Rear Arch Rust on S2000

Easily sortable:-

Old rusty arch:-

100_2763.jpg


One session of angle grinder, naval jelly (google it), lead filler and a a rattle can later:-

100_2784.jpg


Did the same job on my old Sierra, took 7 years for the rust to re-appear. Lead filling is the key. I'd be suprised if you could find a bodyshop that does lead filling nowadays though.

If you use plastic/fibreglass fillers, the rust will be back in a few years. Then again, if you only spend £30 on materials and a day of your time, would you mind having to do it again in a few years?
 
amigafan2003,

A google showed up for me that navel jelly is not available anymore.


Gareth,
Perfectly repairable that. :) As said before just get a wire brush to it to go back to good metal. Then Bilt Hamber products seem to be very recommended. I know Lopez has used it on here before for rust repairs. I'd say Deox Gel would be the easiest for that as it will stick to the arch nicely. Once you have done that you can build the arch smooth with filler, by the sounds of it lead filling is the stuff to use.

Should have it lasting plenty long enough, if it reappears in say 3 years time will you be that bothered due to the amount of money you have saved? I am needing to do some to the MX5 under the kickplates this summer. :)
 
Dreadi said:
This is when you need to start thinking about cutting it out :D

(Didn't wanna requote pictures)

Was botched previously by the former owner i guess..
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Oh my prelude not cracked like that yet but its pretty bad, its a shame that so many rust :(

To the op: get the rust sorted asap, some photo's look like surface rust which should be fixable.

About the protective strips that line the wheel arches, i read that you never remove them and leave the car without them. If you have to, then clean and treat the area and replace them.
 
saitrix said:
Once you have done that you can build the arch smooth with filler, by the sounds of it lead filling is the stuff to use.
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Lead filling (or "lead loading") is basically like soldering; filling with molten lead and filing to shape afterwards. It's quite a skilled art, and not something that the average bodyshop would be capable of.
 
Clarkey said:
Sorry, the rust has penetrated right through all of the spot welds, the tin worm is well and truly in there. Do anything other than replace the metal and I guarantee it will make a return sooner than you think.
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Stop talking codwallop

Your either a master coachman with a tuning factory building bespoke engines who test drives Ferraris at the weekends at Maranello or most the stuff you type is pure and utter E-peen waffle you invent and regurgitate from articles you have seen on the net.

Im sick of reading it and therefore I have stated where I stand :D
 
Jonnycoupe said:
Stop talking codwallop

Your either a master coachman with a tuning factory building bespoke engines who test drives Ferraris at the weekends at Maranello or most the stuff you type is pure and utter E-peen waffle you invent and regurgitate from articles you have seen on the net.

Im sick of reading it and therefore I have stated where I stand :D
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Because first hand experience counts for nothing right. The guy specifically said he wanted a proper job that would last. The only way to do this is new metal, end of. Any respectable body shop will tell you the same thing.
 
I guess that means you don not run a respectable bodyshop if you are citing them as your second opinion? And indeed leads on to your first point of first hand experience being pretty moot as you havent done such a job yourself in a proffesional capacity?
 
Jonnycoupe said:
I guess that means you don not run a respectable bodyshop if you are citing them as your second opinion? And indeed leads on to your first point of first hand experience being pretty moot as you havent done such a job yourself in a proffesional capacity?
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Yes Mr king of the obvious, that's right :rolleyes:

Never mind eh, maybe I should just give up on giving good advice and sit back while the guy does the wrong thing.
 
Clarkey said:
Never mind eh, maybe I should just give up on giving psuedo self gratifying advice and sit back while the guy does the thing thats far more sensible and suggested by more people who actually have first hand experience.
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Wouldn't be the first time thats happened.
 
Jonnycoupe said:
Wouldn't be the first time thats happened.
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LOL, you have no idea :/ Doe you get some kind of gratification from putting me down or something? You must, you're going out of your way to give this guy bad advice just so you can tyr and make me look the fool. How utterly bizarre, it's blatantly clear that YOU are the one without proper experience of this or you wouldn't be coming out with such crap. Did you not see the part where he said he doesn't want a bodge but a PROPER JOB?
 
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To be fair welding in a new arch will cause more problems than it would solve, especially on an S2000 where you have to remove all the trim to get to it.

There is no reason why a well repaired arch won't cause any furture problems. If you really want to do it properly and avoid the corrosion issues of any repair then surely you would be recommending a reshell of the entire car.
 
Simon said:
To be fair welding in a new arch will cause more problems than it would solve, especially on an S2000 where you have to remove all the trim to get to it.

There is no reason why a well repaired arch won't cause any furture problems.
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If that's the case then I've never seen a well repaired arch. Every one I've seen has gone rusty again including my own. This is what I've seen with my own eyes but no doubt Jonnycoupe will have a problem with that somehow not being valid.
If you really want to do it properly and avoid the corrosion issues of any repair then surely you would be recommending a reshell of the entire car.
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let's not be silly now hey ;)
 
Dogbreath said:
Lead filling (or "lead loading") is basically like soldering; filling with molten lead and filing to shape afterwards. It's quite a skilled art, and not something that the average bodyshop would be capable of.
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Aha I had misunderstood the term there. I thought it was a metal based filler instead of the plastic based used now.

Clarkey, There is even an example of the repair lasting 7 years on this thread.
 
Simon said:
How do you know its a well repaired arch anyway - a well repaired arch won't look like it has been repaired will it ;)
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Pfft semantics :p I was on about ones I know had been done.


Oh and as for the 7 year Sierra, done using an unusual method practised only by masters of their trade. I don't believe the 7 year story anyway, a Sierra wouldn't last 7 years fresh from the factory :p
 
It's quite a skilled art, and not something that the average bodyshop would be capable of.
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Exactly. I had to teach myself how to do it as none of the bodyshop guys I know could do it.

How do you know its a well repaired arch anyway - a well repaired arch won't look like it has been repaired will it
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Exactly, could you tell from the 2nd photo on my prev post that that arch had been repaired? Ignoring the fact that I managed to get an orange peel free finish with a rattle can in contrast to Fords mandarin like results!

Clarkey, There is even an example of the repair lasting 7 years on this thread.
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If you repair it properly then the lead repair last longer than the good metal and the lead falls out in a lump when the good metal around it eventually rusts, like this!

Arches.jpg


Repair lasted 7 years then it went from perfect to this (ok, I may have poked it with a screw driver quite vigourously) in about 3 months (once water gets in behind the paint it doesn't take long and I live beside the sea - nice salty air all year round). However, pattern panels generally only last about the same time (sometimes less I've experienced) and the arch in he above photo could be lead filled again and made to last another 7 years ;-) All for about a days labour and £30 in materials. that's if you can find someone able to lead fill it though.
 
wow, quite a few replies !

Does anyone have any bodyshops they can recommend in the Watford ish area? Willing to travel if its worth the effort :)
 
we had a guy at work that used to go on about lead welding all the time, didn't realise it did make such a differance
 
Right.

So, i've got a bit brave, and im gonna try and sort it myself. I've bought replacement arch rubbers to go over the lips, so my plan was.

Sand down the rust,
Paint with some sort of suitable paint (I have some hammerite rust eating silver paint that I used on some rust in the engine bay)
Put on waxoyl/something suitable
Put arch liners back on.

That I recon should buy me some time. I dont really have the money to get it done to the correct standard now, so it seems mad to spend a few hundred and need to redo it in similar timescales as to if I do it mysel for 50 quid.

So the question is, what bits do I need ?
 
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