Repairing rust damage.

GonzoTheDog

Hello Everyone,

Just a question on treating and repairing rust.

I've been looking at some cars recently with a view to buying and repairing/maintaining/restoring. In particular I was looking at Fords and found a nice Capri however, in the description it's described as having rust bubbles on the bodywork which have been treated and some small spots of rust above the rear windscreen.

I asked how bad the rust was and was told that it just needs a bit of rust treated and a respray. I'm not entirely convinced the damage is as minimal as he says and will obviously have a good look before buying but was just wondering how hard exactly it is to treat rust on classic cars?

If it's a case of simply stripping the paint, treating and respraying I would be fairly ok with that but my worst fears would be finding out 6 months down the line that I'm in serous trouble.

While I'm by no means an expert with classic cars, I have been driving a mini city around the past 3 years and doing all the running repairs, NCT work etc. so, apart from the rust, I would be happy enough pottering away at any problems.

Any help and advice is greatly appreciated.
Cheers,
Gonzo

TouchingVirus

I'm fairly sure that rust bubbling is caused by metal that's pretty much beyond repair. You might be able to treat it with a rust converter but it might also cause problems with filler/paint application. You may have to cut it out and weld in patches where it happens.

I'd suggest finding somebody who's experienced in bodywork to come with you and have a look. Definitely give the car a proper once over, including the underside. There may be hidden rust behind panels, on the firewall and you'll end up buying more than you bargained for

Personally unless it was a real steal and an uncommon car I'd walk on

corktina

could be minor but you would need to be prepared for it to be a lot worse

ANY old car could conceal major rust. You would need to get down under it and poke around.
Treating rust isnt really an option unless it is very minor. Cutting it out and replacing with new metal is the way to go...can be expensive though.

boatbuilder

Rust is always worse than it appears on the surface.
Be prepared to do a full restoration because once you start digging in to it, you may find a lot more hidden underneath.
Its one of the areas where you really have to totally disregard what the seller is saying about the rust and make your own mind up about it.

mmarks

Always consider that visible rust is always minor compared to the panels you cannot easily see. If the visible bodywork has rust, what state are the hard to reach or hidden panels in?

Having said that, rust bubbles are often caused by minute droplets of water that have got under the paint, it could well be a simple matter of stripping down the affected area to bare metal, treating the area and painting it again.

carchaeologist

Is it on the actual rear door or on the roof? Capris can rot on the roof where the rear door hinges are and its no easy job to fix. If it's just the rear door its not too bad as if it came to it you can replace just the panel.

Run_to_da_hills

Soda / Shot blasting and primer within the hour is the only cure for rust, any of these brush on rust converters are bunk and only cover up the matter..

boatbuilder

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

Soda / Shot blasting and primer within the hour is the only cure for rust, any of these brush on rust converters are bunk and only cover up the matter..

I think there is still something to be said for using a rust converter as well as shot blasting. I wipe the metal with phosphoric acid (aka de-scaler, look on ebay) after shot blasting to make sure that as much of the microscopic rust is neutralised thats stuck in the pores of the metal that even shot blasting can't remove.

GonzoTheDog

Thanks for all the replies, they really helped. I think I will give this one a miss as there are plenty of other Capris out there and I don't think it's worth the risk.

Thanks again

Run_to_da_hills

boatbuilder wrote: »

I think there is still something to be said for using a rust converter as well as shot blasting. I wipe the metal with phosphoric acid (aka de-scaler, look on ebay) after shot blasting to make sure that as much of the microscopic rust is neutralised thats stuck in the pores of the metal that even shot blasting can't remove.

I didn't think you could get Phosphoric concentrated acid sent by post,

I was refused a gallon of it when I arrived at Lenox's on Pearse St a number of years ago, they told me it would have to be collected by car or dropped out by their courier, they had a policy of not selling it over the counter to anyone travelling on a motorbike or public transport.

boatbuilder

Yep, I bought a gallon of 40% phosphoric acid on ebay from this seller

http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/mistral_ie/

They're based in Belfast and shipping costs £8.99 to the south.