x

[lolsteve]

Here's hoping, really want to get on with this as soon as possible just waiting on tools now before I scrap off the rust n paint and then leave for the rain to get to it.
The price tag also included respraying the entire roof which I'd just rather have a slightly off color patch

[Jimmyboycheck]

I splashed out 500 on my impreza where it was rusting onlong the top of the windscreen. For that windscreen was removed/replaced. Sand blasted,treated etc and full roof respray. If you dont get all the rust out and have to use kurust etc it will come back in time6

[lolsteve]

Well I sadly don't have that kind of money, and the car's not worth it even if i did

Pulled the headlining back a bit today, which it tricky as it's a solid backed piece so cant just fold it without getting crease lines
The result is that although it is starting to get through it doesn't appear as rotten as I had in my mind, still savable perhaps. That huge rust blob is the aerial base cover I believe

[Tom]

Just dont half ass it, if your going to go for it make sure you press on cos if you start and leave it your cars going to get wet inside and start steaming up and then you'll hate it! If it was me whip that ariel out then angle grinder with a flap disc or something a bit less agressive and go at that patch until all the rust has gone then plate and weld it slowly bit by bit.

[lolsteve]

So with the weather being rather nice and also half hungover so not feeling like uni stuff.
Got the headlining out without too much bother and got to work scrubbing back the rust to see what the damage it. Seems to be better than we expected, the rust hasn't spread too far. Apart from the areas near the holes the metal still has strength so think it won't need replacing luckily

Put some kurust on it along with some other places which has rust just because have loads spare. Going to spray some primer on quick before the sun goes down to just stop it rusting worse until I can start taking the paint back a bit more tomorrow and putting on some filler to flatten out the roof

[karl1989]

Needs more taking off there

[lolsteve]

You mean surrounding paint? or the rusty center

[Tom]

Balls to the wall, good man!

[Rippthrough]

Yep, need to get all the way back to smooth, untouched metal, all that there wants chopping out.

[lolsteve]

splashed a bit of primer on just for tonight in case of rain

Balls to the wall, good man!

Cheers, need to just get on with it now rather than umming and arring

Yep, need to get all the way back to smooth, untouched metal, all that there wants chopping out.

Problem is there's no access under the hole to weld since there's a duct(?) running underneath meaning would have to cut out everything. Think it's just going to have to be a case of sand back as much as I can and put a thing layer of filler on, like butter on toast

[Eeyore]

Omg that is seriously rusty. Good luck!

[Danny2009]

the paint all wants sanding back till the metals smooth and shiny on the left of the picture.

ideally wants cutting and plating as that bad metal will just continue rusting krust only does so much

see if you can sand the bad metal till it goes shiny and the rust is gone, maybe too far gone for that though

[karl1989]

Can you weld Steve?