Rust Removal Question

One of the main goals of this project I'm working on, and what really makes it a restoration rather than just a repair, is the fact that I'm attempting to strip the rust from and paint/undercoat many vulnerable components, such as the fuel tank and control arms. With only basic tools, it has been very time-consuming indeed, but progress is slowly being made. Some areas can be cleaned with a wire brush, while others require heavy rust to be chiseled or ground off with a Dremel grinding wheel.
I'd like you to check out the following image, showing a corner of the fuel tank:

http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk275/packrat79/rust.jpg

The leftmost area is what has been stripped; since there was no heavy rust there, I used only a wire brush. It looks pretty good to me, but is it good enough? Have I really cleaned the surface off or am I just polishing the rust rather than removing it all?
I want to make sure this is done properly, rather than have everything rust through again the first time it gets wet.
Thanks for any advice.

Seriously, you need to throw this car away and start again.

That much rust pitting on the fuel tank makes my mind boggle at what else is hiding in parts of the car you simply can not get to.


A couple of years ago a could of young guys were killed when thier car broke in half driving down the road.
They had undertaken a similar project, attempting to rebuild and repair a very rusty car. But, due the nature of modern unibody construction they were not able to see just how bad the car was, and it literally snapped in the middle of the floor while traveling at speed.

You'd make a great motivational speaker, wouldn't you?

I don't think you realize just how thorough a job I'm actually doing. With the exception of engine removal, this vehicle is being stripped down to the bare chassis and everything, I mean everything, is being inspected, repaired, or replaced as necessary. Anything with minor rust is being stripped to the bare metal and re-coated. Anything with enough rust to affect its integrity is being replaced (such as the brake pipes). Every square millimeter of the chassis is being gone over, and every last chassis cavity will be treated with rustproofing both now and at regular intervals in the future to prevent rusting from the inside-out. Most of the chassis damage was around the wheel arches, which have been completely rebuilt with new metal; there was nothing even remotely serious enough to risk the kind of failure you were talking about.

This is not a quick, lazy repair job and nothing, absolutely nothing, is being left to chance. If you knew what a perfectionist I was I don't think you'd question the quality of my work.

I understand how keen you are, and how careful you are being, but as you have mentioned before, you lack experiance with sort of a project.

I used to own an EF series Civic, and so did my Fiance, I can tell you know, there are plenty of places in the structure that rust can get into, that are impossible to inspect with out unstiching the frame.

Filling these places with rust proofing solutions won't stop the rust that is already there, and it will not repair metal that is already damaged and weakened.


The only way to have any hope of fixing this car is to to strip EVERYTHING out of the shell, and then dip it in an acid bath which will remove everything but the bare metal shell.

Then put it on a dolly frame, and systimatically unstich cross bracing, rails, mounts etc, and check each one for pitting and rust damage. Replace everything found to be damaged, and then dip the car again to coat it ready for painting.



It would be cheaper and safer to just buy another car.

I understand how keen you are, and how careful you are being, but as you have mentioned before, you lack experiance with sort of a project.

I used to own an EF series Civic, and so did my Fiance, I can tell you know, there are plenty of places in the structure that rust can get into, that are impossible to inspect with out unstiching the frame.

Filling these places with rust proofing solutions won't stop the rust that is already there, and it will not repair metal that is already damaged and weakened.


The only way to have any hope of fixing this car is to to strip EVERYTHING out of the shell, and then dip it in an acid bath which will remove everything but the bare metal shell.

Then put it on a dolly frame, and systimatically unstich cross bracing, rails, mounts etc, and check each one for pitting and rust damage. Replace everything found to be damaged, and then dip the car again to coat it ready for painting.



It would be cheaper and safer to just buy another car.


Sounds like a lot of work to me....:disappoin