12 replies to this topic

[Zeemax]

Hey all, well seems the rust is putting of loads of people off my motor and i want to know how to do it myself.

1. Basically i have rust under the headlights (both sides)

I guess u markse an area around the rust, sand it back to bare metal? then fill if need and finally prim and spray?

This correct

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2. Under windscreen - centre (Rust isnt through paint but its poping up so should only be service rust.

I imagine i have to take screen and rubber out , sand the area around that dig out rust, treat it with oxide or somehthing , fill , prim and paint?

Is this correct?

How would you tackle this

[Dom]

i have rust above the front bumper, both doors, driverside it worse, headlights are ok.

[shaun of the Tamar Valley]

that seem the way to go but some times if you start to do that it tends to lead to bigger problems

my first mini had a few hole so i asked for them to be patched up and when they start to do that the work was getting bigger and bigger and i had to scrap it as it was like swiss cheese with all the probs

[Jules]

I thought that you had to complety cut out the rust put a plate or patch or something over the hole then blend it in not just fill it? :erm: Best to ask the docs!

[P91MER]

I need the doc too.... i have rust under my screen, under lights, top of A Panels that i want to get sorted ASAP!!!!!

Was going to take it to jon speed to see what he has to say!!

Rich.

[adam c]

This is how i plan to do mine;
If its only surface rust - Treat it with lots and lots of rust treatment, apparantley dinitrol its the only one that works (its should at £28!), I haven't tried it yet but all I know is that Kurust (the stuff from halfords) is C**p and definately dosen't work.
I then plan to sand it back to bare metal and remove every trace of rust before sanding quite smooth with wet and dry paper.
As it is bare metal it must be etch primed else it'll rust up in no time again.
The etch primer will draw in moisture so it should be top coated about 20 minutes later (even if this isn't the final top coat).
Sand it with fine wet and dry paper dipped in soapy water to get a very smooth finish. Then dry it off and your ready to paint.
When painting basically mask off anything you don't want to paint (trim etc.) and then mask other panels, at the seams though - don't mask any of the panel your painting as it will leave a line on it.
When painted the panel will feel slighly rough around the repair due to overspray, you should wait for a week or two and then get some t-cut and polish hard and then it will shine and be smooth as.
If it is quite a bit of rust on one panel then it would be an idea to respray the entire panel.
Paint wise if your only doing a small repair you should be able to buy a few aerosols off the shelf from halfords, if you need quite a bit then maybe you should try a local paint suppliers who would be a lot cheaper and can either supply aerosols or liquid form for spraying with a compressor.
It could be quite an expensive job depending on the rust treatment you use and how much paint you need (the paint isn't bad at 4.99 a tin from halfords but the etch primers about £9 a tin, but you shouldn't need to much).
Hope this helps and good luck.......

[adam c]

Oh and with regard to the screen, it is quite simple to remove using any haynes manual but you will spend hours trying to get the fillet strip back in without the proper tool (bout £12) so its worth buying.
Also if you are using soap to get the screen back in then keep it well away from the job when your lifting the sceen into place (I learnt my lesson!!). I personaly don't like using soap as it leaves water in the rubber and traps it against the metal you have just spent hours treating rust on and repainting. After breaking my screen using it i put the new one in in about 15 minutes without any soap or anything :grin:

[Zeemax]

cool adam (nice name) thanks 4 the tips.

heres mine.





Do u reakon its a weekend jobbie?

Also sanding it back down to bare metal, when u repray the repair wont be visible will it? I mean even with the same colour covering the work will it look the same as the rest of the panel?

[adam c]

I've never had a problem with the reapairs showing through the paint because usually when sanding the edges become feathered so any minor differences in level don't show. I've never had problems with a colour match before and the t-cut blends it in until theres no trace of the repair (providing you have a good colour match).
Unfortunately your rust looks quite deep (especially round the screen) so there may be a bit of welding needed, when you remove the screen you will probably also find quite a bit of rust that has been hidden by the rubber. You may be able to get away with the rust round the seams for now but normally with seams they're rusting in between the two panels so there is no way to do a long lasting repair other than to replace the panels. However for now you could just treat it and spray over it, and then also treat the seam on the back (under the wheel arch) and then paint over this (I undersealed mine which i now regret as it traps rust in and then it just spreads right across the panel). Its probably best to do this with a good chassis paint (I don't know of one as yet).
As for weekend job you could probably do the job but what you normally find is when you start on rust you just keep finding more - If doing the back of the seams under the arches you'll normally find you get carried away and end up doing the whole arch, then you decide to do the back arch, the you end up stripping down half the car to do it, then you break something and have to wait for a new part to come, then you scratch your new paint job fitting it......etc...etc...etc.
Other people should be able to give you some more advice and may have different opinions. So come on guys.......

[tom]

There's quite a good guide on bodywork repair in your '69-'91 Mini Haynes manual between page 32 + 33 (what do you mean, you don't have a Haynes manual?). Although it doesn't tell you how to deal with rust, it's more or less the same, except you should really treat it with something like Kurust first. Try something like this:

• Lightly sand affected area to remove paint.
• Brush on some Kurust (follow the instructions!).
• Wire brush off the black stuff that gets left over.
• Use primer to rust proof the area.
• If a cavity has been created by bad rust, or over-zealous sanding, you need to fill it with, you guessed it, filler.
• Sand it down nicely, until it follows the shape of the body.
• Prime it again.
• See if it still looks OK, you might need to fill/sand some more.
• Prime again, if necessary.
• Use some nice fine Wet & Dry (~400) to get a nice smooth surface.
• Apply a suitable number of coats of your-car-coloured paint.
• Wet & Dry it some more, but with really fine stuff (~1200),
• If required, laquer it.
• WAIT for about a fortnight before polishing/T-Cutting/Waxing it.

This is a really brief list, and is only intended to give you a rough idea of the process, obviously you should always follow the instructions on the back of the tin/can/bottle/etc.

[Woody]

The guys have done their research and know their stuff , the only thing i would add is that the only way to get rid of rust is to replace the panel , anything else is just slowing it down , it will come back , its just a case of when , proper rust treatment means it will take longer to resurface , just painting over rust means it will be back allmost instantly .

[Zeemax]

Cheers guys ill have a go.

about replacing the panels. Id love to but surely its gonna cost a small fortune to replace 2 front wing?

I understand the parts are cheap and getting them sprayed isnt a problem , its just fitting some 1 to fit and take of my old ones.

[adam c]

The panels aren't too much, bout £80 for a pair of gen. ones but fitting could cost a bit and when you remove the old ones who knows what you'll find underneath!!
Listen to what woody says because he certainly knows his stuff :grin: