treating rust - what products to use?

[Jim-SR]

ok, so im being kinda lazy here because i know that all of this info is floating around in various threads. but i figured it would be useful to have it in one place for both myself and others who face the same issues later on

my MR2 is quite rusty. its got some holes, those are probably getting professionally fixed by a friend who is a good welder. but there is also a lot of rust which hasnt yet created any holes, merely started to flake away the surface of the bodywork in various places (mostly around seams)

so im in the process of stripping such areas back to clean metal, removing all the seam sealant so that i can redo it all properly, etc. i just wanted to get some advice on what products people use for treating rust and then preventing it from returning?

i figure that the first step is to use some kind of "rust converter", to break down the rust layers and clean the bodywork back to bare metal. what do people use to treat this? im using wire brush wheels and such like to clean up the panels first, but i know there are treatments for the surface rust as well

next id think that you would want to use some sort of rust preventing primer to seal the metalwork from future corrosion. is this the purpose of POR15? ive heard it mentioned many times, and figure it must be pretty good

and finally what do you do once the POR15 (or similar) is on? can it be painted straight over? do you need to use a special primer, etc?

also, what is best to use on areas where you need to weld, but want to seal internally (e.g. MR2's have lots of double skins. i want to cover the bare metal within these cavities, but il need weld to penetrate the metal when it comes to repairing the outer skin. what is the best weld-through primer to use (if that is indeed the best sort of product to use here), and is that a sufficient way to treat the internal cavities, with waxoyl added later where possible?)

many thanks for any help. im looking to purchase a selection of products so that i can start treating all the rust, so if you can be specific with products that youve used and found to be good, and also where is best to buy them from then that would be greatly appreciated

JIM

[BSM]

You need to look up Fertan, http://www.fertan.com/fertan.com/en/index.html it's a product i found ages ago in an internet trawl which Jiff has used to great result it's really really good. It was initially used to treat the box sections on the side of porsches as they are a closed section. Ie you don't get to clean the rust away you just spray it in. They treated then dried it then sprayed waxoyl in afterwards with the long nozzle.

For welding primer use the UPOL Weld through Primer , available from a good bodyshop supplier or worst case Halfrauds. Very good at not burning away. I've also used galvanising spray availabe from Screwfix to spary inside a box section or backs of panels rather than the usuasal dollop of underseal that attracts mud and water.

As for the stuff you can get at then yes POR15 is the nuts again. As of seam sealer.....i prefer the brushable stuff with a wet finger as it seems to get back in the gaps better..

[biteme]

.....i prefer the brushable stuff with a wet finger as it seems to get back in the gaps better..

:gay:

[OlberJ]

He's only laughing cause he has absolutely NO idea what you just said Si.

I'll translate for Johnny, "Your Mk2 arches, the brown stuff, this'll remove it, gies yer chequebook"

[Jim-SR]

You need to look up Fertan, http://www.fertan.com/fertan.com/en/index.html it's a product i found ages ago in an internet trawl which Jiff has used to great result it's really really good. It was initially used to treat the box sections on the side of porsches as they are a closed section. Ie you don't get to clean the rust away you just spray it in. They treated then dried it then sprayed waxoyl in afterwards with the long nozzle.

For welding primer use the UPOL Weld through Primer , available from a good bodyshop supplier or worst case Halfrauds. Very good at not burning away. I've also used galvanising spray availabe from Screwfix to spary inside a box section or backs of panels rather than the usuasal dollop of underseal that attracts mud and water.

As for the stuff you can get at then yes POR15 is the nuts again. As of seam sealer.....i prefer the brushable stuff with a wet finger as it seems to get back in the gaps better..

thanks for that, stuck a couple of orders in for supplies. hopefully it will all arrive by the weekend so i can spend the 3 day bank holiday getting covered in paint and inhaling sanding dust :D

[Jiff Lemon]

Jim, wander down to tesco and get yourself a couple of those pump-up plant sprayer things. They're perfect for squirting fertan around your box sections. Also don't forget to remove the foam bits out of the rear arches (if you've not already done it)

[Jim-SR]

foam bits where? there was foam on the inside which ive removed, is there some other foam that i should be finding elsewhere too?

the rear arches (not the whole panels, just the arches themselves) are getting cut out completely and replaced with fibreglass ones, fronts wings will be fibreglass, doors too. whatever i can use FG for i am, i figure it will crack instead of rusting, and cracks are easy to fix lol

ive got all my supplies. the fertan i had to get from some marine supplies place, got most of the rest from Frost, and then some other bits elsewhere, including some angle grinder wire brushes to attack the rust with first :D

[OlberJ]

They angle grinder brushes are braw for removing rusty bits and that wierd speckled heat enduced crap you get on fannymoulds and suchlike.

Just mind and wear goggles when you're using them, the bristles become needles flying at the speed of sound when they let go.

Hear that Woodsy? Needles, at the speed of sound, coming to get you! lol

[Jim-SR]

yeh i use a bench grinder mounted wire brush at work all the time, even with goggles on the bristles still hit you in the face. can hurt if they catch you at the wrong angle!

ive got some weird "strip discs" as well which are a nylon mesh sort of thing which strips back rust pretty well too. but they dont get into tight corners, theyre more for larger areas. the wire brush wheel will get into the tighter areas. ive got a bristley one, and a twisted one, depending on how hardcore the rust removal gets!