Wheel Arch Rust - Advice Please!!

Fyre Faery

Guest
Week one into our 5 year trip and we had a minor crash into a French bollard that seemed invisible at the time.
Anyway, the paint cracked and the metal buckled a bit revealing quite a lot of rust. I pulled off a piece with some plyers that was hanging close to the tyre... it feels like there is some synthetic bog stuff plastered the metal under there. Is this normal? I've only had the van for 4 months. Are the wheel arches supposed to have bog stuff over the metal?

And what do I do to stop it from rusting some more???

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Is this rust bad thing??:confused:
 
Seriously, its been filled. Either, grind it all out, repair and respray or, the best way, cut out and fit a new wheel arch and respray.
 
You're only one week into your five year trip? I would be severely tempted to go home and sort out your wheel arch, which may need all the old metal cutting out and new metal welding in. It has obviously had filler in it before you bought it, so I would be worried about what state the rest of the body and chassis were in.

If you're not too worried about how it looks, you may be able to do running repairs with a fibreglass kit and a spray can, whatever the french equivalent of Halfords is.

Good luck and hope you get it sorted ok. :) :)
 
Hmm, coming home to fix it would be the best bet but would be expensive. You do not say where you are hoping to be traveling, some places are kinder to rusty steel than others. We get lots of problems in the uk, but people in warmer climates don't get troubled so much. As a temporary repair, get a wire brush and clean up the exposed metal. Don't press on too hard with the wire brush, it is the tips that do the cleaning. Chip away any cracked pieces with a knife or screwdriver -- don't cuy yourself! You also need to buy a tin of POLYESTER repair paste. This comes with a seperate tube of hardener, usually in the lid, under a plastic cover. Mix a little of this on a piece of cardboard and spread it on like putty. Do a little bit at a time to allow you to get used to it, it should set in half an hour if it is reasonably warm. Bit like icing a cake! You will also need some rubbing down paper to sand the repair into shape, you can get all of this at the same place, try and find a Bricko Depot, get an assistant and show him the damage and he will help you to find all the stuff you need, including spray paint. At the very worst you can cover the damage and stop it from getting worse, and you may surprise yourself with how well you do!
 
Right OK. We are off to Morocco but popping back to the UK in June, so I am going to follow the wire brush, knife, sandpaper and polyester repair paste advice, will that hold the rust at bay until June?

I don't know much about rust - the outside paint job did look lovely - can it rust underneath that and do I need to check my other wheel arches?

We are on Spain now... does anyone know the name of the shop to get this gear from in Spain????

Thank You So Much.

Flame**)
 
You will find lots of 'CARREFOUR' supermarkets, they have motoring sections with what you need.
 
Fyre Faery said:
I don't know much about rust - the outside paint job did look lovely - can it rust underneath that and do I need to check my other wheel arches?
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Yes it can rust underneath the filler and paint which is why it can be so bad, it can be going rusty but because it 'look lovely' on the outside you do not know its slowly going rusty underneath. Many people are duped into buying cars because they have a flashover paint job covering up rust.

The 'bog stuff' or filler is a sure sign that someone has previously repaired the area 'badly' but may not mean that the rust is serious all over the vehicle.

However when you come back to the UK in June my advice is to get the whole vehicle checked for rust, if there is bad rust you need to get it repaired as a vehicle can go from being repairable to being worthless and needing to be scrapped within a year and may not last the 5 years that you need.

This particular area of rust does not in itself make the vehicle unroadworthy (arguably and may depend on the country you're in) but if you have bad rust in the chassis or close to any structural area then this might make it unroadworthy and may invalidate your insurance.
 
If it is not structural ie: chassis then don`t worry about it. Stick a bit of bodge on it and a lick of paint to blend it in. Then get going again.

Having spent a lot of time in third world countries, I have seen some unbelievable vehicles but the locals keep them running. Your van is sturdy enough to take a bashing so don`t bother about it.

If you are worried then come back and buy a Rolls Royce. :D

I know that you Colonials are not put off easily. ;)
 
You might even find a more permanent repair could be done a lot cheaper somewhere like Morocco ....just be prepared to barter.

Channa
 
channa said:
You might even find a more permanent repair could be done a lot cheaper somewhere like Morocco ....just be prepared to barter.

Channa
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Just what I was going to say - get it fixed in Morocco. You'll find body repair shops in the back streets of virtually every town - just to keep the ancient Transit and Mercedes minibuses on the road. Ask around at a few to get an idea of prices and to see the sort of work they do. It will be far cheaper than getting it repaired in the UK!

AndyC
 
rust

wheel arches are notorious for rust.
the spray off the tyre goes up there along with all the debris and muck off the road, its a good idea to check the inside of the wheel arch and clean away any debris that has congregated there as it traps moisture in and causes rusting.
i agree with the wire brush route, but when you have got all the rust off, buy some KURUST it reacts with the metal and forms a proper seal and prevents further rust. (just coat the exposed metal)
body filler is easy to apply (read instructions) but not so easy to obtain a perfect finnish.
but any ammatuer should do a reasonable job.
then just prime the surface and spray with paint.
the most important thing is to make sure you have got rid of all the rust
 
Yea don't worry spray loads of wd40 or duck oil right into the opening to stop it rusting more, while exposed, then get it sorted when you've time.
 
That rust is old, it's eaten right through from behind and been fillled. For now I'd strip the area off from behind, wirebrush out as much as the rust you as you can, and apply zinc primer or rust converter then underseal. Working from the front, do the same thing but instead of underseal use filler and finally prime and paint when it's sanded down.

It will rust again from underneath, but may take 2 or 3 years to get bad. While you are at it take a good look at the chassis and prod the the main members with a screwdriver to check for weak areas. Get any of those treated similarly. If it's floor pan or non structural you can use filler and underseal, if it's structure, it may need to be welded. Worth looking now as you may save a lot of problems in one or two years time.
 
Cheers everyone - that´s fab! I have been out there with the wire brush, will let you know how it goes. Just found the sink has been leaking and the wood and the water carrier is mouldy! LIfe on the road. :DHa Ha Ha!
 
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