Re: Rat repair.
 

Nice to see progress! Keep up the good work.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Yea I need to get my butt in gear again. Aside from cleaning out the work area so I can bring out the paint and supplies without contaminating everything I haven't got anything done since Sunday, I think I can lay a little primer tomorrow.

Re: Rat repair.
 

So Wednesday was a productive day, I got the passenger floor and inner kick panel both primed and painted, no pic again, keep forgetting to take one.

Got an early start today, had a friend come over and welded a bumper on his tent trailer for him.

The other day I bought a 4" twisted wire cup and used it to strip the paint off the outside of the fender, worked great but you had to be carful and not press too hard, it definitely was not getting the metal too hot, after the cup I finished it with both 2" and 3" dotco pads to clean up the remainder of the primer and tighter areas, one small area just forward of the marker light had some bondo on it, I'm debating on just spreading my bondo over the top of it? or removing it all.

About the time I was done stripping off the paint I had to grab the welder and fill in a hole on the well area, the metal was pretty thin right there but I eventually got it filled. I then remembered i had a rusted in broke off bolt that needs removed, got it drilled to.125 but the size 2 Extractor would not budge it, I drilled it up to about .250, now I got to go buy a bigger Extractor as I never replaced it when it was broke way back when, and it was pretty hot by then so called it a day.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Looks great, Mike. If it were me, I'd probably remove the filler unless you know for sure what's under it. It could be perfectly fine, but for a patch that small, I'd grind it out, maybe dolly it a little better, then spray the area with self etch and redo the filler as needed.

I know what you're saying about too hot to work. The guy doing my paint work has slowed to a crawl. Went by there Friday to pick up a piece I wanted to work on this weekend and the place was dark. I figure everyone took off, what with the temps near 100 these last few days. Although I'll admit I prefer sweating over freezing. ;)

Re: Rat repair.
 

The filler is under the paint but I didn't see any holes on the back side, its pretty thin though so I'll take it out, I assume the factory may fill slight imperfections? Kinda thinking it was just a little imperfection in the stamping. Your in the school of using self etch before mud, have you had any bad experiences using mud direct to bare metal?

Yea I was so trashed yesterday that I still hurt so much today I canceled my fishing trip to the lake LOO! I gotta admit I'm not used to heat or cold anymore :)

Re: Rat repair.
 

Over the years I've come around to the "primer first, bondo second" mindset. Truth is, though, I've never had any issues going direct to metal as long as it's roughed up good using a DA sander with 80 grit or coarser paper. I think a layer of primer (self etch or epoxy) adds some extra insurance under plastic filler. But the best medicine is a sturdy topcoat... either a quality single stage urethane or BC/CC.

Re: Rat repair.
 

How did the rust converter work for you. I tried some on my car seats and it was kinda gummy after 2 days. I ended up media blasting them in the end. the brand I used was from Home Depot.

Re: Rat repair.
 

You probably used Ospho or something like that, the stuff I use GEM stays thin because it's a liquid instead of a product that has the consistency of maple syrup so it drys out pretty nice.

Re: Rat repair.
 

ya the stuff I used is thick.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Sorry to hear the truck work was kicking your butt, it's been really hot the Rat needs you Mike..

Re: Rat repair.
 

Yea I know that sounded pretty pathetic didn't it. LOL! Truth is I have bad legs and feet so sometimes i push too hard.

Ground out the old bondo and pulled out the dent a little with my stud puller, hit it with a little acid etch then started applying new mud yesterday, got it roughed in. Naturally I forgot to snap a pic again. 🙄

Re: Rat repair.
 

No worries! Ha, I love my big swamp cooler, been camped out in front of it all summer! :devil:

Re: Rat repair.
 

Late start after work, realized I still had to go get the EX-3 extractor, more kroil and heat, 3 times no budging it, drilled it up a bit more, repeat, nope! Drill up to 1/4", more heat and oil, nope! Brought out the chisel, center punch and a sharpened drill bit and started chipping away at it, tried to start a tap got a little ways then because the hole was off a little on the back side it dislodged it a little so I tapped it out from the back side then ran the tap through it, figure I got about 75% of the original thread remaining. That only took me 2.5 hours including the trip to the hardware store.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Just more bondo and sanding, one of them days it seems that ya just get nowhere but ya know its better than yesterday.

Re: Rat repair.
 

I suspect most of us following have "been there, done that" and had those days. Keep up the good work.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Well this is where I'm at, ran out of high build and self etching primer but I think the outside of the fender is almost done. Per the area in front and below the marker light, I seem to have added considerably more mud than what was on it, but it just seemed like it needed it.

Re: Rat repair.
 

A little advice please, I should have probably sealed the fender in primer right after I sanded the paint off the fender because I got sidetracked and progress stopped, now my finger oils have created some surface rust, what's the best way to remove it? Don't want to over sand, should I wipe it with something that will eat the surface rust like the Gem rust killer I have then a light skuff with a da?

Re: Rat repair.
 

Hey Mike, looks like you are making some good progress. It's looking good.

Re: Rat repair.
 

You can make up some prep solvent by mixing equal parts isopropyl alcohol, acetone and water. Shake well, pour a small amount in a dish, then dip a grey or maroon scuff pad into it and scrub the affected area. Wipe it with a clean cloth or paper towel to remove the residue. Let the area dry thoroughly... at least 45 minutes in warm sunshine. Self etch or epoxy primer will bite right thru any tiny amount of surface rust that remains.

GEM Rust Killer is a "converter" (phosphoric acid + iron oxide = iron phosphate) which is a great surface prep for powder coating. If you plan to epoxy primer over it, you may want to first treat it with a mildly acidic solution like vinegar and water or 20% HCl. At least that's what some epoxy manufacturers recommend. Others say just squirt the epoxy right over the iron phosphate. At a minimum, if you treat it with the GEM, I'd scrub it good with the prep solvent I described above before applying any primer. And as I mentioned, it needs plenty of time to dry thoroughly.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Ok , nice break in the heatwave/forest fire smoke wave from Canada that we have been dealing with for about 3 weeks, figured I best get a little more done, sanded the front bondo coat down a little as I thought it was a bit excessive, made the 3 parts Water/Acetone/Denatured Alcohol and scrubbed off the surface rust, grabbed my DA sander and gave the exposed metal a quick skuff, then a light hand skuff on the bondo areas, gave it a good wipe down and shot 2 coats of K2 on the outside. Will let it cure for a bit before I do the inside. Yes the pic is upside down, no time to download to my computer and edit it. 😁

Re: Rat repair.
 

Nice job on the fender, looks great!

Re: Rat repair.
 

The fender looks really good. You are making great progress.

Re: Rat repair.
 

So I do seem to approach things a little backwards sometimes, I probably should have prepped and primed the inside first, it was just a little messy! The driver fender wasn't near as bad as this one so I didn't prep or prime the inner part at all but this side needs all the primer and paint it can get. Spent today prepping, masking, touch up sanding and wiping the inside with alcohol, then Mineral spirits, then hung it up, will give it a final wipe down with wax and grease remover tomorrow before I prime it. ( and again the pic needs to be rotated, it's hanging upside down ).

Re: Rat repair.
 

Got the inside primered about an hour ago, maybe 2? Was sitting here thinking how nice it would be if I could just mix up some color and top coat it without any prep within a certain timeframe, is this a pipe dream?

This is PPG DP50lf grey primer and DP402lf catalyst.

Top coat is DCC single stage with DT reducer and DCX61 hardener, ratio 4:2:1

This is the pdf for the top coat. http://www.myrv10.com/N104CD/paint/p-168.pdf

Re: Rat repair.
 

Well should have known, hang a part upside down in a cramped booth and your going to miss an area..... Sanded, prepped and masked off the area, will hit it tomorrow with the last of my Qt of primer, Also removed and replaced the air filters, I can feel the air flow much better now ..

Re: Rat repair.
 

For DP50 I believe the posted recoat window is around 7 days. To make sure, you can put a small amount of urethane reducer on a rag and gently dab a tiny, out of the way spot on the fender and see if any of the DP primer transfers to the rag. If it does, you're good to go. However, if the primer is fully catalyzed and does not show on the rag, you need to scuff the surface before applying anything else.

That said, my "opinion" is that you should always final block any primer before applying a color topcoat. I no longer have access to a clean environment for painting, so a few dust nibs almost always find their way into my work. Also, you have to be a top notch painter to lay down heavy primers without some orange peel to the surface. I find it best to final sand the surface with 500-600 grit paper before applying the color coat... whether single stage or BC/CC. Just my $.02 worth.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Thank you for that, so basically if the primer is not fully cured you could spray a topcoat on it correct? I agree with you on the final blocking for visible surfaces though to keep the orange peel to a minimum. Not to mention if I missed as an area like I did it would be another fine mess. 😊 I will say though that im surprised at how hard this primer is in sanding after 24 hours , I am following a the directions of the paint store as to how to read the graduations on the mixing cup to achieve the ratio.

Re: Rat repair.
 

So I guess I learned something today, I have been sanding the primer with the black sand paper and mentioned earlier how hard the primer is to sand, after about an hour and a half of fighting it today I stopped and asked myself if anything else would work better, duh, my roll of body work sandpaper cut the primer way better, donno why I grabbed that black stuff to begin with.

So have the inside of the fender ready to apply color, also working this weekend so won't get a whole bunch of stuff done.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Yes, if the epoxy hasn't catalyzed completely, you can spray whatever you want on top of it. If it's outside the recoat window, you'll need to scuff it before squirting anything else over it. I've noticed epoxies from different vendors can be easy or tough to sand. Haven't shot any DP for a long time and don't recall how it compares to others, but they can be sturdier than the 2K primers. You can't go wrong mixing according to the manufacturers directions. Pictures look great! Wish I'd had time to come down to Tacoma and visit while we were in Seabeck, but it was a very short stay. Keep up the good work.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Ha Ha, You know if you came by I'd take a day off work and put you to work. LOL! Thanks for babysitting my brain again! 😊

Re: Rat repair.
 

