GolfGTIforum.co.uk
General => Cosmetic and bodywork matters => Topic started by: Thom89 on 01 October 2008, 01:44
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A couple of months ago, I got a new Iphone, and of course I wanted to check out the camera, a mates Ferrari was booked in for some rust rectification work, so I decided to take advantage of it. Although its obviously not a VW... rust is rust! and repair principles are excatly the same, the car is a 98 Ferrari 355 F1 berlinetta, in almost mint condition, apart from the above rust that is on a hidden joint on the N/S rear 1/4 where it meets the "C" pillar coming down from the roof, basically it's an internally spot welded joint, that has a bead of sealer to hide the joint, rust problems arise, when the rear wheels throw up water directly into the joint...
(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f90/thom62/a6510a63.jpg)
The seam in question runs from the window line towards the rear light, it actually looks like its all one panel pressing..
(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f90/thom62/205b3a14.jpg)
Rust bubbles can clearly be seen in this shot.. fuel filler cap at bottom left for reference
(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f90/thom62/acbda961.jpg)
The area was masked, and paint was removed with a small grinder, revealing the cream coloured sealer that was applied in the factory 10yrs ago! at this point, no attempt was made to grind the away the rust, the sealer was raked out by hand with a broken hacksaw blade, digging thoroughly all the way down to the spotwelds, a depth of about 15mm.
(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f90/thom62/f4362ea0.jpg)
Once I was happy with the sealer removal (every last bit gone) the joint was almost ready for some prep work.. first job was to "open up" the joint, to allow access to the area around the spotwelds, this was done by inserting a balster chisel (the type that brickies use to cut bricks!) into the gap, and gently hammer and seperate the joint, just enough to "pull on the spotwelds, we're only looking at about 1mm separation here, doesnt sound a lot, but very important, as this allows me to get into the joint with the grit blaster, and remove ALL the rust, this extra room also means that grit will not get stuck in the joint, and can be easily removed.
(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f90/thom62/7481ba11.jpg)
Heres the joint after blasting, note, at no point have I used a grinder of any sort to remove any of the rust!
Next job is to treat the steal, I set up a hot air gun staight away after blasting, pointing upwards to the underneath of the joint to keep any moisture in the air settling into the joint, without this the entire job would be a waste of time..
Next job was to treat the joint with some Zinc paint, normally sprayed from an aerosol, but in this case it was necessary to brush paint it with a small brush, to reach the bottom of the joint, then a quick blast out the aerosol, just to make sure!
next up was 2 coats of etch primer
(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f90/thom62/7ab782bd.jpg)
next up, the repair was sanded with 400 grit disc on a DA sander, red scotchbrite, degreased, and given 4 coats of 2K primer, and then left overnight
(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f90/thom62/c20e8295.jpg)
Next morning the primer was carefully dry sanded (400 grit), so not to allow water into the unsealed joint, and made ready for the black PU sealer
(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f90/thom62/3f52300b.jpg)
Sealer was applied, and left for half a day, before an extra 2 coats of primer were re applied.. and again left overnight to dry out properly
(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f90/thom62/2ce1c296.jpg)
The next day... Primer was flatted with 800 wet/dry, taking extra care not to "tram line" the primer, by always using a rubber rubbing block, and constantly changing direction while sanding, tram lining will show up after the paintwork is finished, and most of the time can only be rectified by re sanding and repainting! The rest of the 1/4 panel was block sanded with 1500 grit wet/dry, taking care again, not to rub through the factory paint near the door, as I'll be using a basecoat system, only the primed area, will be coloured. The C pillar leading up to the roof was flatted with 2000 wet/dry, along with roughly 1/4 of the roof panel itself, the reason for not painting the full roof is down to economics.. to do so would entail removing the windscreen etc, and probably tripling the price of the job! the method I use though, is permanently invisible, so really not an issue.. on to masking up
(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f90/thom62/87b3ee36.jpg)
All masked up, note the area on the roof left exposed for the lacquer to be blended into the factory paint..
(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f90/thom62/74d7f99b.jpg)
Basecoat has now been applied to just the primed area, note that the colour does not reach the edge of the door, this will ensure a perfect colour match after the lacquer has been applied, notice that the fresh red paint looks brighter than the factory paint! this is a trait of any red paint! while its wet its brighter, and naturally darkens as it dries.. strange but true!
(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f90/thom62/e399e70a.jpg)
3 coats of lacquer were applied, then thinned by 50% to blend into the roof, then thinned again by 50% and blown a little further into the roof.. then left overnight to cure.
