rust hole repair

What is your experience level with rust repair?

Let that be your guide.

My "first step" suggestion would be to drive it to a body shop and get an estimate. That will give you something to think about as you balance the cost in time/effort vs having a pro handle it.

In general you need to clean out the existing rust. That means removing any surrounding metal that is infected, so the hole will grow a bit. Then you need to treat the remaining metal with a rust inhibitor, fill in the hole, make the patch match the contour of the surrounding body panels, and finally, paint to match.

The easy thing to do is sand it down and Bondo over the hole, but then you still have paint matching issues and you will find yourself re-repairing every couple years.

MikeM (olerascal) would be an excellent person to answer as to the proper way to handle the hole. Mike is a true RustBuster.
 
Ya gotta deal with the hole, the smaller bubble forming at 5 o'clock to the hole, and the rust that "seems" to be developing in the "seam" to the left of the hole.

Is the hole located above or below the muffler heat shield that overlaps into the bottom of the wheel wells? I think this hole looks like it's below the shield, so it should be a straight-thru hole that can be seen thru from the inside of the wheel opening. If so, you grind back the inner diamter of the hole until you hit good metal all the way around. On the outside sand back another 1/2 to 1 inch or so all the way around that. Treat with a rust converter (phosphate). Apply self-etching primer. Get a fiberglass hole repair kit at an auto supply. On the inside, remove the factory undercoating, then sand back as far as needed and apply the fiberglass patch as a backer. When the patch is done, on the outside apply a thin coat of bondo to take the place of the fender metal, forming and shaping before it hardens. Sand to shape, then apply glazing putty to fill in the pinholes. Sand to smooth and to final shape. Mask off and apply primer sealer. Final wet sand. Apply several thin color coats to build up paint thickness. Final wet sand with 1500. Not sure if this is a clear coat but if so, apply final clear coat. Buff and polish. Back to the inside of the wheel well, apply primer and color coats. Then apply undercoating to match existing.
 
no experience

I'll have to get an estimate then, I don't mind learning but I'd hate to screw up an otherwise nice X.
 
Also take a look at

The trunk bottoms are they sound, they normally go when this kind of rust shows it's self.

I made these panels to do the repair on my 87 on both sides of the car.
Rpanel7.jpg


Rpanel8.jpg


Hamrform.jpg

TonyK.

Grimsby Ontario Canada.
 
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Personal preference

If it was my car I'd want the repair done in metal. Not as easy for DIY as 'glass unless you have a welder. But if the rest of the car is mostly rust free the car seems nice enough to go the extra distance. Done right, it'd be virtually undetectable.

///Mike
 
can't see how to access the back of the hole

I guess I have to stare at this for a while, but I don't see how to access the back side of the hole. I'll have to look over the car carefully tomorrow and make note of any areas of concern. There is a bubble in the right pop up headlight, some surface rust in the trunk areas as shown and an inch or so where the rear trunk lid closes. And a rip in what looks like the left inner cv joint boot.

Actually it looks pretty clean. I was worried as all heck the other day for Dave to drop it off, as I bought it sight unseen, but so far I think it was a fair deal.

Paul
 
Inside the panel ????

Does anyone know what is in the panel under the rubber plug? On my 81 there seems to be a stiff cardboard type material,,,is the rest of the panel hollow? I'd like to spray the inside after a paint job. Thanks.
 
Under the plug.

Well there is more insulation which can be more trouble. The insulation is a fiberglass blanket with aluminium sheet exposed to the road surface. It is held in place by 3 pop rivets and an angle ( iron made of alum.) If you look closely you will see the rivets in the trunk pictures. I would suggest removing the rear tires and drilling out the rivets to remove the bottom panel and insulation to see if the rust has travelled into that area. By the looks of the trunk bottoms I suspect you have a sound car. When buying an X that is the first place I look to tell the story of how much weather/rain the car has seen. Those blankets hold water and rust the panels out. The pictures you have supplied indicate that a fair amount of sand has accumulated below the trunk bottom to trap mositure and allow it to accelerate the rusting process. If you are going to take it to a body shop, remove the rivits and insulation blanket have the repair done, oil spray or use similar rustproofing and install at least the aluminum bottoms and angles yourself to protect the trunk bottoms from wheel wash. Body shops tend to go the shortest and easiest route. That way when you pick up the car you can see the kind of work that was done without the insulation and alum. bottom to obstruct your view.

TonyK.

Grimsby Ontario Canada.
 
wow good info!

so the only thing holding in that bottom panel are three rivets and some sort of seam sealer? Guess it's not that hard to get to the back of the hole then, thanks for the info.

I tapped the bottom of this panel and it sounded funny, probably because it is aluminum? Why the bit of insulation there to trap moisture?

You mentioned an oil spray. I was looking up waxoil, and spraying motor oil, but some of the sites mentioned oil coming into contact with water and leaching out acids which are bad for body parts. Is there a particular oil spray you recommend?

Thanks for your help!
Paul
 
Thanks T.K.

Mine is in solid shape but I like to keep ahead of the rust. My plan was to drill a hole in the cardboard and give it a real good long blast of undercoating into that panel area. I think in my situation it would work well, and the insulation would just help hold the undercoating there.
Kayaker,,, the insul. was probably put there to cut down on condensation and/or road noise. If mine was apart I would just take it out.
 
For rust proofing.

I use Rust Check it can be purchased in spray cans with a straw or quarts and you would have to use a Shutz gun or rust proofing spray kit.

Normally for high wash areas I use the waxoil and a bit of used motor oil, I have never had acid problems. Rust Check also has a wax oil product for wheel wash areas.

The insulation is for heat and noise, but it holds moisture and that is a big rust accelerator on these cars. If you never drive it in the rain, don't worry about insulation blanket as I will never get wet to start the rust problem.

TonyK.

Grimsby Ontario Canada.
 
Protective spray

Wurth makes a spray on wax coating which IAP carries.

LPS also makes a line of rust barrier coatings that you should be able to find locally. I think LPS 3 is the thick one.

HTH,

///Mike
 
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