The rust i was fixing is now the holes i'm fixing! Help!?!?!
Discussion
Hi, I had my windscreen removed this morning so i could repair the rust around/behind it and get a none cracked screen fitted at a some point next week for the mot.
I've spent most of the day removing all the rust spots using a drill mounted wire brush, a drill mounted rust/paint wheel (a 3quid well worth spending!) and trying to clear out all the pits with a dremel etching attatchment. Anyhow, i've removed anything visible, chipped away at anything that looks like it might have rust behind it, theres a couple points where the rust has properley had the metal, and has actually rotted through (you'd be forgiven for thinking they were drain holes but theyre not in the same place on each side, so i'm saying they arent.
Anyways, i dont really know what to do with these tiny holes, i'd quite happily fill them and forget about them, but i know i should really have them cut out/rewelded, although i think theyre in a practically impossible place to have welded. So i dont know what to do.
1, Just mush some filler in/behind if possible and try kill any oxygen to it.
2, f
k it, hammerite the thing and forget about it. The cars not gonna last more than a couple of years anyways.
3, liquid metal (maybe, i dunno, i've never used it) or solder the holes up?
4, i dunno. your call!
By the way, according to the windscreen bloke, all this rust is due to a shonky screen thats been previously replaced. Apparently, the screens replaced by insurance companies, by big companies, rac windscreens/autoglass etc are own branded stuff made on the cheap, hense mine delaminating/fogging up, geting moisture between the panes and causing rust all round my windscreen frame (i've not seen another e36 with rust round the screen like this - esp considering how tidy the rest of the car is). So if you have your windscreen changed, make sure its a proper pilkinton/saint-gobain/oem/other branded screen. Plus, my windscreen excess is £75, and a bought windscreen, with them coming to pull it out, then refitting a new branded one a week later was £115. Apparently these insurance replacement ones aren't particularly strong either, using thinner glass to keep costs down, so if you buy into the "your windscreen is a structural part of your car" story, a decent screen is probably worth investing in!
Thanks in advance!
I've spent most of the day removing all the rust spots using a drill mounted wire brush, a drill mounted rust/paint wheel (a 3quid well worth spending!) and trying to clear out all the pits with a dremel etching attatchment. Anyhow, i've removed anything visible, chipped away at anything that looks like it might have rust behind it, theres a couple points where the rust has properley had the metal, and has actually rotted through (you'd be forgiven for thinking they were drain holes but theyre not in the same place on each side, so i'm saying they arent.
Anyways, i dont really know what to do with these tiny holes, i'd quite happily fill them and forget about them, but i know i should really have them cut out/rewelded, although i think theyre in a practically impossible place to have welded. So i dont know what to do.
1, Just mush some filler in/behind if possible and try kill any oxygen to it.
2, f
k it, hammerite the thing and forget about it. The cars not gonna last more than a couple of years anyways.3, liquid metal (maybe, i dunno, i've never used it) or solder the holes up?
4, i dunno. your call!
By the way, according to the windscreen bloke, all this rust is due to a shonky screen thats been previously replaced. Apparently, the screens replaced by insurance companies, by big companies, rac windscreens/autoglass etc are own branded stuff made on the cheap, hense mine delaminating/fogging up, geting moisture between the panes and causing rust all round my windscreen frame (i've not seen another e36 with rust round the screen like this - esp considering how tidy the rest of the car is). So if you have your windscreen changed, make sure its a proper pilkinton/saint-gobain/oem/other branded screen. Plus, my windscreen excess is £75, and a bought windscreen, with them coming to pull it out, then refitting a new branded one a week later was £115. Apparently these insurance replacement ones aren't particularly strong either, using thinner glass to keep costs down, so if you buy into the "your windscreen is a structural part of your car" story, a decent screen is probably worth investing in!
Thanks in advance!
Edited by bigfatnick on Wednesday 8th July 01:43
Cactussed said:
My 2c. Get out everything you can see, hammerite it then bond in the new screen. Should prevent it spreading and a few small holes here and there isn't going to make any difference really.
My preference would be to get everything out and try and get the holes welded up. Then get it painted. If you're going to the trouble of starting the job it might as well be done properly. 
i ended up cleaning up as much as i could (found lovley diamond ball topper for my dremmel) then i forced as much filler through the holes as i could into the small cavitys behind till it started pushing back on the hole. Hopefully this'll keep any oxygen off the rust on the back of the hole i couldnt clean. Everythings now been filled and hammerited. On with priming tommorow (if the weather holds out)
mneame said:
My preference would be to get everything out and try and get the holes welded up. Then get it painted. If you're going to the trouble of starting the job it might as well be done properly.
Yeah mate, i'd have rather done this, but the car isn't worth much and i'm lending it to my younger brother whilst i'm travelling for a year so theres a good chance he'll smash it up (bmw 325 as a first car, lucky bastid) I'm also brassic and would have to *get a man in*. So i took the easy option!
Thanks though guys!
Gassing Station | Bodywork & Detailing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff