Quarter panel rust repairs

[Conn SVX]

Yes but I flush them out every time I wash the car.

[Crazy_pilot]

Paint the bare steel with POR-15 inside and out and then apply bedliner in the wheel well. Should give you a coating that is impervious to anything short of boulders and will prevent moisture penetration. That's my plan anyway, I'll start experimenting with POR-15 this weekend.

[Tim]

Would you mind sharing rough ballpark of cost to repair both sides? Are we talking under a grand or over a grand? Feel free to PM if you would prefer to not make that public. Thanks!

[Sean486]

Originally Posted by Tim

Would you mind sharing rough ballpark of cost to repair both sides? Are we talking under a grand or over a grand? Feel free to PM if you would prefer to not make that public. Thanks!

It will be over, I have a full estimate but I think it will come in lower since we didn't end up replacing the entire quarter like we originally planned. When I get the final bill I'll be happy to share that with you.

[Sean486]

The car is done. I am very happy with the repair, but I won't get too excited over the initial work, the true test of the repair will only be known in the next few months and years. Still, for now it looks so nice to have clean lines again, so much better!

[Crazy_pilot]

Looks awesome! Congrats on getting it all cleaned up.

[Tapani]

Wow !

And so much faster done than mine !!

Did you repaint the whole panels?

See attachment... maybe I should have done something along these lines ?

Remember this thread: http://www.subaru-svx.net/forum/showthread.php?t=62651

Tapani

[Sean486]

The difference in doing it yourself and paying someone to work on it for 9 days straight. Believe me I would have rather done it your way had known how to do the work.

He painted both quarter panels but did some blending as it approached the older paint. My eye can see it but to get it any better he would have had to repaint the whole car.

I hope to get the roof repainted as well, I was thinking this year but probably will wait until around this time next year.

[SVX92-97]

Sean, Congrats, it looks great from the photos, long time coming Im sure. I have to have the same thing done. Hopefully sooner than later. Enjoy!

[SilverSpear]

Originally Posted by Crazy_pilot

Paint the bare steel with POR-15 inside and out and then apply bedliner in the wheel well. Should give you a coating that is impervious to anything short of boulders and will prevent moisture penetration. That's my plan anyway, I'll start experimenting with POR-15 this weekend.

POR-15 is da shyt! This is a must for our quarter panels.

Long time since I had followed this thread.
Tapani, for someone who did his car himself, you rock man!! I wouldn't tackle this job myself, too scary and "undertooled" for me.

Sean, love the job they did on your car, it looks brand new! It shouldn't be a winter car anymore

There is something I don't quite understand with the bodywork jobs they do in the US. Whenever they weld a piece of panel instead of the cancerous one, they keep the welds as they are while applying bondo to cover them. I have seen it many many times on TV, on the internet and with the Old Mercedes I bought from the US. I can even show you pictures of what I am talking about, really a shame.

Over here bodyworkers do weld the piece all along the line and not just spot welding it. They gently grind the excess welds until the surface is as flat as possible. Then heat and beat the panel until its lines are perfect as they should be. Sanding it again with specialized device is in order to remove further imperfections. A very very thin layer of bondo is to be applied before primer and paint. Result? 99% close to brand new.

[Sean486]

Thanks Danny. I do not plan to use it in the winter as long the repairs hold. I'm not sure what I am going to do with my snow tires, I might sell them or get them fitted on one of the other cars.

Sounds like you have some real artisans there doing metalwork. I'm sure that we have specialty shops here doing similiar work but may be more high end.

I think he did more welding on my repair than what the pictures indicated. He had told me that day that the patch on the drivers side was "just tacked in place for now". The passenger side was done differently he used a modern adhesive. He said the metal was pretty thin and didn't think it would do well with a large amount of welding. I read up on it a bit prior to the work and most of what I read was positive.

[SilverSpear]

It is not an issue of Artisans, rather this is how they do it. Similar to the wooden houses you live in, in your part of world Vs our concrete buildings over here.

But trust me, 90% of the bodyshops suck. I usually ask for a quote, then promise them 10% extra to do it in the "right and clean" way. I always get what I want

[Kiss Me Deadly]

Hi!

Tapani, almost 5 years left since you did the rust repair job. How the fender is now? I hope rust doesnt come back.