For help, advice and discussion about stuff not related to aviation. Play nice: no religion, no politics and no axe grinding please.
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By PeteSpencer
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1842432
.....on the krautomobile. Well, it is 17 years old.

Not much really, just a few spots at the bottom of front pax door and a bit more on front of drivers side rear wheel arch.

I'm aware of how gash DIY jobs can look and am just wondering if it's even worth attempting it myself: I'm not planning on getting rid of the car anytime soon and it does look unsightly. So I just want a cosmetic job that might last a few years.

I'm considering taking it to the local Aviva garage who did a spectacular insurance job when I got T-Boned a few years ago with a mind bogglingly accurate silver paint match.

Before I do however: would the garage laugh me out of town and do any forumites have a fave internet DIY touch up URL I could look at (preferably UK). I've googled and got many hundreds of thousands of hits.

TIA as always.

Peter :wink:
By johnm
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1842435
If it is bubbles of rust rather than chips going a bit brown then a rub down, filler and paint is false economy, it needs treating properly. I'd see if there's a classic car specialist nearby and have a chat about best options and costs.

Another possibility might be these guys
#1842446
Too late I know but, every new vehicle I’ve bought gets about a gallon and a half of “Waxoil” sprayed into every orifice I can find - door drain holes and sills, bonnet bracing, wheel arches, taking care of course to cover disc brakes. Rigid chassis of the HiLux gets a good blow through with it.
#1842450
DIY is a waste of time. Proper new panels is the way to go if you want to keep a classic alive. What you spend in the bodyshop you save on depreciation.

I use Bulldog in Hockwold for this sort of job. Indeed I have a rear arch repair panel sitting in the boot right now which will eventually be fitted there.

Rob P
By MikeE
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1842452
As the owner of two classic minis I would say that rubbing down, filling and painting by anyone inexperienced is likely to look very rough and last months at most. And the problem is very likely much more extensive than you can see. A decent workshop (I use a local small body repair shop) will either cut out the area around the rust and weld in new metal or suggest replacing the wing. Same with the doors unless they are too far gone in which case a new door skin is best. The whole panel should be painted as spot painting rarely looks good. In my experience such jobs are not as expensive as you would imagine - and the industry standard for how long the repair should last is three years. If you ask on Pistonheads you may get some recommendations for good local repair shops. Good luck

Best wishes

Mike
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By PeteSpencer
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1842453
Bill McCarthy wrote:Too late I know but, every new vehicle I’ve bought gets about a gallon and a half of “Waxoil” sprayed into every orifice I can find - door drain holes and sills, bonnet bracing, wheel arches, taking care of course to cover disc brakes. Rigid chassis of the HiLux gets a good blow through with it.


I remember having my brand new Renault 12 Estate professionally 'Ziebarted' in 1973:

Ugly bright yellow plastic plugs (the car was dark metallic green) all around the car at the multiple sites of injection.

Thick black 'gunk' dripped onto the drive for weeks and gunk on window rollers smeared the glass every time I wound the window down.

The car smelt like a gasworks...............

Bloody disaster. :roll:
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By PeteSpencer
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1842454
Rob P wrote:DIY is a waste of time. Proper new panels is the way to go if you want to keep a classic alive. What you spend in the bodyshop you save on depreciation.

I use Bulldog in Hockwold for this sort of job. Indeed I have a rear arch repair panel sitting in the boot right now which will eventually be fitted there.

Rob P


Have you got contact deets/name for them please?
PM if you like

Disregard: Found it................... :wink:
#1842480
PeteSpencer wrote:
Disregard: Found it...................


Be warned. This is not a clinical bodyshop, it's a scruffy little shed behind a couple of petrol pumps.

But when you see the casually pinned on the wall pictures of Italian supercars they have rebuilt....

lobstaboy wrote:17 isn't old enough to be a classic, surely?
Personally I'd do nothing until it fails the mot and then throw it away.


If something isn't done at 17 years it'll never grow up to become a classic.

Rob P
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By PeteSpencer
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1842488
I personally hate driving, but the krauto does the job admirably,comfortably and painlessly. So I'll prolly hang onto it till petrol is banned.....................

But I don't want to drive around in an obvious rust-bucket. :wink:
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By townleyc
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1842501
lobstaboy wrote:
PeteSpencer wrote:.....on the krautomobile. Well, it is 17 years old...
:


Why all the responses about how to look after classic cars, chaps?
17 isn't old enough to be a classic, surely?
Personally I'd do nothing until it fails the mot and then throw it away.



Watch out! You will have Greta after you :(

KE
#1842633
My 17 year old Teutonic Tourer needed yet another session of rust treatment last year. However, I wasn't happy with the work (or cost) I'd experienced in previous years at the official M-B body shop (which looks like a bomb-site garage of the late '40s), so took it to a local body shop.

Treat and repaint both sides and sort out (yet again) the boot lock rust...... £1060 inc. VAT. Then I had the alloys refurb'd at another local place...£240.

Fortunately this particular model is becoming something of a classic, so personally I think that £1300 was a wise investment.

But thanks to lockdown, my annual mileage over the last 12 months has plummeted and I've probably saved more than that on petrol anyway!