General random rust thread..

[firstcar-Y10]

feel free to join in
Italian comedy 'metal' eh, here's my next bit of fun lined up. I mean how does a metal worm get loose under the bonnet anyway


ah well, out with the rustbeater again.
Andrew.

 

[panda1408]

The only bit of rust I need to deal with is on my passenger door, isnt too bad compared to your bonnet. You can see it on the pic below.

 

[firstcar-Y10]

uh oh, the dreaded door rust. The bonnet probably looks worse than it is actually, that's after I've 'investigated' it a bit so there's a fair bit there but it hasn't eaten through anything yet, just a lot of surface stuff.
trouble with doors is they rot out from the inside.
Last door I had on the old panda that went that way it failed the MOT on sharp exposed edges. Took it home, banged the flapping bit into the dor, filled it with filler, Tin of hammerite, retested same day. Quality job
erm, that's more of an anecdote than an actual recommendation by the way. Yours looks far too solid for such butchery

 

[panda1408]

Hopefully it shouldnt be too hard of a job to sort out your bonnet then. I'm going to get the door sorted properly, the options are to either repair that door or my other very rusty Panda surprisingly has quite a good passenger door, theres only some slight blistering so I could repair that and then respray it. Unless I can find a mint one somewhere but that will be pretty hard.

My dad seems to think that 200 quid for a brand new door isnt too bad, cant really afford that though.

I dont see how having some rust on the bottom of the door could be dangerous tbh. Same thing happened on my brothers car, had two tiny rust holes on the bonnet but was failed on them. Completely stupid imo.

 

[pandamonius_maximus]

Ahem, you call that rust!

 

[Ffoxy]

Hate rust with uber passions!

Is this part of the fabled Fiat steel stock that came from Russia, or did Fiat provide a mobile home for a family of rust-worms in every new car of the era?

 

[pandamonius_maximus]

...I dont see how having some rust on the bottom of the door could be dangerous tbh. Same thing happened on my brothers car, had two tiny rust holes on the bonnet but was failed on them. Completely stupid imo.

An MOT centre cant fail a car on bodywork rust, only structural and anything within a certain distance of a suspension mount. They fail it because of sharp exposed edges caused by the rust, which you can tackle with our good old friend Tank tape! It got my second mk1 through its MOT no questions asked and the doors were so rusty that they were just about ready to break off their hinges and the skins had separated up to where the plastic trim fits!

Si

 

[panda1408]

I know its cos of the sharp edges, but I dont see why a car is failed when the rust holes are really really small, spose its the rules and as you say easily sorted with some tape.

The rust on ur pic is Have your sorted it yet?

 

[pandamonius_maximus]

I know its cos of the sharp edges, but I dont see why a car is failed when the rust holes are really really small, spose its the rules and as you say easily sorted with some tape.

The rust on ur pic is Have your sorted it yet?

It is silly, but at least we can bodge past it

The rust was repaired about 5 years ago now I think. But unfortunately the heavy rains we had earlier this month have given me an early warning sign of a leak around the window so there may be some return of the tin worm!

Si

 

[firstcar-Y10]

It is silly, but at least we can bodge past it

The rust was repaired about 5 years ago now I think. But unfortunately the heavy rains we had earlier this month have given me an early warning sign of a leak around the window so there may be some return of the tin worm!

Si

yes, I've got some ominous bubbly paint just starting to creep out from the bottom of the windscreen rubber where I had it all out and patched it up a few years ago. Frustratingly I had a garage to do it in then but at the new house I now don't
Mind you, impressive though yours was Si, Nitro warrior's sills and crossmember are going to take some topping. What a welding superhero:worship:
Andrew.

 

[pandamonius_maximus]

We can only hope to come close to the welding expertise I am learning but very slowly I still have to get my major welding work done by a garage unfortunately

Si

 

[nitro_warrior]

yes, I've got some ominous bubbly paint just starting to creep out from the bottom of the windscreen rubber where I had it all out and patched it up a few years ago. Frustratingly I had a garage to do it in then but at the new house I now don't
Mind you, impressive though yours was Si, Nitro warrior's sills and crossmember are going to take some topping. What a welding superhero:worship:
Andrew.

LOL!! Don't know about that praise! (suppose i should click the thanks button!) Like the martians in War of the Worlds, I have been quietly watching this thread, thinking about my rust...

It's almost finished, the welding is done, the painting is done, gave myself a good Waxoyl tan today. Just need to finish painting the fuel tank and reassemble. Though there is a broken front bumper mount I might tackle whilst i'm at it.

 

[panda1408]

I would love to learn how to weld, I've never tried. Would probably come in useful aswell since I have a Panda. Hopefully mine will stay solid for a while longer though.

 

[firstcar-Y10]

LOL!! Don't know about that praise! (suppose i should click the thanks button!) Like the martians in War of the Worlds, I have been quietly watching this thread, thinking about my rust...

