derekf.com

20 Dec 2021
Rust Repair

In accordance with the "Perfect Paint Job" documentation on the SPI site (hyperlink may break, can search on the term), I want to get the all-metal on the weld joints and then put epoxy primer on everything. Plenty of rust to work on.

Started on the front of the driver's door. Did put some paint on the semi-rotted framework here.

Here's what I cut away.

Patch mostly welded.

Patch welded and ground. Looks pretty good.

Next up, back of the door.

The damage was mainly filler.

Welded. The sharpie lines are to tell me where the bends should be - this has a slight arc to it.

Ground.

Closed up the holes at the side mirror mount

Fixed the small rust hole just behind the driprail and the bullet-hole thing.

Patch just behind the door.

(ground)

Then the rear part of the lower quarter, just ahead of the wheel. Here's what came out. It, too, was primarily filler.

Welded the patch in. Also had to patch the wheelwell arch.

The weld on this part of the hood had warped a ltitle bit, and there was oil-canning on the panel near the near edge.

Shrinking disk. I don't really know how to use this device.

But I shrank things. Maybe it's better. I also added some dents, which probably made things worse, but it's not oil-canning anymore.

Moved on to the rear panel and tailgate. Welded up the trim holes here. Ground them, too, but didn't photograph it.

Along with the tailgate.

More tailgate, and then the (not pictured) pass side trim holes.

Moved along to the big dent on the pass side, from the gate (see 11 Sep 2005 update or directly this image, or look at the bare metal image a couple of updates back). I've had that stud welder since early 2013, don't think I knew just how well it worked.

The stud welder also works well for patch panels, I can attach one of the little copper studs to the face of the patch and hold it in place while I start welding.

Also - the lower edge of this panel, as also noted on the 25 Nov 2021 update, was welded in as a flat panel rather than bowed; I used the stud welder to add some curvature there (not pictured).

It looks smoother than it is... but it's definitely not a big dent anymore. No oilcanning, neither. Still needs some work, and maybe I'll get to try the shrinking disk again. Important part is, of course, that it not be proud of the normal surface, and I'm not quite sure at this point.

The rust further down needed cut away and replaced, of course.

Grinding not complete. The rust in the rocker panel is so bad that I've made a pilgrimage to the local Summit to get a patch panel for it. All they had in stock was the rocker for a Chevelle - but should work Just Fine.

New can of all-metal too. Forecast has it warm enough for primer pretty much for the rest of the year (!) so will try to get this all knocked out over the next few days.

Go back to the previous day (10 Dec 2021)

	Started on the front of the driver's door. Did put some paint on the semi-rotted framework here.
Here's what I cut away.
	Patch mostly welded.
Patch welded and ground. Looks pretty good.
	Next up, back of the door.
The damage was mainly filler.
	Welded. The sharpie lines are to tell me where the bends should be - this has a slight arc to it.
Ground.
	Closed up the holes at the side mirror mount
Fixed the small rust hole just behind the driprail and the bullet-hole thing.
	Patch just behind the door.
(ground)
	Then the rear part of the lower quarter, just ahead of the wheel. Here's what came out. It, too, was primarily filler.
Welded the patch in. Also had to patch the wheelwell arch.
	The weld on this part of the hood had warped a ltitle bit, and there was oil-canning on the panel near the near edge.
Shrinking disk. I don't really know how to use this device.
	But I shrank things. Maybe it's better. I also added some dents, which probably made things worse, but it's not oil-canning anymore.
Moved on to the rear panel and tailgate. Welded up the trim holes here. Ground them, too, but didn't photograph it.
	Along with the tailgate.
More tailgate, and then the (not pictured) pass side trim holes.
	Moved along to the big dent on the pass side, from the gate (see 11 Sep 2005 update or directly this image, or look at the bare metal image a couple of updates back). I've had that stud welder since early 2013, don't think I knew just how well it worked. The stud welder also works well for patch panels, I can attach one of the little copper studs to the face of the patch and hold it in place while I start welding. Also - the lower edge of this panel, as also noted on the 25 Nov 2021 update, was welded in as a flat panel rather than bowed; I used the stud welder to add some curvature there (not pictured).
It looks smoother than it is... but it's definitely not a big dent anymore. No oilcanning, neither. Still needs some work, and maybe I'll get to try the shrinking disk again. Important part is, of course, that it not be proud of the normal surface, and I'm not quite sure at this point.
	The rust further down needed cut away and replaced, of course.
Grinding not complete. The rust in the rocker panel is so bad that I've made a pilgrimage to the local Summit to get a patch panel for it. All they had in stock was the rocker for a Chevelle - but should work Just Fine.