Rusty's not very quiet cuda progress

Finally got a few hours where I actually felt like going out to the 'Cuda, hood is still holding, had intended to clean it up & get some paint on but my help went off to a baseball try out. So I took the easy road, laid on the ground next to the car & between naps I ground off a larger area around the rust spots & got the sections cut out.
My welder's been sittin a long time & when I did the fender the wire was irratic, could not get it to flow out smooth, have to mess with that (or borrow charger man's ) before I attempt the patches. But at least I got off my depressed butt & did something!
At least she still fires up & runs good.
the mess!

 
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Finally got some paint on it Sunday, I'm gettin old, took all day to get it cleaned up, then 1 coat of epoxy primer to seal it & 2 coats of z-chrome blocking primer. went out at 10 am & didn't get the mess cleaned up till 6 pm, my legs were shot, work Monday was no fun, darn, 10 years ago I was out there all weekend & in the evenings for a few hours, now after 2 or 3 hours I'm ready to quite for the day.
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Resto my yoda of body work, I'm thinking of gluing on the patches on the rocker, this way I can paint the back before it goes on & not create another re-rust area, there's no way in there to shoot anything in now. it's right near where it meets the quarter seam, I think the putty that was on there is thick enough to hide another layer of metal, what ya think ?????????????
 
If anyone needs me, I'm going to go outside and hug my Challenger. I can't imagine having to deal with all this the first time, much less the second. :doh:
 
"Glue this you should not. Weld, you must." * Yoda voice? *

No matter what you cover it with, the edges of a glued-in patch panel WILL show up again. Weld it in.

If it were me, I'd make that hole a lot bigger, just to make sure you get rid of all the rust. One small patch or two small patches, there's not much difference when you're welding it in. A hole is a hole, no matter how big.

On the top side of your sill, where the factory sill plate goes, drill a couple of 1/2" holes and spray your rust proofing goop through there. Cover the holes with the plastic plugs and no one will ever know.

 
Ahhh crap, never an easier way out for me, just worried everywhere I weld is another future rust spot! now I have to get the welder going again, haven't looked at why the wire is feeding irraticly yet.
Jass my man, the fun is gone, now it's a job, one that I don't really want to do, but if I'm ever going to get rid of it this is the only way.
If someone offers to buy both, I may just let the 74 go too.
the 74 should return me to hobby mode, guess I'll wait & see how bad this goes before I swear off rusty old cars forever!
 
I totally understand that. I'm sure it's especially frustrating since you thought you had all this covered the first time. I about shat myself when the Chassis Saver started falling off the LeBaron in sheets; thankfully I made that discovery prior to doing any further paintwork.
 
Rust work is never fun, but there are tried and tested ways to deal with it. Cut it all out, clean up behind it, weld in new steel and protect it from both sides with the proper products... simplified yes, but anything outside of that is doomed to failure, no exceptions.
Truthfully, if I had a dollar for every time I've seen someone short-cut a repair (amateurs and pros alike), cheap out on materials or just plain do things the wrong way, I'd be a very wealthy restoman.

New automotive technology and repair methods in the last twenty years has been nothing less than astounding, but rust is rust, and as long as cars are made of steel, they will rust.
Just wait till people start wanting today's new cars repaired, 5 or 10 years down the road. That will make Rusty's exploits look easy... IF there is still anyone left with the knowledge of how to repair anything. :(
 
restoman said:
Cut it all out, clean up behind it, weld in new steel and protect it from both sides with the proper products... simplified yes, but anything outside of that is doomed to failure, no exceptions.
Click to expand...
On that note, I did take heed of your implication about the damage to the trunk rail (gutter) on the Challenger, under the cut-out section of quarter. I got in the trunk with the flashlight, and the gutter/rail simply vanishes up in the hinge area, a little past where the deck filler panel and quarter meet. It seemed OK by feel on the other end near the tail panel, but I didn't visually inspect that end of it (it's not easy to writhe around in that tiny trunk). I'm hoping to only use what I need up near the exposed area and forward. That junction between tail panel, trunk gutter and quarter panel is an ugly thing with the quarter in place.
 
So now I'm thinking of joining the two holes(cut across & take the middle out) I did try & get a mirror in there to see what's going on but really couldn't se much, with a bigger hole I can get more light in there & see what's up(not sure I really want to find out??????????? )
K, so what the heck DO I spray in there, seems my por 15 is useless, Jass's eastwood stuff no workie, so what do I have to get? Rich.
 