It's almost finished, the welding is done, the painting is done, gave myself a good Waxoyl tan today. Just need to finish painting the fuel tank and reassemble. Though there is a broken front bumper mount I might tackle whilst i'm at it.

like painting your local rail bridge eh. never ends really.
although I believe they have some sort of super paint now which will actually last the distance. Wonder where we could get some..
love to see some 'after' shots. the 'befores' are still giving me nightmares

I would love to learn how to weld, I've never tried. Would probably come in useful aswell since I have a Panda. Hopefully mine will stay solid for a while longer though.

first learn to waxoyl.... a lot! then you can put off the other if you're lucky. No welding on mine since it left the factory 128000 miles and nearly 20 years ago (touch wood,or should that be metal?)
Andrew

 

[panda1408]

first learn to waxoyl.... a lot! then you can put off the other if you're lucky. No welding on mine since it left the factory 128000 miles and nearly 20 years ago (touch wood,or should that be metal?)
Andrew

How old is your Panda, is it galvanised? Literally the only major bit of rust on mine is on the door, presumably becuase it is galvanised. My 750 is a different story, although looking a nitro_warrior's thread on the sills on his 4x4 I dont think they are as bad, havent had to proper look at them really.

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

How old is your Panda, is it galvanised? Literally the only major bit of rust on mine is on the door, presumably becuase it is galvanised. My 750 is a different story, although looking a nitro_warrior's thread on the sills on his 4x4 I dont think they are as bad, havent had to proper look at them really.

All mk2 Panda's were fully galvanised through out except for the doors iirc, and the very late RHD Panda's also had doors galvansied I think.

It just seems to be pot luck at how well maintained and looked after a Panda has been as to if, how, where and when it rusts

Jon.

 

[nitro_warrior]

The problem I discovered, after chopping my sills open, is that Fiat in all their wisdom thought it would be a good idea not to put any form of coating whatsoever on the inside of the chassis rails, sills etc. It's pretty much just bare metal in there.

The moral of the story is, if your Panda isn't one of the galvanised ones (and even if it is!) do something to coat the insides of the sills and chassis. A Waxoyl kit isn't expensive and it doesn't take too long, but it is VERY messy!

 

[firstcar-Y10]

How old is your Panda, is it galvanised? Literally the only major bit of rust on mine is on the door, presumably becuase it is galvanised. My 750 is a different story, although looking a nitro_warrior's thread on the sills on his 4x4 I dont think they are as bad, havent had to proper look at them really.

older than your 2, 1990. I assume not galvanised, don't really know when they started but my first panda was an identical age and model and the MOT every year was a matter of 'how much welding this time' Fortunately I had a garage I took it to at that time who welded it dead cheap miss that place. That was 10 years ago now too so this one's done well.
doors are just one of those things though, crap design, the water that gets in sits in the seam behind the outer skin when the drain holes block up and rots through. They got better later but when mine was built it wasn't uncomon for the doors to rot through in three or four years from new. if you fill that channel with cavity wax or something before the rot sets in they last fine.
look on the bright side, you could have a Y10. now that managed to rot through the top of the door!! (aswell as the bottom..and the wheelarches.. and the bootlid, sills, floorpan, round the windscreen, round the filler cap etc etc.)

 

[panda1408]

look on the bright side, you could have a Y10. now that managed to rot through the top of the door!! (aswell as the bottom..and the wheelarches.. and the bootlid, sills, floorpan, round the windscreen, round the filler cap etc etc.)

Pretty much everywhere then lol.

I thought that they were only galvanised when they changed to injection. I dont think my CLX has had much in the form of underseal or waxoyl and its immaculate underneath, my 750 is the same, no protection underneath and its rusted to bits. I presume you must waxoyl yours often?

Looked at my drivers door earlier and there is some rust starting to form on the inside, going to have to do something to stop it getting to the ouside as its perfect at the moment.

 

[firstcar-Y10]

Pretty much everywhere then lol.

I thought that they were only galvanised when they changed to injection. I dont think my CLX has had much in the form of underseal or waxoyl and its immaculate underneath, my 750 is the same, no protection underneath and its rusted to bits. I presume you must waxoyl yours often?

Looked at my drivers door earlier and there is some rust starting to form on the inside, going to have to do something to stop it getting to the ouside as its perfect at the moment.

not everywhere, ironically given where this thread started, the bonnet was mint. that was the only decent panel though.
current one was reeeeaaallly waxoyled when I got it, like about an inch thick underneath and I have to admit I've been a bit lax. keep the doors and sills topped up but it's stood in a garage for 2 years and then I rushed it back on the road at the end of last summer so it's not been the best protected over winter. This summer is scrape it back and find out if I've got away with it time (hence the bonnet, start where I can see it)
so is the 750 heading for donor status then?