how to tackle this (bodywork)
Discussion
Hi guys i am looking for advice on how to tackle fixing these holes-rot as i have not tackled this sort of thing before but got to start somewhere.The first bit is tucked under the outer wing a bit so if i want to cut it out im not sure what to use (air body saw) dont think ill get at it with anything else if even that.It has been patched before,I dont want to take the outer wings off if i can help it as they are good.The second bit is at the bottom front of the passenger inner wing and if you look closely you will see it has also been patched before and with corosion and help from me and a chisel it is now peeling off.The chassis leg is good even if it doesnt look great in the pic, after it was taken it cleaned up well so should i just cut out a rectangle and butt weld in new metal here, cheers for any help advice guys.
These areas of rust need new metal repairs sections welding in, first you need to remove all the loose rust and grind it back and assess exactly how bad the damage is, rot often extends well beyond the obviously effected areas.
Don’t bother with rust killers /solutions etc when cleaning up the area the rust needs to be physically removed not treated.
A wire brush wheel on a angle grinder will remove loose stuff, once you have got a idea of the extent of the rot you need to cut out all the remaining rusted material leaving only sound rust free metal, leaving any rust behind compromises the repair and ultimately you’ll be wasting your time.
Unless you have access to plasma cutter fit a metal cutting disc in your angle grinder to cut away the rust till all you’re left with is sound rust free metal.
Then you need to form a repair section, as it looks like your dealing with some sort of Ford (Escort / Capri??) specific repair sections may be available check at your local motor factors, if not or the rust damage isn’t too extensive a small repair patch can be let into area cut a card template which exactly fits into the hole left where you cut out the rusted metal, once your happy with the fit of the card transfer this into metal and tack it in once tacked in and you’re happy weld it in completely, sounds easy and if you are careful and systematic in your approach it is relatively simple to achieve a good strong repair, how seamless it is depends on your skill and prep, just like painting preparing the metal correctly is vital, it’s essential that the metal surfaces been welded are clean, any contamination (rust, grease, oil , paint etc) will result in a poor weld .
Hope this helps good luck.
Don’t bother with rust killers /solutions etc when cleaning up the area the rust needs to be physically removed not treated.
A wire brush wheel on a angle grinder will remove loose stuff, once you have got a idea of the extent of the rot you need to cut out all the remaining rusted material leaving only sound rust free metal, leaving any rust behind compromises the repair and ultimately you’ll be wasting your time.
Unless you have access to plasma cutter fit a metal cutting disc in your angle grinder to cut away the rust till all you’re left with is sound rust free metal.
Then you need to form a repair section, as it looks like your dealing with some sort of Ford (Escort / Capri??) specific repair sections may be available check at your local motor factors, if not or the rust damage isn’t too extensive a small repair patch can be let into area cut a card template which exactly fits into the hole left where you cut out the rusted metal, once your happy with the fit of the card transfer this into metal and tack it in once tacked in and you’re happy weld it in completely, sounds easy and if you are careful and systematic in your approach it is relatively simple to achieve a good strong repair, how seamless it is depends on your skill and prep, just like painting preparing the metal correctly is vital, it’s essential that the metal surfaces been welded are clean, any contamination (rust, grease, oil , paint etc) will result in a poor weld .
Hope this helps good luck.
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