Somewhere else on the board I mentioned a product line called Seal Out. It's made by a fella named Warren Kuehn (pronounce "keen") somewhere in WI. He sells a specific applicator gun for it, but I think one could get by with a schutz gun. Everyone I know that's used it continues to do so, and they all swear nothing else compares. Warren's a good guy; I don't know if he makes the stuff in his garage or what but it's not exactly something you're going to find around the corner. Possibly the best-kept secret in rust prevention. He's not shy about hyping it, but makes no attempt whatsoever to market it. The containers are about as exciting as watching grass grow. I've thought about marketing it myself; I'll definitely be shooting that stuff into every unreachable nook and cranny in both of my cars. I can dig out contact information if anyone's interested; last time I mentioned it no one seemed to be.
 
Anything that creeps into crevices is what you need.
Oil-based products are the best, as long as the oil isn't acidic, like used motor oil. If it doesn't creep or leak out around edges, it won't fully protect. Heavier-bodied oils work and last longer, light oils tend to dissipate over time.

If it doesn't drip, it doesn't work.
Washing it off when it creeps around door bottoms and trunk edges is a pain, but re-doing the repair is a bigger pain.
Oil is cheap, rust work isn't.

I've used stuff like what Doc is mentioning, known in the industry as cavity wax. It does work as long as you can get it into where it's needed. Sometimes that's not always possible, but it might well be worth looking into...

When I finished my Beetle back in '95, I used two + gallons of undercoating oil and sprayed the car myself, then drove it down some of the dustiest roads I could find. The dust helps keep the oils from being washed off in puddles and such over the years.

Everything I repaired on the car still looks great and still has oil on the backside... after 19 years and a LOT of time sitting outside, which is the absolute worst thing you can do to a car. :(
 
If I have anything left after work today I'll try & get a good look at what's in there, now what I'm dealing with is probably a lot of metal that had surface rust, mostly on the inside of the outer rocker piece, the body side if I remember was not rusted, after I did my patches I used an undercoat gun from the rear(quarter was off) even made up some tubing for an extension & flooded it with the por 15, rolling the nozzle as I pulled back. much dripping out of the weep holes at the bottom. It was well coated by the pieces I peeled off the metal I cut out(so the theory of it sticking to rusty metal & stopping progression is out the window!)
I'll update tonight if I get my tired old butt out there?
 
Resto...I did not know that used motor oil was acidic? I've been using used motor oil for years with no discernible problems. What will the acid in the used motor oil do? And then What about "new" engine oil?

I like to use engine oil because it can be squirted into tin little holes, and will flow to where you want it. And it makes nice rainbow patterns on the driveway when it rains.....:shifty:
 
K, so I enlarged the hole, got some pics in there, bad, but not as bad as I feared, going forward looks like a few more inches have to come out.

In the short pic it's bad to that little bulge...........

from there forward doesn't look too bad

one of my welding rods I was using to keep the tubing straight oopsie......
to the back it does look bad, gonna see if I can scrape around in there to see how bad.
 
Used oil really won't do much except possibly damage paint finishes. It seems to be fine around OEM acrylics, but I have seen it leaves stains on base/clear OEM and aftermarket paint.
 
Got some time in today, guide coat on hood, one round of sanding almost done, need to do all the nooks & crannies then I can shoot another coat, that should get me pretty close, there's a couple of spots I know I need putty.
Also cleaned up the metal on the rocker & got some metal wash on, start fabbing the patch soon, gotta dig out those stupid rocker covers I bought, now where did I put those?





 
Last week I pretty much wasted a coat of Z, put the cover on too early & fubarred the edges, so just about all came back off, if there's a bright spot, it filled a few low arrears up on the hood.
got some work on the patch done before it started raining today, pulled out the old rocker covers I bought way back when, cut up the sides so the snips would not distort the metal too much & proceeded to trim away,2 coats weld thru out back & one on the front, need a little slice off the back & tweak the arc & weldin can begin.
I may just have it ready for paint NEXT spring, not exactly rolling along here!





 
Finally got some hours in on the car, hood is close, I got 99% of the guide coat off in 180 grit, think I have enough material on to get to 220, my question is how high a grit before it's ready for paint so no sanding scratches show, been a long time since I did this not sure if I need another coat of primer? Rich.
 
Base/clear?
Personally I like 600 grit for most colours, unless its silver, gold, or a pearl colour. Those get the double secret treatment with 800 grit.
 
OH crap, just a little off, guess it will take another coat or 2, I'll finish off the 220 & then shoot again, should I go wet sand on the rest???????????

Oh yea, it's base clear, used PPG DBC I think(one of there higher lines)
 
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