Aircooled VW South Africa

I'd like some input as to the best way to treat my old bug's rust. She looked alright when I bought her nearly10 years ago, but as the years rolled on she has revealed that whoever resprayed her before did a subpar job as the roof began bubbling and flaking. It has gotten quite bad and i'd like to start doing something about it.

There are also some of the usual offenders like under the battery and in the footwells just forward of the door pillars. Those areas I assume are best to cut out and weld new panels in but I really am open to ideas.

I'm not too fussed about cosmetics at this stage, I'd just like to do something about her rust before it gets any worse than it already is. I try to keep these areas as clean as I can so moisture and grime can't build up but there must be something I can do to start fighting off this enemy that wont cost me an arm and a leg. It's going to be quite a process, of course, but this machine has served me well over the years and I feel the need to treat her right and keep her chugging along as best I can.

If you just want to stop the rust getting worse, Clean with wire brush, vacuum, treat with rust converter, as per instructions , very important, wash off with water when dry and gone black, dry, with heat gun, spray with clear coat.

This will stop the rust, but you must do the underside if its rusted through.

The roof may be paint bubbles from paint stripper that has not been neutralised properly, this you would have to strip off and redo from metal.

Thats how I would do it.

Herman

Yeah the bubbling paint is most definitely rust since a fair amount has already chipped away. Luckily it still seems like the metal is quite thick so would you recommend wire brushing and converting the rust in that area? I’ll just get some rust converter and a couple rattle cans of clear coat till I can afford to get it painted thoroughly. Got quoted 9k for a complete rework of the paint but I might get it a bit cheaper if I can treat it myself for the most part

Be careful that you don't go for a cheaper rate and get substandard work. If the rust is not repaired properly it might show it's head soon after it has been "repaired". When I have a car resprayed I do all the disassembly and rust repair myself before sending it off to the panelbeater. That way I ensure that they don't use filler and fibreglass where welding was needed.

VandalHeart wrote: Thu Jul 04, 2019 12:36 pm Yeah the bubbling paint is most definitely rust since a fair amount has already chipped away. Luckily it still seems like the metal is quite thick so would you recommend wire brushing and converting the rust in that area? I’ll just get some rust converter and a couple rattle cans of clear coat till I can afford to get it painted thoroughly. Got quoted 9k for a complete rework of the paint but I might get it a bit cheaper if I can treat it myself for the most part

Yes you can wire brush the area and treat it, if you use rattle cans, get the Rustoleum Paint and spray 3 or 4 coats, waiting in between to dry.

I would be very suspicious of a 9K paint job.

Should run between 20 and 50 and even more if they do a full restoration paint job.

As said, learn to do most your self, rust removal, body filler, flatting, and just get them to paint and polish

Thats the cheapest option.

Herman