11 replies to this topic

[grey54321]

I am thinking about buying a Mini as a car to do up, obviously as it will be my first Mini, I won't want to be spending a large ammount of money if anything goes wrong.

As far as a body touch up, by this I mean getting rid of any rust, filling in any small holes, what would be the process and what tools, materials ect would I need.

I am a 17 year old wanting to re build a Mini (Leaving the engine alone for now) which I will be totally new to, so please don't make sarcastic comments e.g "I can't believe you don't know how to do that" ect

Cheers for giving me the time of day
Dan

[Sprocket]

When it comes to rust the only real way to deal with it is, if it has gone all the way through and holed, is cut it out and replace it. Surface rust can be burnished back to bare metal, treated, filled and painted. ONLY if is not holed.

Rust holes and filler are not good and Mr MOT will find it with his hammer

[grey54321]

Yeah, Ok, I get your drift, but what the process of dealing with rust holes, I know some parts but could somone go into more detail.

Cheers
Dan

[pikey7]

cut the hole out so that you have bare, non-rusty metal at the egdes, and weld in a patch (or a complete panel if it's that much)

[Garagiste]

Though I agree with Mini Sprocket and Pikey, I'd add that it really depends on the extent and location of the rust.
For example I had some bubbling at the bottom of my doorskins. An assault with the wire brush and drill combo releaved some very small holes - rally just pinholes on the n/s and three pea sized ones on the o/s.

Now I wasn't going to get my welder out for those (especially as I'm not too experienced with it - i'd either end up making bigger holes or warping the whole skin!)
So a bit of ally mesh and filler later, along with lashings of Metal Ready, POR 15 and Waxoyl and they look pretty good and should remain rust free for a couple of years.

So long as your rust holes aren't too big or within 30cm of anything remotely structual, a bit of filler is OK - just make sure you've got ALL of the rust out, and regard it as a temporary repair rather than a permanent solution.

Having wasted much time with filler in the wrong places on old bangers when I was around your age though, a word of advice - before you even think about tarting it up and making it look pretty, get underneath and clean up and rustproof the important bits first. I had a nicely filled wing on my first car, but it ended up not having a floor!

[Sprocket]

Though I agree with Mini Sprocket and Pikey, I'd add that it really depends on the extent and location of the rust.
For example I had some bubbling at the bottom of my doorskins. An assault with the wire brush and drill combo releaved some very small holes - rally just pinholes on the n/s and three pea sized ones on the o/s.

Now I wasn't going to get my welder out for those (especially as I'm not too experienced with it - i'd either end up making bigger holes or warping the whole skin!)
So a bit of ally mesh and filler later, along with lashings of Metal Ready, POR 15 and Waxoyl and they look pretty good and should remain rust free for a couple of years.

So long as your rust holes aren't too big or within 30cm of anything remotely structual, a bit of filler is OK - just make sure you've got ALL of the rust out, and regard it as a temporary repair rather than a permanent solution.

Having wasted much time with filler in the wrong places on old bangers when I was around your age though, a word of advice - before you even think about tarting it up and making it look pretty, get underneath and clean up and rustproof the important bits first. I had a nicely filled wing on my first car, but it ended up not having a floor!

And after a while you will get this.

Its much more senseble to fix it first time than have to do it right in the end after bodging it the first time

[beemerduck]

if theres bubbling under the paint, there are holes !! simple as that !!
paint bubbles when moisture gets under and causes rust, usually from the back of the panel... so basically the rule is, unles sits surface rust on a bare piece of metal etc, then it has holes, as the water has to get under the paint somehow.

[Sprocket]

if theres bubbling under the paint, there are holes !! simple as that !!
paint bubbles when moisture gets under and causes rust, usually from the back of the panel... so basically the rule is, unles sits surface rust on a bare piece of metal etc, then it has holes, as the water has to get under the paint somehow.

Theres filler under there too so its been done before

[beemerduck]

not worth welding then... door skin time methinks )

just get a wire brush on the rust and take it back to the metal and see what the real damage is..

[Sprocket]

http://www.theminifo...showtopic=24178


New panels, but of course, bottom of the door is well gone because when it was bodged the first time round the weather strip was damaged and not touching the window along its length alowing the rain free access to the inside of the door. Doh.

[chilli]

My Cooper has just spent a whole year in a garage when initially it was going to be "just a new sill". When the offending outer sill was removed, it had been bodged with filler so badly underneath that it required an inner sill aswell. Further investigation led to a a new A Panel, floor section, rear wing, boot floor and I forget what else because it's been so long. Even now I have it back and it looks good from the outside, there are still rusty uneven edges under the carpet where it looks like they have simply welded a new panel over the old without completely cutting out the rust. The rear door bin is the same. And we haven't even got as far as the other side of the car yet which is showing some "bubbling". Basically, the moral of the story, (as most mini owners will undoubtedly have some experience), is don't think a small area of rust or bubbling means that only that area is affected. Chances are if that has been bodged or left to rot in the past, then you are looking at a hefty repair bill and major work to rectify.

[Garagiste]

Right, well filler anywhere near your sills is a complete no-no.
As I said in my earlier post, my efforts with the doorskins aren't intended to be a permanent repair. Object of the excercise is really just to arrest the rust as much as possible - appearaces are very much a secondary consideration. Having ground all of the rust out I was left with a few small holes. After treating the surrounding area with Metal ready and POR15 a bit of filler was used - to keep the water out basically.
Having then thrown a bucket of Waxoyl into the doorskin (and yes, clearing the drain holes afterwards) I think / hope that it should be good for some time before it needs proper attention - i.e a new doorskin.
Delaying the inevitable perhaps, but that is precicely the idea - until somebody comes up with a cure for rust!