[drsingh]

So I checked out my spare tyre for air pressure and found this!



The thin white primer was peeling off and there was rust everywhere.

Things were damp. The culprit seems to be rubber grommets that fell off the holes and allowed water and muck to stay inside and play dirty.

So on the day the ladies went shopping, I took a detour to the body shop. I read up on rust repair and watched YouTube videos. The worst case scenario being I had to cut out the boot floor from a wrecked car and weld it in..!

But the guys at the body shop said it's nothing and it's a two hour job at the most. I agreed and then I figured out fast they weren't going to entertain my requests for zinc based paints and other such things and I just let them do their thing. Here's what happened.




Here's a guy scraping off rust with a wire brush.





'burning the rust ' with a gas torch. They also use this torch extensively for copper welding, using that to do extensive rust repair specially rusted out boltholes and filling in metal.





This asphalt like black Rock is something called' battery rubber '. Supposedly batteries used to be made out of this material in older days. I don't know what this is exactly. Someone in the know of things kindly share your knowledge.
They use this to melt it into small rust holes and seal it from air and moisture.






When everything was sanded down with 80 grit sandpaper, that patch of rust revealed a tiny 1mm hole. That battery compound was melted on it sealing it up.

Then the car was off to the painter who sanded some more, washed it and dried it out with compressed air. And then gave it two coats of silver paint. I wasn't present for the whole exercise and was pissed that they didn't put a coat of primer underneath.

It all cost 550 Rs. and 1 hour 30 mins of my time.

I was satisfied with the end result, except for the primer part.

And I have to share an interesting pic from the body shop :-)





This car had come in for accident repair I guess.

1 . original car
2. Front door from a green wreck
3.and 5. Fender and bonnet from a white wreck.
5. Primer coloured panels under the bonnet. Non oem made in Delhi panels.
4.Brand new bumper and headlights.!

Any suggestions /critique on rust repair welcome.

[drsingh]

Here is the finished product. The arrow points to the patch of rubber.

[mints21]

Drsingh, the guys have done a good job, and certainly was easy on your pocket too. However, my concern is that you have been able to address the problem that was clearly visible after taking out the spare wheel. What about the rusting under the body. If the water and mud has played dirty on the top then I would suggest you to get the bottom of the car inspected as well.

The bottom is more prone to rust, as that is an area which is always exposed to all kind of extremes.

[drsingh]

Originally Posted by mints21

Drsingh, the guys have done a good job, and certainly was easy on your pocket too. However, my concern is that you have been able to address the problem that was clearly visible after taking out the spare wheel. What about the rusting under the body. If the water and mud has played dirty on the top then I would suggest you to get the bottom of the car inspected as well.

The bottom is more prone to rust, as that is an area which is always exposed to all kind of extremes.

The bottom is regularly checked at every car wash /visit to the mechanic.It was examined over a pit by the body shop guys too.It is squeaky clean,that is how the rust was totally ignored till i lifted out the spare tyre. there is a rubber like underbody coating that has held up well all these years.