Rust protection?

It's virtually impossible to cure rust completely. There are a lot of supposed rust cures, e.g. Jenolite, but they never really work. You could try rubbing off the rust, painting with Jenolite and then applying aerosol but it's not easy and unless you use a filler to smooth the surface you'll get an uneven finish. The best way is to get some Isopon, and make a patch about 1/4" thick to cover the area. Make the patch separately from the car, smooth and finish it with the right paint, then stick it on with black silicone sealant. It will stop any more air and water getting at the metal and it will look part of the car. Nobody will ever notice it because it will appear to be manufacturer's original.

Rob Graham

I know not many people will agree with me but I'm a fan of Kurust. Slapped some on a beat up old CF van and left it for years and there was never a sign of any rust returning. Don't know if there are any issues with painting over it tho'.

That sound like an horrendous idea! Rub it back to the metal on the rust affected area. Get as much rust off as you can. Kurust the remaining "tightly adhering"[1] rust.

Rub the entire door down with 800 # 1000 grit wet or dry paper, used wet. Allow to dry, obviously. Spray affected area only, with slight overlap, with a few coats of zinc based primer. Mask of the rest of the car and spray door with colour of car and give a few coats of lacquer when finished. Metallic paint MUST be lacquered.

It's a long jo, but if you do it right it will look all right and last. BTW, a rusty door will not fail an MOT, not until it rots so badly and holes and ends up with sharp edges. It may attract unwanted attention from traffic plod though.

It really depends on the type of rust. If it's come through from the back of the panel, then you're correct. However, if it's surface rust caused by a stone, etc, Jenolite works very well.

Rob graham ( snipped-for-privacy@btinternet.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Have I bought a car from you in the past?

Ah, Mr Blunkett! It IS you!

Ah, my words...

"a small patch of rust just starting to bubble through the paintwork on the sill around the area of the rear of the passenger door"

I intended to indicate that the rust is ON the sill - located on the sill at the point where the rear of the passenger door closes.

As such, the visible area is a small area close to the deck (largely out of direct sight), but physically part of the skin for the rest of the car (I really need to have a look, again, but she's working lates :/ )

I might talk her into letting me sand down to clean metal, and attempt a small patch respray - like I said, the area is small and not obvious.

This is a known spot on Kas. Stones from the front wheel hit it and and chip it as it stands slightly proud of the door. Great idea Ford. If they made the doors fit properly in the first place it wouldn't happen.

Anyway, what you want to do is sand it back to bare metal, and paint it. Get proper paint from a paint factors, who can match your paint code and put it in a decent aerosol for you (all aerosols are not equal, better ones have different nozzles, and some (Halfords) are terrible). Ford fitted little bits of helicopter tape to this area on later cars. I've got a pair on my shelf from my Ka that I never got around to fitting before I stuffed it into a hedge. They're called something or other foils by ford and cost a tenner a piece. Fiver to you?

I thought this might attract a few doubters. However, I've tried it and it works. It's even good where the metal has gone through. But if you can get Kurust to work, bully for you.

BTW, I've got a 1985 Isopon Deluxe cdi with not a scrap of rust if anyone cares to make me an offer. It's particularly good because it's got an exhaust made of Gun Gum. Last forever.

Rob

Rob graham ( snipped-for-privacy@btinternet.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Mmmm. Yes, Mr Blunkett.

No, it is not.

The ONLY proper fix if metal has gone through with rust - or is even seriously thinned - is to replace either the entire panel or to weld new metal in.

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember "Periproct" saying something like:

Ditto. Phosphoric acid based; so these days, I'd just use some phosphoric acid which I happen to have a bit of.

Seems to work fine.