Ok. I have rust in my boot. I went to some panel beaters next to my work and the guy really gave it to me about not wanting to do a rust job... he said it'd be $400 to take the rust out around the seal area of the whole boot and that it'd have to be in cash! Why is rust cutting a bad job for people to do? How much can I expect to pay?

 

Cheers. :)

From the quotes i have heard panel beating in general is expensive.

 

Do you have the time to do it yourself ?

If its in the boot then it won't be that obvious if you don't do a perfect job either.

 

Have a search around on the net about rust repairs. From my experience most body work

is not incredibly challenging, it just takes time and a bit of practice.

Most panel beaters do not want to have anything to do with rust and old cars. I went to this panelbeater in Dubbo asking for a quote on how much it would cost me to spray my ke20. He quoted me a hideously expensive price, and I found out later on from a friend that the panel beater said that amount so that I wouldn't go to him cause he didn't want to do it!

Most panelbeaters (unless they're a restoration place or respraying fully sic cars) don't like doing much more than the simple R&R as it's less expensive to get a new panel and most modern cars are fibreglass in the spots where they usually get hit.

If you have a friend with an oxy kit, it shouldn't be too bad, just cut the rusty spot out and weld in a donor panel in place.

Or you could do it cheaply and bodgily with some rust killer, sand paper, wire brush, bog and masking tape.

There's also a few books around for panel beating etc, but they don't go into repairing rust that much either.

If all else fails you can cause a car accident somehow where you're not at fault! Panel beaters love insurance jobs! :)

They say panel beating is a an art to have. There for being expensive to do. And also, what is cheap these days??

 

It's hard to get metal to to go into shape and to make it stay in shape.

 

If you HAVE the time to do yourself then give it a go. Might get bog if it isn't that big.

 

 

Also, if you cut the metal with an oxy, you may warp the metal around where you did the cut, as you heat up metal it expands and it may ripple or warp metal around the area. Just a tip to remember.

Be well aware that just because a business is put under the label of panel beater, doesn't make them skilled in the art of true panel beating.

They are usually crash repairers, that either replace or bog bent panels. Very few of them know how to work metal, and why should they, they are trying to run a business.... Time is money... fixing old shitters with rust takes too much time.

 

Also, from the late 70's onwards, car manufacturers have used high carbon steal. Its lighter and stronger BUT it also has a lower tolerance to heat and cold working, therefore it is harder to use traditional panel beating techniques on.

 

NOTE! bogging a rust hole does not fix it... in fact it only serves to make it worse.

Bog hides the rust affected area, but it doesn't stop it from rusting (as bog is porous) so while the area may initially look like its fixed, its actually getting worse BUT you can't see it getting worse... untill its so bad that it displaces the bog that once covered it.. now you have an even bigger problem to fix.

Be well aware that just because a business is put under the label of panel beater, doesn't make them skilled in the art of true panel beating.

They are usually crash repairers, that either replace or bog bent panels. Very few of them know how to work metal, and why should they, they are trying to run a business.... Time is money... fixing old shitters with rust takes too much time.

 

This is definately true.

 

The repair work that has been done to my car before I owned it, by a "crash repairer" is of a very low

standard. From what I can read from the receipt left in the glove box, the area that was "fixed" is already

rusty about 12 months later.

Ok so I'm not going to bog it after all these replies. I am not sure if I could do it myself... I'll ask around a bit more and see if that's the price I'm likely to pay. It's only an issue because there is water leaking into the boot.

 

Cheers.

For what its worth I think that is a pretty good price to do a rust repair around a boot opening.. this is of course without seein how much there is.

Do you have access to an angle grinder, a steel streetsign and a Mig welder?

 

with these items you should be able to do it yourself. I'd suggest getting a book on panel beating and have a read. I scored one, a Gregorys one, it's very good.

 

But yeh - if a tradie doesnt want the job, he'll give you a high price. Fair enough too.

People also use fiberglass instead of bog. Something to think about as well. Though if it were me, I wouldn't use bog or fiberglass, just opening options for you.

I'd suggest getting a book on panel beating and have a read. I scored one, a Gregorys one, it's very good.

 

if you're serious about body work and/or spray painting the best book available is called PAINT & BODY HANDBOOK by Don Taylor & Larry Hofer

 

http://www.themotorbookstore.com/paint-body-handbook.html

 

People also use fiberglass instead of bog. Something to think about as well. Though if it were me, I wouldn't use bog or fiberglass, just opening options for you.

 

Fibre glass does not truley adhere to steel and any flexing of the steel will break any adhesion between the steel and the glass, water can then get in there and start rusting again.

 

BE MINDFULL: if its a common place of rust, its a common place of water congregation... Basicly if its rusted once chances are its prone to rusting agan. IF you do it right, you'll only need to do it once.

 

Also a bit of logic to anyone that intends to do up cars: Paint is not cheap, so why put paint over a half assed job that will eventually ruin your paint work!

If it's easily accessible and away from combustibles (fuel tanks/carpets), you could use a bernzomatic mapp gas torch and some brazing rods (about $95 from bunnings). A heck of a lot cheaper than buying a mig machine and way better than fibreglass or bog. Just be careful and don't overheat the metal. Practice on some scrap sheet metal first and do it in a series of tacks so you don't overheat the metal and warp it.

 

I wouldn't braze body panels, but a rust hole in the boot is doable.

Edited June 18, 200818 yr by Pieman

pics would be good of the area affected

The rust area in the boot sounds like a tough job as it occurs in hard to reach area. I used to have a car with rust behind the kick panel. The panel beater was having trouble working on the rust area. Even worst was the dashboard was above his head, further limiting his reach It was almost a job for a contortionist.

pics would be good of the area affected

I second that motion. Will get some now...

 

Gas torch sounds like a good alternative? Mind you I am not even aware of the cost of a mig-welder so I dunno haha. :lolcry: