# Rust repair



## thegentleway (Oct 5, 2015)

Hi,

I've got a bit of rust on my rear wheel arch:



I've got some Hammerite rust remover gel and anti rust primer. I've used this before and it works ok but the rust does come back and it has to be reapplied every year or so. From looking at the forum, it sounds like the Electrox patch repair kit from BH is the best kit to use? If applied properly it could stop rust coming back all together?

So what's the best way to apply it? It says to agitate the area while gel is in situ and to leave for 12-48 hours for heavy medium rust. That's quite a big time window. Is it better to reapply 2 or 3 times every 12 hours or leave for the full 48 hours?

Thanks,


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## thegentleway (Oct 5, 2015)

Any recommendations how to fix this?


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## steveo3002 (Jan 30, 2006)

the bubble means its rusting from inside out , cut off the bad metal and weld in new is the proper way to fix it


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## Kiashuma (May 4, 2011)

That needs a proper bodyshop fix. Cut out and new metal added in.


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## BillyT (Jun 22, 2008)

maybe just a stone chip and rust has started under the paint and moved along if your lucky.
Good body shop couple of hours work


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## m4rkymark (Aug 17, 2014)

agree with the others - this is coming through from behind - its a common cause of rust on wings tbh. only way to fix it is to cut it out and replace or replace the wing.


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## Vossman (Aug 5, 2010)

Is that a beemer? I could be wrong but its a very common problem on a lot of BMW's, get another wing and find a decent body shop to paint it for you once fitted, they should be able to easily match the colour, problem solved for good then.


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## slim_boy_fat (Jun 23, 2006)

Vossman said:


> Is that a beemer? I could be wrong but its a very common problem on a lot of BMW's, get another wing and find a decent body shop to paint it for you once fitted, they should be able to easily match the colour, problem solved for good then.


My first thought was the same as yours...BMW?

Not so easy, it's the rear arch.


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## Vossman (Aug 5, 2010)

slim_boy_fat said:


> My first thought was the same as yours...BMW?
> 
> Not so easy, it's the rear arch.


It's a cut out and weld in new steel I would recommend then. Better than any patching.


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## Harry_p (Mar 18, 2015)

Treatments and removers only work to a certain extent. The only permenant cure is to cut out and replace. You might be able to grind it out, but chances are it would quickly turn into a hole.

To just tidy it up for a bit you can rub down / grind back, treat, fill, prime and paint. It will come back. You might get a couple of years, you might get 6 months before it starts to show back through.


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## thegentleway (Oct 5, 2015)

Thanks, cutting out sounds expensive. How much am I looking to pay for a bodyshop to do that? Any recommendations for somebody around Coventry?


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## Mugwump (Feb 17, 2008)

Surely that is rust that has started on the edge of the flange, (or is there a bolt holding the bumper nearby), and the rust has crept round under the paint. 

I would be seriously worried about any make of car which will suffer perforation due to rust within 6 or 7 years. 

It will need the bumper off to deal with it properly, and will need all the rust thoroughly cleaning back - possibly a combination of sanding and a rust disolving product to remove as much as possible from the rust pits, then use a rust neutraliser to get into the pinprick pits that you can't get the rust out of (repeat application - keep it soaked to ensure the rust killer gets right down into any remaining rust). With rust coming round the front face of the wing, it is probably creeping up behind too, and this will need dealing with too (but is awkward to get at, so some bodyshops probably won't do much with what is out of sight). 

The whole job is best done in the summer when the rust has thoroughly dried out. Doing it at this time of year is probably going to allow moisture to be sealed in by the new paint, and the rust will soon bounce back. 

I would be genuinely surprised if that requires any cutting and welding.


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## steveo3002 (Jan 30, 2006)

why do you post stuff when you dont know

its rotten from inside out , no access for rust dissolving products or magic cures 

while im sure its not what the owner wants to hear its the truth , it needs cutting off and new metal welding on , chances are the other arch is soon to follow too


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## Mugwump (Feb 17, 2008)

steveo3002 said:


> why do you post stuff when you dont know


I post because I do know - from over 30 years of running cars more than 10 years old. I am well used to seeing that type of corrosion around wheel arch flanges, and that type of bubbling under the paint is fairly common on some poorly painted makes of car that have been around for a few years.

That does not look like "rotten from inside to out" to me, and if it is, (unless it is a result of previous poor quality crash repairs - which is also pretty common), then it it doesn't reflect well on the build quality of the car in question.

Either way, it certainly warrants a careful inspection and one to one advice from a bodyshop, rather than assumptions drawn from a photo on a web forum


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## steveo3002 (Jan 30, 2006)

and youve been around cars 30 years but never noticed those age bmw rotting like a good un from inside out ? okay then 

take a look at them in street , nearly all of them are going on the arches


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## Rabs (Jul 9, 2015)

steveo3002 said:


> and youve been around cars 30 years but never noticed those age bmw rotting like a good un from inside out ? okay then
> 
> take a look at them in street , nearly all of them are going on the arches


Have an e30 that is doing exactly that. The arches go and on the sills at bottom of b pillar.


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## Sicskate (Oct 3, 2012)

Yep as above, very common for an e46 to rot from the inside out.


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## thegentleway (Oct 5, 2015)

Went to bodyshop and he said he would grind it out, put lead and fibre glass in hole, and paint for £300. He can do both arches for £500. He offered no guarantee for the rust coming back. After checking weld spots, he said the quarter was OE so somebody is lying to me as BMW said it had been replaced and there was 300 microns of paint so it wasn't covered by their corrosion warranty.


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## Sicskate (Oct 3, 2012)

300 is high, 100-120 is about standard. 

Is obviously been painted at some point.


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## Crafty (Aug 4, 2007)

Lead filling is still the 'proper' way to do it. But fibreglass ? I'd have run away at that point.


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## Kiashuma (May 4, 2011)

Sicskate said:


> 300 is high, 100-120 is about standard.
> 
> Is obviously been painted at some point.


My painter is £150 a panel for just paint so i would have thought £300 was good?


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## 11alan111 (Dec 29, 2011)

steveo3002 said:


> and youve been around cars 30 years but never noticed those age bmw rotting like a good un from inside out ? okay then
> 
> take a look at them in street , nearly all of them are going on the arches


and mercs


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