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body repair question

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doughairfield

doughairfield

Jedi Trainee
Offline
I've got this rust hole in the body where the driver side floor panel meets the forward firewall. I'm not trying to make it perfect but I was going to get all the rust off I could and spray it with some rust inhibiting primer then cover it in fiberglass to keep the outside out. Is this a bad idea? Is there better course of action?
 

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Hi Doug. I'd strongly suggest going after that area with an aggressive wire brush before deciding on a plan of attack.

Let's see what the metal on both sides looks like before going down any one path. Can you bring that section back to clean metal?

Sound OK?
 
ok, I'll get as much paint/muck off as I can and see how it looks.
 
:iagree: It may be that you'll "chase" that rust further than the visual evidence shows. Well bonded fiberglass would work, but may I suggest an alternate approach? Panel adhesive and a mild steel (18 Ga.) patch formed to mate to the parent metal. Follow the glue maker's instructions, it's some STRONG STUFF!!
 
A few more pics. In case you can't tell, the motor and gearbox are out.
 

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another shot from the motor compartment.
 

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another shot from the inside. It may not look it, but i have scrubbed the dickens our of that spot and used some degreaser. I've uncovered a previous attempt to fix some rust with some fiberglass on the floorboard, that is what appears the dirty brown.
 

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I'm not familier with the panel adhesive. Can that and the patch be procured at the local autoparts store?
 
You'll need to be a bit of a metal mite and form the patch out of sheet steel, the panel bonding adhesive can be gotten from an autobody paint supply business. "Fusor" or a SEM product called "Multi-purpose Panel Adhesive". Prep judiciously and the patch will be nearly as strong as welding, paint it with some rust inhibiting paint and that's it.
 
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