Put down a couple coats of color tonight, of course I cant spray into hidden areas so I don't know the best way to protect it if primer isn't enough, then again I didn't get the primer in there 100% ether,, guess use a brush? Humm, maybe I should have done that before I sprayed color.. LOL!

Re: Rat repair.
 

Maybe tape off and spray with undercoating.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Friday I took a day off and got a little work done. Mounted the passanger fender loosely to get it outta the way.

Got some of the black parts from the truck that needed blasting done and primed and painted, Battery box and a few other parts, the corner pieces that attach the radiator support to the fenders, and some of these odd ball bolts.

On the bolts i'm wanting to know if there are replacements? these have the super thick cupped washers on them. Kinda wish I had bought a black anodize kit. If I remember correctly the big washer one goes on the inner fender well(wish I had a pic handy) One I think go's from the lower fender through the lower A pillar, the other I am not sure where, any ideas appreciated please. :)

Passenger door, the front skin only has one place that needs a patch and only about maybe 2" square, the rest of the skin only has some surface rust, but as usual the seam area is a concern, I have sanded the entire area down although the pic's don't show it, I'm thinking I would be well advised to spot drill some welds and peel the seam back and treat with rust killer rather than cut the lower part of the skin off this time?

Re: Rat repair.
 

Well crap I didn't think of this, I have a right angle drill motor but no way to get the proper angle, I do have a .125 extension drill bit, I could center punch and drill through the skin and then use a spotweld drill and go through from the skin side then spot weld all the holes but I think as side from tha added work I the heat could play a little havoc on the skin.

I could use a cutoff wheel and hit the spots that way then patch in some material later.

Or just do the small skin patch and use the GEM rust killer both from inside and out and hope it creeps in to all the nooks and crannies .

This is where I wish I had more experience!

Re: Rat repair.
 

Grrrrrrr.. I know, get the rust out, least by looking at the inside of the door the surface rust is only up a couple inches from the bottom.

Don't want to have the skin cave in like On the drivers door, if I recall correctly it got worse the higher I cut (about 8" from the bottom on the drivers door after 3 cuts). I can keep this one down low so it should have a minimal cave in. Hopefully, if I remember right.

Re: Rat repair.
 

What I do is take a grinder with a flap disk and carefully grind the edge down perpendicular to the door skin until you see all three edges... outer skin, inner structure and folded over metal strip. Don't worry about the spot welds, you can use a thin kerf wheel on the grinder and remove enough metal around the spot to loosen the strip that's left behind.

You can go up the front and back edges as much or as little as you need. This will free a strip on the door skin that can be trimmed with the thin kerf cutting wheel or snips... if you're really into self abuse. Trim the patch panel to match and leave about a half inch extra where it meets the trimmed edge of the door skin. If you don't have an offset flanging tool, there's an air powered one available from Harbor Freight or manual ones from various sources.

There are clamps available that grip each side of an unflanged cut, but sometimes the weld draws the gap together and makes it very difficult to remove the thin blade. I prefer to flange the patches so I'm not trying to fill a gap on long sections. The extra material helps reduce warping, although low heat and patience are still needed.

Don't assume the GEM product will get in all the tight places. Last thing you want is rust popping back 6 months to a year from now.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Well the destruction has begun, naturally I find some cancer I didn't see before. Now I'm at the same crossroads I was at with the other door, I think I should go up a little higher to get past the rust along the seam's but with the last door the higher I went the more the door pulled in under stress, really hoping this won't happen again. I think what I'll do is shave the sides up each side little by little before I just trim the skin off to see how the skin responds, hopefully no stress in the door this time.

So out fell one of the vent window screw bushings, I cant remember if I ever removed the screws and lost one and replaced it or if someone at the factory might have dropped it.....

Re: Rat repair.
 

Not a lot getting done the last week, too many things going on....

I trimmed up the sides little by little and am very happy to see that this door skin is not caving in like the driver side :) the sides are now past where the rust stops and I had to trip an additional inch off the lower part to remove the remainder surface rust on the skin.

On the inner panel flange I'm debating on buying a lower repair panel and replacing pretty much the whole flange this time, That would mean making a run to Olympia for th inner lower. I'm looking for an easy way to work this.

Re: Rat repair.
 

If you decide to replace the inner panel, easy will go out the window. They don't fit very well, IMO. Yours is not too terribly bad and could be salvaged with GEM, epoxy and self etch primer. When I did mine, the inner panels I bought were wrinkled and fit poorly. I think you'll more than double your work if you replace them. The key to using what you have is to seal out any future moisture to prevent corrosion. As you can see, the rot already has a head start, so if moisture is allowed to creep back in, it will come back very fast.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Yea, I'm just looking at the flanges themselves and not the whole inner section, my main concern is the thinning of the metal and being able to spot weld the skin to it after folding the skin over, the triangle piece is bad and thin enough that like the other door I think it would be pretty difficult to weld in a small patch. I will say that of all this rust repair I think I hate the doors the most. LOL!