Guest Anonymous Posted October 12, 2001 Share Posted October 12, 2001 okay, this is what i'm wondering, i have some rust on my car, some places are through the fenders...mainly near the bottom of the car...i have checked for serious rust and found none, just cosmetic. i was wondering mainly if i cut out the rust and a large area around it, can i fill that with fiberglass, or is it absolutely neccessary to weld metal back in its place? the areas are not very big, just eyesores, and is it neccessary to gelcoat the glass once it is done? also, has anyone ever dealt with MAACO paint companies...are they any good? sorry for the lengthy questions, any help is appreciated. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeromio Posted October 12, 2001 Share Posted October 12, 2001 What year is this car? Well, either way, I'll just jump right in and say that if you have visible rust, then your frame rails are shot. They are. No, really. Look again, and this time use a sharp tool like a scratch awl to poke around there. If the metal is good, you won't be able to hurt it, so try. My bet is that you'll be able to poke all the way thru in several spots. I would focus all of my effort on the structural areas firstly. The floors, the frame rails, rocker rails, under the battery - all the rust hot spots. As to repairing rust holes with fiberglass, it would take a great deal of effort to patch a hole with glass, make it straight, achieve a good bond between metal and glass <i>and</i> do it all so that your repair will last. It would be much better to (in this order, and this is of course referring to <b>non structural areas only</b> ): - Get replacement panels: fenders and rockers and such are available for Zs - Cut away the rust and weld in clean metal - Cut away the rust and rivet in clean metal and then lead it. - Cut away the rust and rivet in clean metal and bondo over it. Maaco and other such places that advertise paint jobs with prices ending in "99" are for people who want to make their cars look decent and then sell them immediately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted October 12, 2001 Share Posted October 12, 2001 Its always best to replace with metal, but if you just want a quick repair job and not to worried if it doesnt last the life of the car, you could use aluminuim tape and then fiberglass/bondo? (we call it bog) it. I would use a rust converter and paint the inside of where you cut out the rust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted October 12, 2001 Share Posted October 12, 2001 Could someone explain the rivet and lead process to me? I've got a couple of sections I need to do where the metal is really thin. Also MAACO, I heard that it depends on the shop and the people there. My friend bought a Z recently, 240, with a MAACO job and it was nice! So there are some places who do it right. Owen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueovalz Posted October 12, 2001 Share Posted October 12, 2001 I can't speak for the rivet process, but the lead process involves filling in the imperfections (after hammering, shrinking, and filing) with lead. This was a process used when the sheetmetal gauge was much thicker (1940 and 50 vintage cars) than currently being used. Bondo is quicker for another thing too. You will see several places on the Z where lead is used on the A and C (?) pillars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeromio Posted October 13, 2001 Share Posted October 13, 2001 Lead, in the proper hands, can be used in much the same way as bondo. Except that the end result is more uniform and more consistent. I am in no way speaking from experience. It's an "artsy" process that involves lots of patience and, as far as I can tell, requres some mentoring by someone who knows what they are doing. There are some good videos though - check out the back of a "Streetrodding" or other such mag for ads. To follow up on the Maaco thing: yes, the finished results will look good. It's a "flash" job. Looks great, just like if you paint with some rustoleum your own self it will probably look great, for a little while. Then there will be the peeling and the fading. Let's have me just re-emphasize my original point here though: you can see external rust on your car. To me, that means that the actual structurally significant metal (floor, frame rails, rocker rails) have rusted as well. Please rigorously examine these areas and fix them before proceding with the cosmetic areas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKMGK Posted October 14, 2001 Share Posted October 14, 2001 Jazper, rear fenders or front fenders? Is this up front near where the Datsun emblem usually goes? If so that's common - water dumps down from the cowl into that area and it frequently gets cloged. When that occures the water sits and eats at the metal. I've got this problem myself The worst part is that in many cases the rust will eat into the metal that composes the rocker there up front. Once it eats through water gets into the rocker below the door and that's a STRUCTURAL member. Glassing the lower fender for a rapir is fine - fender being the panel you can unbolt and remove. However glassing the rocker is a VERY bad idea as it will lend NO structural strength to the car. Where exactly is this rust and how bad is it? Have you looked under the battery tray for rust? Checked the floorpans? Under the hatch? Zs have many places where rust is common Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted October 14, 2001 Share Posted October 14, 2001 well, i have rust on the front fenders, it is not real bad on the driver side, the passenger side is pretty bad, meaning it is all the way through...not a large area, a few inches long by about 2 inches tall...that's the side i'm worried about, how do i check the rockers? what exactly do i need to do if it is rusted away? the rear hatch is terrible, bad, is it repairable? i have friends that weld and repai all sorts of metal, fiberglass, etc...can i just replace all the sheetmetal? how difficult is repairing the rockers, framerails,etc? thanks...jazper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted October 14, 2001 Share Posted October 14, 2001 Take something like an icepick or awl and press hard on all areas underneath. If there is rust it may go through. Also, you can put a magnet on there to see how badly its rotted. Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted October 16, 2001 Share Posted October 16, 2001 Listen to the guys and try to punch holes in the metal with an awl. You may be surprised. IMO forget glass and cut out the rust. Weld in new metal. The previous owner of my Z glassed the floor pans of and it didn't stop the rust monster. I replaced the entire floorpan with heavier gauge metal and installed subframe connectors. It's a good idea to do that anyway. Put POR-15 on everything metal. Then undercoat it. I figure I added 40lbs worth of stuff (subframe connectors, thicker floorpans, silicone and undercoat) but IMO it's worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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