Really Bad Body Rust!! - BMW Forum

carguy13 · 06-27-2009, 03:09 PM

So I just got my car really cheap and knew that it was in less than perfect condition...mainly dents and rust.

So i start sanding and the metal just crumbles...

I wasn't quite sure what to do since I haven't decided if I'm going to actually build the car, or just fix it up a little bit.

anyway, is there something i can used (bondo) or something like that to fill in for the crumbled metal?

thanks for all your help!

witeshark · 06-27-2009, 03:43 PM

If it has gotten to that point, cutting and welding new patches may be the only good answer.

carguy13 · 06-27-2009, 04:06 PM

oh, crap...

hmmm...what about something temporary?

it's a small area (several small areas)

carguy13 · 06-28-2009, 06:11 AM

here are some pictures of the rust...well now primered over, but...

i kind craped my pants when i was sanding...

witeshark · 06-28-2009, 08:29 AM

I'm no expert, but I think that'll take careful work, the key being not to paint over until absolutely all the rust is removed.

carguy13 · 06-28-2009, 02:07 PM

it would probably be better for me to just take the bumper off and work on it off the car.

well, i won't be able to remove the metal under the trunk...oh well.

i'm going to re-attack it next weekend, maybe i'll be able to find another bumper in the junk yard...

qualicas · 06-28-2009, 09:41 PM

I'm just researching rust repairs as well. One way to go about things is to cut out the rusted area and use industrial body adhesive to bond new metal parts in place. This is better than welding because you do not warp things and most people do not have welders. Replacing the metal assumes that you can find appropriate metal panels. I haven't been able to find a quarter panel....
Second way is to grind back to unrusted metal and apply something like naval jelly to the rust once you have removed all the loose rust. This will stop the rust. This is what I'm doing. Over the now stopped rust, I'll put fibreglass mat and the fill with "evercoat" shortglass body filler. I hope it works.
If you have many holes all over the car, you might just want to find a better body and start fresh. Mine has three areas of concern so I'll be able to fix it.

carguy13 · 06-29-2009, 01:27 AM

@ qualicas

thanks for the info.

it's not this bad all over the body, just the trunk area...i think i'm going to try some body fillers as you mentioned...hopefully that will work.

i don't need it to be real high quality, this is just a work car but i would like it to not have holes in the body...lol

carguy13 · 06-29-2009, 02:46 PM

i found the German equivalent of bondo...i think, either way it's expensive as hell.

so i'm going to try and order some from the states, i've been researching techniques
as to how to approach the situation and i feel confident that i can do this...

in case anyone cares...(which i severely doubt) i'll keep you updated...

witeshark · 06-29-2009, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carguy13

i found the German equivalent of bondo...i think, either way it's expensive as hell.

so i'm going to try and order some from the states, i've been researching techniques
as to how to approach the situation and i feel confident that i can do this...

in case anyone cares...(which i severely doubt) i'll keep you updated...

Please do; we very much wanna see how it turns out. Another may come along and benefit from the thread.

qualicas · 06-29-2009, 04:00 PM

For more info, just do some internet searches for automotive rust repair. That's what I did and I found a wealth of info. If you are in Germany, I'm sure you will find some German sites for repairs as well. I don't think rust is a North American only problem!
I visited Germany in 2007 and I'd like to go back. Loved all the pastries in the mornings.

qualicas · 07-04-2009, 02:32 AM

I patched one hole with fibreglass and then I added a layer of the Evercoat stuff. I think that will work. I also made my own rockerpanel out of 14 ga aluminum. I couldn't find any replacements. I just hammered it to the shape I wanted and bonded it to the remaining good metal. I had to do it twice as the bonding stuff appears not to have mixed properly in the mixing tube. This time I just mixed the two components together myself. It appears that it is working now.
How is your repair coming along?

carguy13 · 07-04-2009, 06:32 AM

it's good to hear that your repair is going well...do you have any pics?

anyway, i bought some fiber paper?? and some epoxy, it's german stuff so i have no idea if it's the right thing or not...i'm going to give it a try tomorrow...it's been raining most of the week so i haven't got any time to let it dry.

i'll post pics and let you know...

carguy13 · 07-05-2009, 10:44 AM

...so i bought this sweet little dremel to get the rest of the left over rust off.

the only problem is the weather was threatening rain the whole time so i went to change my license plate (another failure that i'll explain later)

so after having big plans for the car this weekend, nothing got done...

thanks Germany for not doing shit on Sundays...

...but i did get a sweet beer stein!

carguy13 · 07-08-2009, 01:26 PM

so i had this annoying little dent in my left front fender...

...while removing the fender, this shit fell on my face.

so after almost throwing up i got it off and hammered out the dent...kind of