So a quick question about the rust problems I have. Both of my rear arches have rusted fairly badly, and have bent inwards slightly. Is it worth rubbing them down and using something like hammerite to see if it makes a difference, or would my best bet be to just source and fit some new arches? I've found a website that is selling 6n rear arches for about €26 each, from Estonia, but I don't know what the quality would be like. There's also an ugly looking rust patch on the sill under the door and I'm not sure what's best to do with that one. The arches aren't really in sight so if I did a not-very-tidy job of welding some new ones on you wouldn't be able to see it, but these would be right in view. What's my best option?

Here's a link to the site selling arches;

http://alvadi.ee/en/kataloog/varuosa/24036/15605

And here are the only decent images I could get of the rust spots.

Images are in a high resolution, so you can zoom right in if you click on them.

Edited 14 November, 201411 yr by mbusby993

see if you can push a screwdriver through the sill ...looks like it might need a plate on it

as for the arches , no harm in cleaning them up and good primer /paint , imo hammerite is rubbish and not fit for use so find something else to use

I gently poked at the sill with my finger and it didn't feel very structurally sound, it felt like if I poked much harder it would probably cave in. What exactly do you mean by a plate?

My girlfriend's step-brother said he has some rust treatment stuff I can use (don't think it's hammerite), that you paint on to it two or three times, and I've got white primer and some LB9A ready to colour match it. Worth a shot do you reckon?

well the mot place will poke it with all thier force on a blunt bar thing , tbh if a screwdriver goes through it then it needs repairing

a plate = cut out the rust and weld in a new peice of metal

the rust needs cleaning off with a wire wheel - I've not seen a paint on rust cure that works yet

I figured that's what you meant. How far back is safe to cut it? Say I cut it out and it's rusted back to the underside, would it be better to just get a whole new sill? I have a feeling it's going to be yet another nasty surprise, as there was an advisory on it's last MOT for a small hole in the floorpan, which I'm pretty sure I've identified as pretty close to this section of rusty sill.

So yeah, for the rear arches if I just clean all the rust off with some wire wool (it'll take longer, but I'm not sure if I have anything to fit a wire wheel to), for example, and then primer and paint, would that do it? I don't like the idea of rust cures, but the car's in much worse condition than I thought it was and my budget is already stretching past what I can reasonably afford at the moment.

okay so jack it up and get a torch and carefully inspect that whole sill , if its just the area youve shown then i would carry on and fit a patch after cutting out the rusty bit , go say 30-40mm beyond the rust when cutting so its all good steel

id strongly suggest you check all over the underneath for rust before starting the repair - there might be more than you realise

wire wool wont touch the rust , surley someone can lend you an elec drill and get some poundshop wire wheels ? once the rust is cleaned off yes primer and paint should protect it for a while

Okay yeah, I'll do that then. Hopefully it's not too bad! Could do without having to replace the whole sill.

I'm sure I'll be able to find one. Got the primer and paint covered at least.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-x-Clean-Strip-Cleaning-disc-on-a-6mmshaft-for-drill-/300444198062?pt=UK_Home_Garden_PowerTools_SM&hash=item45f3dea4ae

this style cleaning wheel is pretty good , diy stores sell em

Briliant, I'll keep an eye out. :)

I've got a drill, for some reason I thought they only did them as angle grider attachments. I'll probably have to source an angle grinder when it comes to cutting out the sill anyway.

yeah handy to have an angle grinder with a few discs , 1mm cutting disc is ideal for cutting into the sill

Yeah, I'm still building up a toolbox. Not had much need for one in a rented flat, but now that I've got my first car I'm suddenly finding need for all sorts of things aha.

When you have an angle grinder, flap discs are amazing for taking off surface rust.

As for the rear arches, make sure when they're cleaned up it is all bright metal, any specs of brown are rust which will grow under your fresh paint. I use rustbusters fe-123 converter, practical classics recommends it and i have no complaints.

Okay, I'll make note of that. I probably would have anyway, it's common sense really. :)

Have you started the arches yet how's it going I need to do mine all that's letting the car down realy just wondered how hard it is

I haven't had a long enough day to sand them down, treat, prime and spray them. Not enough time off!

I've got some wire wheel drill attachments and will probably have a go on Sunday.

Lido have a good set of grinder accessories right now. Good price too. They have good flap wheels and a great wire brush cup.

Just keep cleaning off the paint until all the rust is gone, then use a solvent like panel wipe then a primer to cover the metal. Then once you have done all the spots on the sills, then go over the whole thing with colour and then a few coats of lacquer. As for the hole, you will need to clean around it to see the damage, then cut out the damaged bits, and make up a piece of metal to the same shape and have it weled on, then fill over it and sand to shape to fill the little bumps around the welds, then prime paint and lacquer.

I wouldn't bother with those rust treatments, they usually don't do anything. Best to take it off then repair.

As for the rear arches I have both sides, seem like good quality, and also a pair of front wings in green, which I can paint white if your interested? Pm me.

Also, nothing wrong with lacquer ink over the rust to stop it getting worse. Seems to work for the rat look crowd.

Yeah, I know they do. I work there! The only problem with anything electrical from Lidl is we always get it returned to us a few months later. Trago had a Black and Decker angle grinder for £24.99 but I'm more skint than ever at the moment.

The only problem with this is I intended to do this back in October when the sun was still out. I dont have anywhere dry to do any of the necessary spraying now. The only garage I have access to doesn't have enough floor space to get a car in, and its not my garage to clear space in.

I can't stand rat look anything, I want to do it as neatly as I can do that when it's sat low on my BBS' it wont have a ghastly patch of rust on show.

I guess all I can do for The meantime is perhaps patch up the visible bit, and then do it properly when the weather is warmer. I'll send you a PM about the arches anyway. Can't hurt.

Hi!

I've got the exact same issue on my white 6n2 - rust up one wheel arch and along the sill (starting to effect the bottom of the door now!). I'm interested to know if you've made any progress on yours and how easy it was? I've been quoted like £200 to get it sorted but if it's something I'm able to do myself, I wanna have a crack at it!

It's difficult at the moment because the weather's so cold. But the best way to do it is to Jack the car up, get the wheel off and try various methods of sending down the rust. If you can get it back to bare metal then it's all good forms coat of primer and a repaint. I had made some progress but then it took a back burner for a while. I'm gonna have another crack at it once the weather's warmer.

I was using various grades of sand paper and a wire wheel attachment for a drill.

As for the sill, I've not yet got around to it. I think I'm going to Cut out the section with an angle grinder and then weld in fresh steel. It'll only be a patch weld, but a body shop will charge somewhere in the region of what you were quoted. I tried a couple .

Edited 13 February, 201511 yr by mbusby993

Ah okay. I've been told by a friend that the price I was quoted for is actually pretty reasonable for the work that needs doing, but I'm so skint at the moment and I don't want the rust getting worse or going beyond the sill. :')

I may check out some YouTube vids on it and have a go - I doubt I could make it worse... right?

Any particular brands of primer? And are you using a sealant before priming to 'prevent' it rusting again? Thankyou!

It is a pretty reasonable price, but it's a 'specialist price'... So it's the price you pay for a (presumably) perfect job.

I was definitely getting results from sending, but I ran out of time, left it and now the winter's made it as bad again.

You can use products to prevent it, but there are generally mixed opinions about them. So it's up to you on that part really.

You can get rust preventing primer, usually comes in grey. not sure if it would affect your top coat too much.

Okiedokie, I'll see what I can do before admitting defeat! Thank you for all your help.

Definitely worth a crack yourself. It's not difficult once you're down there. :)

Good luck with it!