The next morning the whole lot was flatted with 1500 wet/dry followed by 2000, including flatting the lacquered section of the roof
the repaired area was carefully polished by hand, as its a pretty tricky area with a machine!, the rest was machined, using Farecla G3, and a water sprayer to keep it all wet, finished off by 3Ms anti swirl polish.
All that was left to do now, was treat the joint underneath the wheel arch to some Wurth anti corrosion spray wax.. thats more than Ferrari ever did!
The car was then valeted, and the whole lot treated to a coat of Zymol wax, as far as I was concerned, the repairs turned out 100% and wouldn't have done anything differently.. Owner was chuffed to bits! :rolleyes: :wink:
(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f90/thom62/31d7133f.jpg)
(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f90/thom62/c40edfc9.jpg)
Tom
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Sticky this allready!! :smiley: Ta
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Didn't realise you finished this untill you pointed it out in the other thread, good job :afro: some nice tips there.
I've been doing some rust removal on my MK2 golf, on the front of the wings by the outer lights, I removed all the spots of rust, acid etched (about 2 coats), high primered (about 2 light dust coats), then a standard primer (another 2 coats) then did about 2 coats of gloss and flated back. This was done with rattle cans only, and serves only as a base for a 2K full spray when I finish the other bits of rust.
You said you dabbed some Zinc paint over the previously rusty area, so now I'm a bit worried I might get some rust crawling back (eventually) over the metal I didn't cover with zinc paint.
Should I sand it back off again?
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Sounds like what you've done will be fine, the point that I wanted to make in my post was treating rust is not all about jumping straight in there with an angle grinder, and removing perfect metal, along with the rust. chemically treating rust is something I would never do, simply because 1, I don't trust it, and 2, I have a kitted out workshop at my disposal, grit blasting, or chopping out rust in reality is far superior, but of course I appreciate that not everyone has access to all the kit required, so chemically treating rust has to be a serious option, and the secret being probably to remove as much rust as possible, before treating
The Zinc that I use will stop rust reforming on perfect steel, It will not stop rust spreading! should you sand it off! I would say no, but keep your eye on it, and deal with it, if you feel that its starting to get out of hand...
Tom
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Phew, that's cool, I'll leave as it is then thanks.
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oooops......
(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f90/thom62/741e53e2.jpg)
(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f90/thom62/f2a18061.jpg)
Tom
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DAMN IT!!! with all the will in the world thas not a quick fix is it LOL
Still bit of fibre glass, bodgy bodgy :laugh:
But must say as for the top rust removal top work mate, better than where i work :D
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Thanks for the comments... might have to bodge the bumper, a new one from Ferrari is £1400+vat :sick: plus all the other bits and pieces it needs, then labour, paint and materials......................
Tom
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F**KING HOW MUCH!!!! bugger and thas on a relativly old model ferrari duno about sick think if i'd been quoted that it woulda been shooting out both ends :grin:
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oooops......
(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f90/thom62/741e53e2.jpg)
(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f90/thom62/f2a18061.jpg)
Tom
Just a bit of an update if anyones interested, wing was removed, straightend and painted, inner wing was repaired, arch linners and flitch pannels straightened and repainted, new bumper primed, and block sanded before paint, all paint was flatted and polished before re-assembley with new brackets, mountings, nuts and bolts, and lamps, then finished off with an anti corrosion treatment, heres the end result.
(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f90/thom62/Iphonepics058.jpg)
Tom
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:cool:
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Money is just not the issue when it comes to a Horse i guess :P
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Great write up very interesting to read.
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nice work! :)
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v nice work.. how much did that last repair set the owner back out of interest?
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v nice work.. how much did that last repair set the owner back out of interest?
Thanks fo the comments guys, all appreciated..
Unfortunately I don't discuss prices on a public forum, it's not fair to the owner to do so, sorry
Tom
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Bloody nice job tho mate. :smiley:
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v nice work.. how much did that last repair set the owner back out of interest?
Thanks fo the comments guys, all appreciated..
Unfortunately I don't discuss prices on a public forum, it's not fair to the owner to do so, sorry
Tom
Ah no it's no biggy, was just wondering ball park figure, nothing specific :smiley:
no worries though, well done
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wow some great work there i guess it wasnt cheap to fix that front end smash :grin: :cool:
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This is the sort of info ,that makes all your trawling worth while . :smiley: :smiley:
Very good informative piece ,top marks my man .