Need some advice on minor rail rust repair.

[slipnfall]

Hey folks,

Here's the deal, new hatch, 'working on stripping it, and this seems to be the worst that I've found so far. I'd like to get some advice on how to proceed, if to proceed at all. I'm working on cleaning out the bay (as you'll see) and will be painting it soon - more on that later. That said I want to handle this in some manner while it's accessible.

Anyway, this will be 80% track only, but road legal. Any rain I encounter will be consequential, as I have no intentions of 'joy' riding in the rain. So the first question is, is this rust bad enough to warrant surgery? It looks like there are three pieces of sheet metal coming together at this union, and seeing as I've never done any 'major' rust repair, it's a little daunting (though I have welded here and there). If this is something that is going to hold up for 3-4 years, is it really worth it? I think I'll be lucky if I don't total it within 3-4 years of track abuse. : biggrin

Thoughts? Suggestions? Thanks for your time.

V/R,'slip

PS - I'll throw a random pic or two of the hatch progress just for fun

[slipnfall]

As promised: larger versions available at the links.

You can see the MBC did a number on the paint (this is after pressure washing the loose paint away). The rust spot is about 2" long, where you see no seam sealer: This is looking down from the D/S 'tower:

From the wheel well: it looks worse than it is, I can't really poke a screw driver through it.

'Chose to remove the battery tray; it wasn't in *too* bad a shape, but I worsened it during the process of removal.

Progress so far:

[slipnfall]

Sorry, URLs are owning me at the moment, but I can provide larger pics if really necessary.

Thanks,'slip

[koukis4teen]

I don't think it is bad at all. But i would sandblast and seal it to prevent it from worsening. My .02

[slipnfall]

Yeah I know it's really not *that* bad. Considering some of the rust repair I've seen on this forum, I don't have much to complain about. But like I said, I'm no expert, and I figured asking is free.

I asked my neighbor, an industrial welder, and he didn't want to touch it. "Once you strike an arc to rust, it'll just blow though". I don't think he understood that you had to *clear* the rust first.

Anyone w/exp in this area? Is that a thin (3/4") piece of sheet metal connecting the frame to shock tower?

[slipnfall]

A co-worker gave me some advice and I figured it was not only time to just man up and fix it, but to break out the spot blaster that's been gathering cobwebs as well. The pictures don't really do it justice, but it came out pretty well. I should have taken pics before the rust treatment.

Inside - I pounded the fender back to meet the rail, all it needs is some seam sealer and etching primer. Unsure if I'm going to bother tacking it back together.

Fender side - it was the fender metal that took the brunt of the rust, so I cut any offending out.

'Found another small spot, fixed it up as well:

[AZhitman]

One word:

POR-15.

Buy it online. Professional restorers use it, and it's amazing.

I used it a lot on the '72 Z. Both the seam sealer and the rust converter... Read about it, it's amazing stuff.

[slipnfall]

It's definitely on my shopping list - I hear it mentioned every time rust is involved in a thread.

For the time being I had some of this (unknown) generic brand around and 'wanted to get something between the overlapping metal ASAP.

Cheers,Jamie

[slipnfall]

PS - spot sand blasting makes a huge f'in mess! I'm still finding it in my hair... full face shield and glasses is a definite must. I think I'll still be finding black diamond beads in my garage for years to come.