rusted rear panel, please advise

[philcore3]

The panel near the back of my rear wheelwell has rusted through. After I dismanted the car, i found the source, looks like moisture got into the panel behind the wheelwell and in the trunk section. The only place the rust ate through the metal was where I grinded it down. I think most of the other rust is surface rust under a layer of paint, however I can't get my grinder in that small crevice to grind it away. What should I do, aside from welding the piece off. Originally I was going to hand sand as best I could, apply a rust converter and then apply zero rust to protect the rest. Then fill the hole with fiberglass filler, sand and apply an epoxy primer. Does this sound correct, or is there a better method. Please forgive, I am a rookie at this stuff. I have a few pics attached.

[philcore3]

anyone out there?

[Len]

If you can cut and weld then that's the way to do the repair. You'll want to remove the section of damage then weld in a patch then apply a moisture resistant filler over the seam. The process is relatively the same for most repairs of this nature and you can check out a door repair below.

As far as the inner panel is concerned you could just weld a patch OVER the hole then use a good sealer to protect it.

If the metal has surface rust you can sand or wire brush the loose material away, apply Picklex, allow to dry then apply Zero Rust.


Door Rust Repair Link (http://www.autobodystore.com/door_rust.htm)

If you can't relate to the proceedure in the link above I can post a couple pictures of a wheel opening repair that we did recently.

[Iceman]

Len- what about using Fusor metal bonding for this repair if he doesn't want to weld?

[Len]

Len- what about using Fusor metal bonding for this repair if he doesn't want to weld?

Yes, when done properly, metal bonding can be as good, and sometimes better, than welding. I like the way metal bonding seals the seams to prevent moisture from getting between pieces of metal.

[nick61]

Hi read the last two posts with confusion,whats this fuser bonding of metals you mention? and is it available to Australia?
cheers Nick

[Iceman]

Hi read the last two posts with confusion,whats this fuser bonding of metals you mention? and is it available to Australia?
cheers Nick Metal bonding is using chemical joint. Fusor is one band name. It can be used for putting door skins, and outer skins that don't need to have structural welding. In most cases if applied correctly it can be a very strong bond. 3M and others I believe make products that similar. Len has Fusor on his web site, I believe it is made by Lord? I used it to replace in the outer skin of my F-150 truck box. It had rust above the wheel wells. I used this product because my welding is not all that great and I didn't want to risk warpping my panel. Here is the link for Lens http://autobodystore.net/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=MB

[Len]

Hi read the last two posts with confusion,whats this fuser bonding of metals you mention? and is it available to Australia?
cheers Nick

Fusor is a type of glue that can take the place of welding on non-sturctural repairs. I can't mail or ship it to Australia at this time because it's a flamable product and it can't be flown. I guess it could be shipped "surface" but it would take a month or more to get it.

[iceman02]

This sounds like a good alternative for me. I will be applying a patch to my fenderwell. The problem with welding it in is that I cannot get to the inside of the panel to paint it due to some support panels on the inside that cover it up. If I welded it, the paint would come off (on the interior) and it would be left unprotected.

[jefflee]

Looks like a fox body stang your working on. I had rapaired a similar rust spot on a friends '88 LX. I cut out the rust as far back as possible to obtain clean, rust free metal, and welded in a patch. I treated the back with rust converter and rust proofing. It's been over a year since the repair and it's holding up. IMO, fiberglass filler won't last.

-Jeff
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