storing my car, what should I do about the rust?

GeX

GeX

Soldato
Joined
17 Dec 2002
Posts
6,986
Location
Manchester
Going to be storing my cinquecento for a while, it'll be in a garage / barn (dry) ~150miles away so I won't be working on it on a regular basis.

It has some rust recently appeared on the scuttle panel. I'm concerned that if I leave the car up there and come back in 6 months - it's going to be a lot worse.

scuttle_rust.JPG


What should I do with that before the car is stored?
 
As a minimum I'd be putting a little of those rust treatments onto it, the kind of stuff you can buy in Halfords - Kurust, Jenolite etc.
Another tip is put one of those dehumidfier boxes inside the car, stops it from getting that damp/musty smell.
 
Not a lot you can do, that's pretty much terminal rust, it'll probably need a new scuttle or patching and welding, it's not surface rust that looks like either rusting inside out or under the window rubber

Is it worth the bother ?
 
Not a lot you can do, that's pretty much terminal rust, it'll probably need a new scuttle or patching and welding, it's not surface rust that looks like either rusting inside out or under the window rubber

Is it worth the bother ?

Yeah, the sub frame is bent too, I can tell from that picture.
 
Don't know what both your problems are maybe you should go back to play group, but I've worked on that sort of thing before, if I could maybe expand maybe you could get off your high horses or maybe you could offer some advice rather than just criticising others posts which seem to be your forte anyway

The rust is pushing out the paint not sitting on top in little bubbles its also coming from under the rubber, if you were to take out the windscreen chip away the rust you'd find that most of the corner under the rubber pretty well shot, because it's up against the seam it's a prone spot also it being the lower corner of the screen it's also a prone spot.

A dab of rust preventer is not going to do anything as that's the surface rust your treating not the problem which is deeper down, there's not a lot you can do apart from cutting the rust out

I'm sure the OP would appreciate a further response from yourselves in detail,, over to you.....
 
If you don't need it for 6 months, I'd just sell it, put the cash in the bank, then in 6 months time, buy another. Not worth the hassle of storage in my opinion.
 
Don't know what both your problems are maybe you should go back to play group, but I've worked on that sort of thing before, if I could maybe expand maybe you could get off your high horses or maybe you could offer some advice rather than just criticising others posts which seem to be your forte anyway

Just because the rust bubble has pushed the paint up doesn't mean further damage sits around the window rubber, yes i agree that the rust won't have stopped at the edge of the seal however if its was rusting badly under the screen it would have blown out down the bottom corner of the screen (where the water collects), simply saying:

Not a lot you can do, that's pretty much terminal rust, it'll probably need a new scuttle or patching and welding, it's not surface rust that looks like either rusting inside out or under the window rubber

Is it worth the bother ?

Is total tosh, you simply can't tell the level of rust damage from the photo, its guess work at best, you need to see it and pull the rubber back and have a good look.

I very much doubt its going to need a new scuttle, his best bet is to push the rubber seal back check for further rust, see if that rust bubble is just the result of a stone chip (which it look like to me), grind the area back, add rust treater and spray with primer.

That will do for the moment, when he gets back the screen can be removed and area underneath either ground back and treated OR that section cutting out and a new bit welding in.

Stating its :

Not a lot you can do, that's pretty much terminal rust,

Based on a single photo is loltastic at best, but drama ++ so thats nice.
 
Last edited:
For those who've advised to get rid, this is a particularly unique cinq. with a lot of work done, would be annoying to have to start again with another one if OP wants it back.

Since you're storing and not working on it, I'd just make a feeble effort to seal the area and store it, then get the welding gear out when you come back to it.
 
whilst maccapacca is basically correct i think he has exaggerated the problem a little bit

If the intention is to keep the cinq for a long time regardless of it's problems then i suggest the following.

the rust will be worse under the windscreen rubber, but at this stage i feel it might not require welding. But simply sanding back the paint flakes and using some kurust will do nothing to prevent further damage, because it's started under the rubber.

It looks like it doesn't have a bonded in windscreen, which is a bonus because you can remove it yourself and repair the damage then refit the windscreen (you might want to get a professional to do this for you - an independant windscreen fitter will do that for a few quid)

But assuming you don't have time for this now, then the best thing you can do is to lift up the windscreen rubber as best you can. scrape away any loose flaking bits, then spray some dinitrol 3125 under the rubber. You can get this in an aerosol with a little tube on the end. that will kill any rust it finds and it will creep along seams and is basically 10x better than waxoyl. the last can i got from halfords but i don't think they do it anymore.
while you are at it, you may as well spray some under the whole of the windscreen rubber. then what's left can go in the wheelarches, and anywhere else you think there might be rust.

wipe any excess dinitrol off the paintwork with white spirit after you have finished


the windscreen rubber has a rubber insert in it, that you can remove to make it easier to lift the edge of it up. (the insert is meant to help lock the windscreen in place after it is fitted.)
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom