DIY/Article: Rust removal, Paint and Prevention.
Disclaimer: The following is provided as a GUIDE ONLY, and neither myself nor Ozhonda take any responsibility for the outcomes of someone else doing the following. You follow these steps at your own risk!
Aim:
Firstly i would like to say that i am no panel beater and have performed the following work based on advice and information that i have gathered from various sources.. Also be sure to read the instructions on the individual products because they may vary and may have precautions.
Anyway my CRX seemed to have rust around the door hinges and 1/4 panel to the body as well as a few other spots around that area. I later found out that it was due the car being in a somewhat minor accident previously and problem was due to the repair job not being the best. Ie not making a waterproof seal from the door to the body etc which allowed water to sit and eventually cause rust.
Here is a shot of the rust:
http://home.iprimus.com.au/suban/dxs/art2/4.jpg
So my aim was fix this and try to prevent rust reforming myself, without the use of a compressor.
Required:
http://home.iprimus.com.au/suban/dxs/art2/1.jpg
http://home.iprimus.com.au/suban/dxs/art2/2.jpghttp://home.iprimus.com.au/suban/dxs/art2/19.jpg
Grinder (might not be necessary)
Sandpaper, 120/180, 600 and 1200orhigher grit.
Prepwash
Rust converter
Primer
Mixed Paint
Clear Coat
Fish Oil
Nickel Anti seeze grease
Panel Adhesive/seam sealer
Masking tape
Paper/plastic
Brush
Face mask/resperator
Sprayer
Socket set
Spanner set
pliers
Cork? gun
Maybe some new plastic clips if u wanna cut the bastards off like i did
Steps:
1) First remove all the panels. In my case i needed to remove the following (from memory):
Front bar: I believe there are just bolts on the top in the engine bay and under the bar as well as 2 screws in the guards.
1/4Panel: Need to remove the parkers which has 1 screw, unclip the indicators and there should be 2 bolts i think at the front, bolts in the engine bay and 1 bolt about the top door hinge and 2 bolts below the door hinge. Also the clips holding in the plastic guard. Might be a few little things as well.
Sideskirt: Basically a bunch of screwable clips which are bitches to remove. often need to be pried out. Also the front mud flap with the front sideskit needs to be removed.. has a few screws.
Door: Unclip the electrical wires from the door, hammer out the pin from the arm thing (maybe put wood under it while hammering) and undo the hinges from the body.
2) Once all the panels have been removed you can asess the damage. The rust on my car was mainly medium depth surface rust and there was some that was flakey. To remove the main rust I pulled out the angle grinder and gently grinded the rust and the surrounding areas away. If you are gentle a single grind will take the equivelent of 1 paint layer off.
http://home.iprimus.com.au/suban/dxs/art2/5.jpg
and after the grind
http://home.iprimus.com.au/suban/dxs/art2/6.jpg
3) Now pull out the 120 or 180 grit sandpaper and sand down all the area you plan to paint. Also make sure that any paint is removed that covers any rust.
This is what it looked liked after a good sanding:
http://home.iprimus.com.au/suban/dxs/art2/7.jpg
http://home.iprimus.com.au/suban/dxs/art2/8.jpg
4) Now pull out the prepwash. This stuff is used to clean the area from grease, wax and other contaminents, it is like a degreaser/spirit. You basically put some on a rag, wipe it on a section and then wipe it off immediately with a clean rag. Do this over all the area you plan to paint.
http://home.iprimus.com.au/suban/dxs/art2/3.jpg
5) Now it is time to convert the remaining rust, this is to turn the rust into a different compound. I used a product that is called rusttech. The way to use this stuff is you must first soak the rusted area with water and let it seep into the rust. I let the water seep in for around 10 mins. Once you are happy with that, spray the shit out of the are with the rust converter.
http://home.iprimus.com.au/suban/dxs/art2/9.jpg
6) The rust converter takes around 24 hours to dry, but i left it longer. When it is dry, brush the area to remove any excess powder formed by the rust converter and then run water over the area to remove residue and then let it dry. Once dry mask up the area ready for primer.
http://home.iprimus.com.au/suban/dxs/art2/10.jpg
7) Now spray on the primer. When i spray i like to spray so the surface looks wet, but doesnt run. I found that this is the best method for a smooth finish. Also make sure you wear a face mask to prevent inhaling fumes. Also it doesnt matter too much if the paint runs with primer because you will be sanding it down anyway. Put a nice few coats on.
http://home.iprimus.com.au/suban/dxs/art2/11.jpg
8) The primer instructions says that it needs at least 1 hour to dry. Personally i waited a day just to be sure. On other parts of the car i waited 5 hours and it was fine. So once it is dry pull out the 600 grit sandpaper and sand the area untill it is smooth.
http://home.iprimus.com.au/suban/dxs/art2/12.jpg
9) Then prepwash the area to remove the dust from the sanding and then remask the area. And mask the area back up.
http://home.iprimus.com.au/suban/dxs/art2/13.jpg
10) Now apply the base colour. Any automotive paint store should be able to mix up your paint colour and put it in a pressure can for you. To do this just give them your paint colour code (mine was located in next to the tyre pressure chart and was somethine like NP526) and you can also bring in a panel like your fuel flap to get a better colour match. So now spray on the colour, like before I sprayed untill the surface looked wet/shiny. I found this to give a smoother finish. Do a 3 or so coats with drying time around 10 mins or so per coat, just touch paint on the surrounding paper to see how dry it is.
http://home.iprimus.com.au/suban/dxs/art2/14.jpg
http://home.iprimus.com.au/suban/dxs/art2/15.jpg
11) Now wait at least 15 mins untill the colour is dry and then apply the clear coat. Do a good few coats. I would also recommend that you fade the clear into the rest of the paint by removing the maskings and spraying past the orginial area. This is to give a smoother progression between the old and new paint. It would also be wise to fade in the colour coat as well. This is to prevent having a defined line between old and new paint.
With clear:
http://home.iprimus.com.au/suban/dxs/art2/16.jpg
12) It should take around 5 days or so for the paint to properly cure. Once cured i applied some fish oil with a rust preventative to the inner panels. I did this by pouring the oil into a water sprayer and then spraying it into the holes of the panel. This is to get the fish oil into the panels. The fish oil works by seeping into the rust in the panel and removing water and then providing a coating to protect against water. It was sprayed in the panels to make sure that if there was any rust in the panel that it wouldnt grown. Also make sure you wear gloves when using this stuff.
http://home.iprimus.com.au/suban/dxs/art2/2.jpg
12) It takes a minimum of 48 hours for the oil to dry. Once dry I reapplied the panel sealant to the areas where I removed the original sealant.
http://home.iprimus.com.au/suban/dxs/art2/17.jpg
13) Once the sealant dry, after around 24 hours you may wish to paint it.
14) Now basically put everything back together. When putting it back together i used small ammounts of sealent between the hinges and body and used anti seize grease on all the bolts. This is to form a seal between the two metals so no water gets in, sits and forms rust.
15) Should be all done! (pic makes it look bad :/ )
http://home.iprimus.com.au/suban/dxs/art2/20.jpg
Other comments
All up it cost be the max of $250. I also painted a few other areas that needed paint, so $250 was quite cheap compaired to what a panel beater would charge (thousands i would say) and i know i have taken a lot of care that a panel beater would not (like spending hours removing all the rust possible).
Also remember that you will be dealing with harsh and dangerous chemicals so dispose of properly and take the precautions. Also do proper reasearch, this is really and article on what i did.. cheers
