Rust repair question??

[ThatOneEuroE30]

Fiberglass was never meant to be used in auto body repair. It is a short cut for people who don't know what they are doing. Fiberglass is porous, meaning it will absorb water and it WILL rust again. I can get pictures of my MG where someone fiberglassed over the rocker panels to "protect" them and how there is all kinds of pinhole rust spots now. Just research it a bit and you will see fiberglass is a big no no and that no professional body man uses it.

fiberglass sounds like a good idea but Im sticking to metal. Would you have any idea what piece i need for the trunk floor? I cant find it.

edit: for anyone wanting to see progress and updates on my rust repair and rebuild I've started a build thread here: http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=311264

[AndrewBird]

Fiberglass was never meant to be used in auto body repair. It is a short cut for people who don't know what they are doing. Fiberglass is porous, meaning it will absorb water and it WILL rust again. I can get pictures of my MG where someone fiberglassed over the rocker panels to "protect" them and how there is all kinds of pinhole rust spots now. Just research it a bit and you will see fiberglass is a big no no and that no professional body man uses it.

[ThatOneEuroE30]

Hey man sounds like a good project! I'm with the people that say go for it! you'll be proud of it when it's done. it'll feel good.

I know you said you wanted to, but it probably is not necessary to strip the entire car to bare metal. if you really want to go for it. but you don't really need to to do a brand new paint job. there are a few other options to save some effort that will have equally good results. but hey it's your car I encourage you to do it how you feel best :)

as for the trunk floor panel, i'm assuming you meant you CAN'T find what piece it would be as panel reference? confirm this with me haha.

Yes thats what i meant we cant find what piece it is and dont know what to use to fix it. Shoul we jusst get some sheet metal and bend it to fit and weld it in or does BMW make a panel to replace that section?

[Bearmw]

I agreee that fiberglass can be a decent option for smaller sections if done right. Like all body work, proper preparation is the key to a good result. Get rid of all rust then see what you have to work with.

[wakeboardr42393]

We are going to be cutting out the quarter panel because the rust did spread and I have no sheer metal by my door jam and inner fender, thank you sweet baby Jesus no rust has gotten to the shock tower yet. We are trying to figure out were to get the metal for the trunk floor as we can find what piece it would be on using realoem as a body panel reference. Any ideas on what to do here? As for the rest of the car the paint is shot and I decided I'm sanding it down to metal and respraying it.

Hey man sounds like a good project! I'm with the people that say go for it! you'll be proud of it when it's done. it'll feel good.

I know you said you wanted to, but it probably is not necessary to strip the entire car to bare metal. if you really want to go for it. but you don't really need to to do a brand new paint job. there are a few other options to save some effort that will have equally good results. but hey it's your car I encourage you to do it how you feel best :)

as for the trunk floor panel, i'm assuming you meant you CAN'T find what piece it would be as panel reference? confirm this with me haha.

[wakeboardr42393]

DO NOT USE FIBERGLASS MAT!!! All you will be doing is covering the rust and it will continue to grow. Fiberglass will also trap water between the metal and the fiberglass making it even worse.

Honestly, after all the rust you've shown, I would consider finding a better shell and scrapping this one.

I don't see any problem with using fiberglass cloth or mat IF all rust is removed and the surface is prepared correctly. If you don't have access to the backside of your repair, I even consider it better then welding, because the backside of a welded-in patch will have bare steel exposed. and bare steel that has been exposed to high heat, such as welding, seems to rust much faster then un-touched steel. I mean use whatever method you feel comfortable with, i'm just defending my point. I've done many beautiful repairs with fiberglass cloth & polyester resin.

[ThatOneEuroE30]

Rust repair question??

yikes. that's a place where fiberglass mat may be easier then welding. the cutting of that rust will be difficult though!

I have rust near the battery well on my car as well, so bad to the point that the battery ground ripped off of the sheet metal it was once welded too.

We are going to be cutting out the quarter panel because the rust did spread and I have no sheer metal by my door jam and inner fender, thank you sweet baby Jesus no rust has gotten to the shock tower yet. We are trying to figure out were to get the metal for the trunk floor as we can find what piece it would be on using realoem as a body panel reference. Any ideas on what to do here? As for the rest of the car the paint is shot and I decided I'm sanding it down to metal and respraying it.

[ThatOneEuroE30]

It can definitely be done, just a lot of work. Great learning experience though and the ability to fix things later if needed. Decent shape e30's are getting more scarce unless you want to pay big $$$, so fixing yours might be a better way to go. Get rid of all the rust and you've just added a couple thousands dollars to its value.

That's what I'm doing. Sparing no expense to get this rust gone. Like you said good e30's are hard to come by. So why not just make my own good e30.

[AndrewBird]

It can definitely be done, just a lot of work. Great learning experience though and the ability to fix things later if needed. Decent shape e30's are getting more scarce unless you want to pay big $$$, so fixing yours might be a better way to go. Get rid of all the rust and you've just added a couple thousands dollars to its value.

[ThatOneEuroE30]

DO NOT USE FIBERGLASS MAT!!! All you will be doing is covering the rust and it will continue to grow. Fiberglass will also trap water between the metal and the fiberglass making it even worse.

Honestly, after all the rust you've shown, I would consider finding a better shell and scrapping this one.

I'm in it to deep I just want to fix it. I went a picked up a mig welder and I found a new quarter panel from a r3v member and have found the other panels I need. I f'd up and bought a rusty car so I might as well fix it and learn all the things about these cars in the process.

[AndrewBird]

DO NOT USE FIBERGLASS MAT!!! All you will be doing is covering the rust and it will continue to grow. Fiberglass will also trap water between the metal and the fiberglass making it even worse.

Honestly, after all the rust you've shown, I would consider finding a better shell and scrapping this one.

[wakeboardr42393]

yikes. that's a place where fiberglass mat may be easier then welding. the cutting of that rust will be difficult though!

I have rust near the battery well on my car as well, so bad to the point that the battery ground ripped off of the sheet metal it was once welded too.

[ThatOneEuroE30]

Soooo today i got to poking around and this happend

[ThatOneEuroE30]

the cleaning with solvent is important because any amount of residue on the surface, even from your own hands, can cause general adhesion and paint problems.

I'm going to be sanding the whole car down metal where there is rust and sanding the rest down to base so I can prep for a respray. For the rust repair it's spread to far and I need to replace the right side quarter panel and some tail panel and trunk floor. There's a clean early model e30 with a front end fire for sale here I'm probably going to buy it and use it as a doner ca.

[wakeboardr42393]

the cleaning with solvent is important because any amount of residue on the surface, even from your own hands, can cause general adhesion and paint problems.