MGC Recommendations for heavy rust removal [MGC]

[RickB]

You've seen the pictures, heard the stories.

Now that I'm getting down to actually cleaning up the rusty areas on my MGC I am wondering about different methods.

I could go at it with a wire brush attachment on my angle grinder. That's my "plan A".

I was wondering about some kind of sand blaster?
Anyone have any experience with anything like that?

Once on a 250 foot ship I saw crew removing rust with weed wackers that had bits of chain instead of string. They would wack off rusty bits then paint the areas.

Just thinking of what might be an easier way of cleaning it up without causing more damage than what's already there.

 

[vping]

I think the chains are a bit much for such thin metal. Are you talking rot or surface rust?

 

[tdskip]

Have you tried chemical rust treatments, is the surface in question flat or vertical?

 

[RickB]

I'd be doing it from underneath, not a lot of clearance.
I'm toying with an idea to lift the car up another foot or so, it's sitting on 4 jack stands at the moment.

I'll post another picture here in a moment, (definitely not surface rust). This is deep rust we are talking about.

A sand blaster of some kind seems in my mind to be the best idea, less actual contact between the operator and the patient should equal less operator fatigue and therefore a better and faster outcome. If it will manage to penetrate deeply enough.

Here's a good example. Linking it because it's a big one (2080 x 1544 pixels):

example of my rusty areas

That's the floor area on the drivers side (left). The passengers side is very much like this. These are pretty much the worst areas on the car (that I have found).
Thanks.

 

[Jack_Long]

I agree that some kind of media blasting is your best bet. Be prepared to find lots of perforations with rust that heavy...

 

[RickB]

I was thinking of getting something like this:

Sand Blaster

What do you think? I could get a twenty gallon or a five gallon as well. I guess the thing is having a big enough compressor to make it run.

 

[tony barnhill]

If you buy that put the car outside & get yourself a one piece set of coveralls & a hood or else you'll have sand everywhere...

Chemical stripper or wire brush on angle grinder is way I'd go...little areas at a time.

 

[vping]

What he said. I've done a little blasting and it gets everywhere. Better off outside. You can make a real cheap shelter from a tarp & some PVC if you want to somewhat contain it. Not sure what type of neighborhood you live in but your neighbors might not like the beach. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif

 

[tdskip]

You should be very careful to not inhale any of the dust if you do sandblast. Sand blasting throws up silica is a nasty harmful thing to get in your lungs.

 

[Trevor Jessie]

We use our "fresh air mask" system that we use for painting. If you place the intake unit up wind in a shady spot then the air is cool and fresh.

 

[Scott_Hower]

I might be the lone dissenter here, but it would probably be easier (and stronger) to cut/chisel the spot welds, yank the old pan and weld in a new floor. How are the sills?

 

[RickB]

I might be the lone dissenter here, but it would probably be easier (and stronger) to cut/chisel the spot welds, yank the old pan and weld in a new floor. How are the sills?

I'd be for that idea, but it would also be nice to see what I'm dealing with under all that rust. I'll probably start out with Tony's advice. It would be great if I could do what Regularman did and hoist the thing up at a 45 degree angle and then have at it.

 

[LLAngus]

I have one of those sandblasters and used it on horse trailers (used to paint them for extra money). I had no problem with it BUT all the advice about breathing is right on the money. I have a screen I bought to filter the sand so I could reuse it. I happen to be a person that likes sand blasting. My comment would be to cover everything in the car you don't want sand in BUT use a good painting tarp. Sand goes right through plastic.

 

[RickB]

I might be the lone dissenter here, but it would probably be easier (and stronger) to cut/chisel the spot welds, yank the old pan and weld in a new floor. How are the sills?

Is it possible to get new floor pans? Would MGB-GT floors fit the MGC-GT or are they different?

I'm not against the idea of fabricating them but if I could get them already done that would make doing it this way a lot easier.

Just found these on Ebay

Shipping is prohibitive, but I see there are some out there.

 

[tony barnhill]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]Is it possible to get new floor pans? Would MGB-GT floors fit the MGC-GT or are they different?
[/QUOTE]

The fronts of the MGC floors are different from the MGB floors - MGC floors aren't available.

However, I agree with cutting the old ones out & making new ones instead of sand blasting....any large blast projects, I take to my local sand blast guy as he has the facilities.

 

[jlaird]

Boy does he ever, has a 3 inch blaster.

 

[RickB]

Thanks Tony,

If I were able to get MGB floors could they be modified to fit or would it be easier / better to cut out whatever is bad and replace it?

If just fabbing up new floors, what's the best stuff I can get for the job. I define best as fitting these criteria:

Not too hard to work with, I don't have a shop here.
After doing this it will never have to be done again.
(assuming the workmanship is good)

Would it be better to take drawings & dimensions somewhere and have new floor pans made? Who does that?

I lean toward simply cutting out the bad and patching in good. But that's really due to limitations of space and tools.

 

[Scott_Hower]

You can buy repro front floor repairs from VB. Be warned, they're expensive ~$150ea and will need some "modification" to fit. The rear section is the same as MGB, I believe.

 

[tony barnhill]

I can get floors much cheaper than that - the rear of them will be the same as the MGC, just the front is different....if the rear of your floors is good just cut the front out & make a replacement panel from some metal.

 

[Scott_Hower]

Tony - sorry, I meant that VB sells a bespoke front repair panel just for the MGC. Last time I looked it was like $219 list price for just the forward section.

Seems like he has several options, listed from expensive to cheap...

1. Buy a whole MGB floor pan and the MGC repair panel. Chop off the front portion of the pan and use the repair section instead.

2. Buy a whole MGB floor and re-work the front where the tunnel differs and the torsion bar is routed.

3. Buy an MGC repair panel and patch the floor.

4. Buy flat stock (i.e. Eastwood) and fab the whole patch.

Hard to suggest the best option without seeing photos of the topside floor and/or knowing the budget/skills/priorities for the project.