To all,
I've been following the thread on rust and have some comments.
I am sad to say that all of our cars are rusting, some at faster rates than
others. The daily drivers in the north where salt is used on the roads in the
winter and the cars that are on the salty sea coast will be the first to go
(I remember seeing Chevy Vegas with complete rust through in two to three
years). Those in places with desert climates will last life times, although
the paint, rubber and vinyl parts will have to be replaced repeatedly.
First of all, rust is a very interesting (and pervasive) chemical reaction
that completes its cycle producing the rust AND all of the elements for
another cycle. So the rusting continues.
If we are talking surface rust, sand it off and prime it. The primer contains
compounds that retard the rust cycle.
Unfortunately, much of the rust that does the serious damage to our cars
comes from the backside of the panel where we don't have access. Modern car
bodies are dipped with solutions that retard the rusting in areas we can't
even see. This is also true about the new MG body shells that are now
available. They are far better protected from the inside out rust that is the
major cause of the rust. This is the stuff that brings our cars to the point
where it is not economically feasible to repair them.
An example of this inside out rust that you can see without cutting off a
panel would be the bottom of front fenders, just in back of the wheels. If
you remove the screws that hold the bottom of these panels and pull the
bottom of the panel outward a couple of inches, you're likely to find that
the lower three to four inches of the space have filled with dirt. The rust
though will first occure right at the top edge of the build up where air
(oxygen) and moisture are always present. The only solution for this type
"inside out" rust is to cut out the area and replace the metal with new or
replace the whole panel. If you don't do this, the rust will return in a very
short period of time. Incidently, you might want to just what I suggested and
empty out those areas.
Eight years ago I cut out three small areas on my B, hand formed some 22
guage metal and welded it in. While Dallas is a reasonably good place for a
car as far as rust is concerned, this Spring, I am began to see adjacient
areas starting to bubble. I just bought some patch panels from VB and will be
starting to do one panel at a time. I figuire this will stop rust there for
another 10 to 20 years. Unfortunately, I know I'll be dealing with the rocker
panels, etc. sooner than that. Fortunately, new panels and now complete
bodies are available, so we really should be able enjoy our cars for some
time to come. It just requires a lot of time and money. Hopefully, we will
have both.
This rusting is a natural aging process. All we can do is slow it down.
R. Johnson - Dallas
'90 Maine Coon
'79 Midget
'76 Midget
'73 MGB
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