My DIY rust repair thread

[991.8l]

So after 11 years my protege like many others has rust forming in the wheel wells and bottom of the doors. It also has a small amount forming behind the licence plate.

I've determined that most protege wheel wells will look the same after this much time if not properly treated. Water and garbage seems to pool inbetween the seam between the reenforced metal and the painted metal. The re-enforced metal begins to rust from the inside out and as it swells, this slowly pushes the painted metal out.

The rust then starts to leak through to the painted side, usually especially after coming into contact with salty slush/water.

These are old photos.. but the rust has sped up quite a bit over the last two years:

http://www.toprotege.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=12228&d=1242183218

http://www.toprotege.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=12231&d=1242183246

http://www.toprotege.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=12229&d=1242183228


I couldn't stand to look at the fending blowing up with rust anymore so I tried to bend it back in.. when I did this.. the paint fell off completely and a I had a chuck of exposed metal.

I didn't have my materials yet, so as a temp solution I sanded it all down and used some primer and dupli-colour silver wheel paint to over it up... in about 2-3 days the rust leaked back over from the other side. It looked just as bad.

When I installed my summer wheels I tucked my head behind the wheel well lip and noticed the gap forming so I used a scraper to clean out all the dirt and garbage in there. I cleaned it out with brake cleaner, then painted it all again with primer & black automotive paint, then filled the gap with silicone. lol. This seemed to seal it pretty good. No further rust has leaked out since. A very temp fix. Photos of my hack job to follow. :lol:


1st Step : I've ordered and received a Por15 Super Starter Kit, and a tube of PorPatch.

http://www.por15canada.com/images/ssk-lg.jpg

http://www.por15canada.com/images/porpatch.jpg

I need to order some 18G paint, and some fresh primer from Napa/Carquest. I have some course rust/metal removing drill bits and discs for my angle grinder ready to go. Next would be some course sand paper blocks, and some fine sand paper.

As a side note, I will also be working and sharing materials with my buddy who has a 1998 Acura EL in very very rough shape.

Stay tuned.

[991.8l]

First project... worked on the rear passenger door today.. took me a few hours... lots of work.

Step 1:

Removed the under coating with some brake cleaner.. that stuff works great!

Look at the nasty rust hiding under there.

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n318/2K5TSX/Protege/DSC03646.jpg

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n318/2K5TSX/Protege/DSC03639.jpg

Step 2:

Went to town on the rust using sand paper and my new rotary grinder.

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n318/2K5TSX/Protege/DSC03643.jpg

I had a lot of old seam sealer to remove from the bottom of the door... when it was removed.. more rust!

I ground it down all the way to the welds as much as I could... I also ground down the three bubbles that showed up on the outside of the door. I was happy to see clean metal under those.

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n318/2K5TSX/Protege/DSC03652.jpg

Step 3:

Used the marine ready to degrease, then metal ready, then two coats of Por15

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n318/2K5TSX/Protege/DSC03649.jpg

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n318/2K5TSX/Protege/DSC03648.jpg

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n318/2K5TSX/Protege/DSC03654.jpg

Waited for it to dry most of the day.. went it was hard to the touch.. it was ready.

Step 4:

Since I removed a ton of seam sealer, I decided to coat the bottom of the door with PorPatch seam sealer.

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n318/2K5TSX/Protege/DSC03658.jpg

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n318/2K5TSX/Protege/DSC03656.jpg

This will take about 24-48 hours to cure, but it will dry hard and will be ready for primer & paint. Doesn't have to look pretty.. just help keep the rust from spreading.

I believe after seeing what was behind the factory seam sealer is that the seam sealer fails over time, and if left untreated it traps water and moisture behind it.. this slowly eats away at the welds in the bottom of the door from the outside in... seems to be a common problem with all protege doors.. but only one of the 4 showed signs of rust for me.

[991.8l]

Reserved x 2

[viper_707]

FYI sand blasting is a very good idea. also with your door seams try to lift them open enough so u can clean down as far as u can. i did this to two of mt doors 5 years ago, epoxied them and sealed them back up. havent had a lick of rust come back yet.

[991.8l]

^ Thanks, how do you recommend I lift them open?

[991.8l]

Posted some progress.. took a while to drum up the effort to get to work on these.

I checked inside the door and didn't see any rust.. so I'm hoping this is mostly surface rust.

[viper_707]

might not last as long as u think. the thing is they aren't rusting from the outside. it comes from inside the seam and then out. so if u dont open the seam and clean in there as well.