rust issue

[moliva1568]

can anyone off suggestions for DIY repair of issue pictured below? also, prevention for other doors not as bad but with some rust.

thanks

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[Blt2Lst]

What vehicle is the door on?
You may want to find a replacement door that is rust free.
Being from NY, that may be difficult to do.

[moliva1568]

1984 chevrolet caprice. no chance of saving it?
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[MagicRat]

Originally Posted by moliva1568

1984 chevrolet caprice. no chance of saving it?
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Imho it does not need fixing. All you really need is to stop the rust from getting any worse.

A 25-year-old Chevy is not worth much and is not a classic. Chances are, all you want is for the car to hold together for a couple more years until you can get something newer, right?

In that case, just get a wire brush and brush off all the loose and flaking rust. Then get a spray can of rust proofing grease, with a little red spray tube, included. You want the stuff that sprays on but stays somewhat greasy. The stuff that sets-up like a tar is not as good.

Spray over the rusty area. Repeat the application every 6 months or so. Use the tube to spray inside the door, too. Those little round plastic plugs that are visible in the pic are intended for rustproofing access. Simply pop the plugs out with a screwdriver, spray lots inside then replace the plugs.

The results will look no better than the existing area, but at least the rusting will get no worse.

If you want it to look like new, you will have to brush and sand off all the rust and hope the metal is not so thin that it will go into holes. Then apply a rust remover/converter to the area (follow the directions) then prime and paint the area. A good auto parts place may have auto spray paint in cans that closely matches the original color.

[moliva1568]

i would like to keep the car for as long as possible. it's a car that i love and want to maintain. i also want to know because i have a 74 pontiac with a little rust issue itself. i'm not trying to make show cars but i do want as clean a car as possible. a new car payment i could do without but when i do, these will still be my weekend rides.
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[MagicRat]

Originally Posted by moliva1568

i would like to keep the car for as long as possible. it's a car that i love and want to maintain. i also want to know because i have a 74 pontiac with a little rust issue itself. i'm not trying to make show cars but i do want as clean a car as possible. a new car payment i could do without but when i do, these will still be my weekend rides.
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Yes, the Carwash Catalina

In that case, fix the door properly. All the rust must be removed. A rotary wire brush on a drill and a palm sander with 80-grit paper is a good place to start.

Even if you do find couple of small holes, they can be fixed by brazing or mig-welding in a small patch. This is probably easier than replacing the whole door, because the new door would have to be painted to match the rest of the car.

[moliva1568]

sounds like a nice little weekend project. unfortunately i don't have access to a welder so i'll have to reach out to someone for that. that catalina i'll start on now before a hole appears. i've read about POR-15. should i look into it?
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[MagicRat]

Imho POR-15 is best used for areas that are not exposed to moisture, like interior and trunk floors.

Door bottoms are very susceptible to moisture accumulation, which explains the rust damage on your door.

When POR is used to cover rust damage on a door, there is a good chance that moisture can work its way between the POR-15 and the underlying metal, thus accelerating the rust, where you cannot see it.
Eventually, the POR-15 material may come off because the underlying metal has rusted away, leaving a big hole.

[moliva1568]

so i should do as mentioned above? sand down the rust, apply the converter and then prime and paint? this of course being on not so bad doors. two of the doors get lots of water in them when it rains. a friend of mine drilled a hole in one and i recently noticed the 2nd one doing it. i need to get the seals around the windows done but will the hole do good enough to keep water and rust out in the meantime? not having a garage sucks.
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[MagicRat]

First of all, virtually all doors with roll-down windows let in some water. It's normal. Even a torrent of water is manageable if the factory drain holes are not blocked.

As for the rust repair, look here:
http://www.doityourself.com/stry/smallrustspotscar

and here:
http://www.ehow.com/how_4927009_repa...face-rust.html

And here.... this one has some good advice on door-rust repair:
http://www.helium.com/items/685831-h...n-a-car?page=2

And videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kAxo5MIUKI&NR=1

[shorod]

If you do opt to spray the rust proofer/converter in to the door, make sure the window is rolled up. Also, you want to keep the straw aimed towards the bottom of the door so you don't gum up the window tracks.

Much of the rust is probably due, as mentioned above, to moisture inside the door. Just tackling the exterior, visible surface rust will just keep the moisture from having an escape route. You need to protect the inside of the door if you want to keep the exterior from rusting further. Since you plan to keep the car for awhile, I think you really want to search out a replacement door in good shape. It will cost more initially, but will cause fewer headaches in the long run. I've tried similar repairs to a door of my first car and found myself having to strip, sand, seal, prime, and re-paint about every 6 months. And still after the first heavy rain bubbles would start to reappear in the fresh paint.

-Rod

[jdmccright]

You should repair or replace the lower window seal first to minimize water intrusion...cracks and missing pieces can let in lots of water. Otherwise, you'll just be dealing with more rust in the future.

In the meantime, open up the door and use a wire brush to remove the loose rust then flush out and vacuum all the built-up dirt and loose rust that is clogging the drain holes, then let it dry thoroughly...stick a hair dryer in there to help get rid of all the moisture.

Next apply some rust reformer to convert it to a paintable surface then a good high-build primer. You may want to use a small piece of straw or stick to keep the drain holes open in case the paint runs and tries to fill them in, but remove them before applying the final coat so that any exposed metal edges can be covered.

Then as mentioned before, remove all the rust possible from the outside with a wire brush, drill-mounted 3M rust remover wheel, and coarse sand paper. Cut away any rough edges of metal (I can see one in the pic). Degrease the surface and wipe it with tack cloth.

Next, apply Bondo to the area and let it cure. Then use a rasp and sanding paper to shape it. If there is rust penetration then you'll need some fiberglass filler and epoxy repair kit prior to Bondo. Don't Bondo over the drain holes!

After shaping ans smoothing with finer sand papers, remove dust with the tack cloth, prime and paint.

Sounds like alot of work and it is, but doing it right will help make it worthwhile.

[curtis73]

If you really want to preserve it, you have no option except to replace the door skin. That rust comes from inside. Water and salt collect at the bottom of the door and since that seam is neither waterproof nor painted, it eats it from the inside out. Your only real solution is to remove the door skin, then remove all the rust from inside the door shell and install a new door skin.

Then, since you live in salt-country, expect it to return in another decade.

Anytime you have bubbles under paint, there is no way to just scrape it off. Those are rust bubbles that came through from the back of that panel. Just taking off the top of it and painting over it means it will come back in a couple months.

There is a reason they call it cancer. You have to operate and get the source. You can't treat it superficially. Fixing rust on the outside without treating it from the source is like treating a skin tumor with lotion.

[MagicRat]

Agreed^^

Originally Posted by curtis73

There is a reason they call it cancer.

While this is a common expression, it's actually an incorrect analogy. Cancer is an uncontrolled cellular growth, quite different in concept than the destruction caused by rust.

A more accurate medical analogy is Necrotizing Fasciitis.

[curtis73]

smart ass