Cheers!

Hello everyone,

i've never posted anything in the 1st gen forum, but i need your advice on fixing surface rust on my 89 T2

There is a small patch near the front of my roof on the edge where it meets the windsheild.

i was thinking of using a orbital sander and remove all the rust.

but i need a way to build up the material i removed off so the roof is flush again.

I was thinking of using JBweld, heat in hot water to have it run easier and apply that and then sand it smooth and flat again, prime and paint.

Is that a good idea, or should i just use bondo?

85RX7GS

iTrader: (1)

Remove the rust by sanding, prime it and paint it.

Manntis

Bondo can be added to build up the material, then sanded back down to flush so once it's primed and painted you won't be able to tell.

A word of caution: much of the surface body metal on a ReX is thiiiiiiin. If you're sanding/grinding away so much as to need to fill it you might go right through - have you considered just chopping out the rusted section and welding in new metal?

I'm not a bodywork guy, but I've had enough done to my cars over the years to know this is the preferred method. Personally I like knowing there's clean metal under the new paint instead of pockets of bondo.

Cheers!

Thanks for the advice everyone,

the rust doesn't look too deep. But i haven't touched it yet so i don't know the extent.

Mantis: that is also the reason why i want to try to use JBweld instead of bondo.

i just feel wrong using bondo sometimes

Rotary-MG

iTrader: (1)

It looks really crummy in the picture, see left, but when the metal work was looking just perfect, the entire car got a coat of bondo and then sanded down. The bondo is no thicker than a few sheets of paper anywhere you check. It's a ton of work, but comes out better than factory. But I think a lot of show cars do exactly that.

If a lite magnet can still hold onto the vertical surface, then the bando ain't that think.

Manntis

bando ain't that think?

error402

Mantis I think he means "bondo ain't that thick"

jeremy

iTrader: (1)

rotary-mg is in the crack again, dammit.

i would use bondo as it will be far easier to work with and easier to fix if you mess it up.

Manntis

aw c'mon jeremy, you could autoCAD up a nice replacement piece

Blitz0309

get the bondo you mix yourself.. you can make it thick or thin...

Pedestrian X

how else woudl u get the bondo??

Keaponlaffen

ummm, they make "New, UV activated BONDO"... ugh... I tried it because it had a 30-day money-back guarantee, took it back the first day I tried it... it's like trying to work with runny yellow snot when it's uncured, it cures in 2 or so minutes, so you can't work with it, and when it cures, you can grab it and pull it off like silicone. It doesn't stick at all...


Jeff

rotard

Oh Canada!

Keaponlaffen

haha patriotism to it's best

crankit

Had myself a dented in rear fender just above the tail light right on the corner. Was too small to pull out and no access to hammer out. So I used tiger hair to form it. then sanded down and finished with bondo. Some sanding and 3m glazing putty to fill the bondo pits and final 400 sand and prime. Looks great. Just to bring to light using tiger hair or gorilla hair to use before bondo for those large fill ins. Also fixed rusty lawnmower deck. That stuff is strong

jeremy

iTrader: (1)

thats old school man. i have a fully functional 3d model in pro/e. i just send my working prints off to korea and the send me parts back, lol.

rx7passion

save yourself the trouble and actually treat it not just sand it down and paint it, it will come back again. go find some por15 and then strip it down to metal then apply the por15 pretty thin ( i used an airbrush) and then go for priming and painting. it chemically changes the metal so the rust break down doesnt happen. its good stuff.

ghetto-rx7

Last week when I was in kamloops(moving all my stuff there) I left one of my tools with the rubber grips on the hood of my car and it melted onto it Im thinking about maybe a new paintjob and get rid of some of the rust.

Have any of you guys needed 3 new paintjobs? Mine never seem to stay good looking for more than a couple months

gump

Ok, going back to fixing the surface rust, i have some spots on the front of my car i'd like to sand down and put primer on, but what grit sandpaper should I use to get down to the bare metal before applying the primer???? Thanks.

Keaponlaffen

Haha, welcome to kamloops..... was that the day it got up to 40, or only one of the days it was 35... Hey, is that your car in the avatar?!

Jeff

ghetto-rx7

Yes that was the day it was 40 out and no that not my car...(i wish is was)

Keaponlaffen

Ha, ok IC... well, hope to see your car around, (even though I don't know what it looks like )

Jeff

ghetto-rx7

My car isnt running.

Well is guess it might but I dont want to risk getting shocked.

ghetto-rx7

I got a baby blue gray w/e that color is gsl and it dont got a sun roof it'll be in the sahali area, but I live in brock right by the rec center.

Manntis

If you keep needing new paint, go to a decent body shop - look for 50's Chevys and/or muscle cars being restored in their bays. A high quality paint job costs a few grand, but it's worth it and it'll last.

The shop I go to is restoring a Bugatti from the 1920's from the ground up, taking their time and painting it to perfection as they assemble it. I saw a ton of concourse cars in there being 'freshened', in some cases they would even paint 'em with a brush (cars from before the 2nd world war were hand painted, and entering one in a car show with sprayed on paint can cost you points)

With all that there I knew they'd treat my ReX right.