Leave it to the pros?

[KM666]

My DIY attemt at removing and repairing surface rust is beginning to show signs of corrosion. It wasnt a very neat job, and I didnt use a rust proof primer. Should I strip it down again and have another go at it with some form of rust proof primer or should I take it somewhere and get a quote.

The corrosion is local to the paintwork facing the tyres at the rear, but nothing on the arch as it faces out to me. However the DIY repairs overlap onto bodywork I can see quite crudely.

The main issue is the car wont be worth more than £1300 even with pristine bodywork. Am I being unrealistic in thinking I'd be paying around £300 to have arches repainted and the repair blended in? Much more than that and it doesnt make economic sense.

[Squiggs]

If you were to get a job done at the cheaper end of the market by a pro the chances of getting any type of gaurantee that the rust wont come back - especially on arches - is pretty slim.

[7even]

KM666 said:

and I didnt use a rust proof primer.

If only there were such a thing.

Unless you get ALL the rust out, and ALL the moisture its always going to come back through, especially arches is it will draw moisture through the metal from the back and create blisters and thus start adhesion problems.

Getting it done professionally will definitely increase the longevity of the repair, but it will come back through sooner or later. Its impossible to give a time limit of how long a rust repair should last, sadly its a bit of a lottery.

[KM666]

Ahhh bugger! I thought using spray shutz on the inner arches would keep it at bay. One side is fine, the side that is affected seemed to have dimples in the bare metal. So rustproof primer is a waste of time really? Seeing as it isnt planned as a keeper I think i'm best off having another go at it myself to make it presentable at the very least.

I knew £300 would be way off a proper job.