9 replies to this topic

[alittleawkward]

Hi guys, I'll try and keep this short.

 

I'm a novice to cars and for the most part have friends who're much more into them than me, and are really helping me out with the basics of getting to know cars (and my car specifically) but their ideologies conflict over my paintjob. 

 

I washed and polished my mini today, and it exposed a fair bit of rust formation, and a vast amount (we're talking over 100) air bubbles on areas of the paint work, specifically on the wind screen frame, just above the A frame, underneath the headlights, above the boot and on the bonnet. This really concerns me as the last thing I want is to have holes of rust gaping in my car in a few months time. So I have a few questions.

 

1. Is there any way to reverse the air bubbles yourself assuming rust hasn't formed underneath them?

I've looked around a little bit and most places say if there's a fair bit of small bubbling the best thing is to strip & repaint

 

2. I'm wary about sorting out my own rust spots on the joint areas. Should I DIY or take it to a pro?

There is a fair bit of rust bubbling up below my headlights, and I'm just unsure about the whole ordeal. If people want pictures I'll take some tomorrow

 

3. It's a fact that the last paint job my mini had was a botch one. The car wasn't sanded down beforehand and it's flaking away in a few places, revealing it's old colour. Is it better to just get it resprayed again after a good sanding or is it worth trying to hold on to it's current paint job?

 

4. Will keeping my car under a cover do anything to the paint?

I don't have a garage, but I have a cover that it sit's in 6 days a week (assuming it's not raining), will this damage the paint job.

 

 

This is her, and you can probably tell she's had a good clean today but none of the rust spots are particularly obvious in this one. I'm just very cautious because I haven't had it for long at all and don't want to write anything off about it before I've even been able to properly drive it, even if it's just aesthetic. I plan on getting the paint job slightly redone anyway and bringing the paint job back to a much closer authentic standard without vinyls, so cost and for the benefit of the car wise, is it worth to just get it all done in one job lot by a pro or for me to do as much as I can?

 

Thank you! Sorry if I sound dim witted, it's because I'm here to learn :)

Edited by alittleawkward, 26 November 2016 - 09:21 PM.

[Ben_O]

First of all, love the number plate!

 

As for the paint, have you any close up shots of the areas you mean?

 

Generally if the paint is bubbling, then there is no other way than to remove the cause and repaint. 

 

Ben

[bluedragon]

You should be prepared to repaint, then strip down the rusting areas to see how bad it is. Unfortunately, if you see significant bubbling on the surface, it's probably far worse underneath, so you need treat it like a cancer and deal with it immediately or it will get much, much worse.

 

Especially if you're seeing it around the scuttle - if the metal is perforated by the rust, that will be one of the most unpleasant repair jobs you can have. Tackle it ASAP and hope it's not too late. I personally only saw a few bubbles externally, but learned how bad it was when my radio kept shorting out due to water intrusion in heavy rain. It was a rotted scuttle.

 

If the paint job is already flaking, bite the bullet and repaint. You can deal with all the rust at the same time. If there were no rust it might be worth trying to salvage (nothing to lose) but with the rust, there's no point.

 

If you want to learn how to do bodywork, you can save a lot of money (at the cost of a lot of spare time) at least fixing the rust before sending it off to the paint shop. If the rust is so bad that panels need to be replaced, only you can answer how badly you want to learn to do major bodywork or just farm it out. But you need to find a reputable bodyshop to do the work, otherwise you may get what you got with the previous respray, only worse (they may bodge the rust repairs, which would leave you worse off than before because of the money you just spent.)

 

 

Dave

[Shifty]

I like the number plate!!

 

The air bubbles under the paint can be caused by the cover, generally keeping a car under a cover isn't the best way to store it.  It really brings out the worst.

[sonikk4]

The only real way to sort the bubbles is to sand right back. Been there done that.

 

One of team had the same issue and when he sanded back he found tiny rust spots but got to them before they got worse. Still a pain to sand back to bare metal and start again.

[alittleawkward]

Polished her today, so it brought out the bubbles a bit better

 

 

 

 

 

The ones on the roof are harder to see as it's a slightly matte paint, but it feels like really really fine sand paper with the amount of bubbles it's littered with.

 

 

in hindsight, the bubbling isn't as aesthetically pollutive as I thought it was. i think it's just because I'm so aware its there, however I still want to get it sorted. Probably gonna sand her down next weekend.

 

All polished! :)

[Ben_O]

The bubbling looks to me like Solvent pop although some areas you show are obviously rust beneath the paint.

 

I wouldn't start sanding it unless you plan to paint it again straight away or you could well be worse off.

And of course, painting it at home in cold damp conditions would be a waste of time if that was what you are planning to do.

 

I would be tempted to keep it clean and leave it until the nicer weather comes back before attempting any fixes.

 

Cheers

 

Ben

[Cooperman]

With all classic cars, not just Minis, once the rust starts the eventual result is the need for body panel changes and a re-paint. The big question is when to do it.

Most classic car owners do the vast majority of the work themselves (or expect to pay a lot of money) to keep their lovely cars going. 

It is usual to do a bit of rust removal to keep the dreaded rusting at bay, but it will be a temporary fix in many cases.

With the classic Mini the point at which a major body restoration is needed is when the sills, front panel, wings, A-Panel and screen scuttle have rust holes and when a small screwdriver can be easily pushed through the panels.

It looks as though this point has not yet been reached, but it probably will be in a year or so. That gives time to buy a welder, learn to do welding and bodywork, then eventually just sub-contract the re-painting out to a spray-shop.

The classic Mini is no better or worse than contemporary classics. It might be wise for the OP to find a Mini expert who could look at it and see how good or bad it actually is. As a general rule, if a panel has a rust hole in it then it will need replacing in the medium term. Surface rust can be treated with a Kurust-type produce followed by local re-painting, but it must just be surface rust, not rust which has gone right through. Unfortunately what looks like surface rust is often right through and the panel will be beyond repair.

Oh, the joys of classic car ownership   .

[alittleawkward]

I've looked closely at the sills and they are actually in pretty good nick, apart from where my rims start (as that's where water obviously collects). I'm getting in contact with a guy who worked miracles with a friends mini (see below) and I'm hoping he can do similar to mine.

 

None of my surface rust is as far gone as this:

 

 

and then after some miracle working:

 

 

I'm hoping I can hold on a month so I have the sufficient funds to be able to do all this work in one lot, I'm just worried, as everyone has said you really need it done immediately.

[robminibcy]

do your sills look like the one's in the pic you've posted (apart from the rust hole!)? If so you have what's called oversills which are fitted as a bodge to cover up rusted. Where you have the square lumps they should be open at the bottom to allow water to drain out and to allow ventilation.