Rusty doors

[Harold]

Hello chaps,

On both doors on the very bottom edge there is a small bit of rust, is there anyway that i can tackle this? It's only a little bit and is only visible if you get underneath them and look for it.

I'm just hoping that it's not going to necessitate new doors.

Thanks.

[craig]

Hi mate, the best way is to just replace with a rot free door. If there is hardly any then, just rub the rust down and touch in, that's what I've done. Like you, the rust on my doors cannot be seen unless you kneel down and look at the door.

My passenger side door has a bit of rust starting in bottom back corner, and will be on the look out for a new door, when it gets bad.

Food for thought - fibreglass doors

[djpkins]

if you can be bothered...check inside to make sure it's not rotting out from the inside and that the door isn't holding water...fibreglass doors would be a fatal mistake incase of a smash on the road.

[Harold]

Hi mate, the best way is to just replace with a rot free door. If there is hardly any then, just rub the rust down and touch in, that's what I've done. Like you, the rust on my doors cannot be seen unless you kneel down and look at the door.

My passenger side door has a bit of rust starting in bottom back corner, and will be on the look out for a new door, when it gets bad.

Food for thought - fibreglass doors

I assume that i'd need some kind of paint touch up kit? Where would i buy such a thing? I know nothing about bodywork/paint. Would i need to put some rust killer on there also?

[craig]

if you can be bothered...check inside to make sure it's not rotting out from the inside and that the door isn't holding water...fibreglass doors would be a fatal mistake incase of a smash on the road.

Don't the likes of TVRs and Nobles have Fiberglass doors?

[craig]

Hi mate, the best way is to just replace with a rot free door. If there is hardly any then, just rub the rust down and touch in, that's what I've done. Like you, the rust on my doors cannot be seen unless you kneel down and look at the door.

My passenger side door has a bit of rust starting in bottom back corner, and will be on the look out for a new door, when it gets bad.

Food for thought - fibreglass doors

I assume that i'd need some kind of paint touch up kit? Where would i buy such a thing? I know nothing about bodywork/paint. Would i need to put some rust killer on there also?

I used Halfords mate, they knocked me up a colour match touch in brush/pot.

They may sell your colour code on ebay too

[samdale]

Touch up pen and lacquer was £5-ish from Mr T.

Hope there's a bit more advice to appear on this thread though. I've got a little bit of rust similar to that mentioned.

Although I could sand down and touch up the bit I can see, how would I paint the inside of the door where the water seems to flow?

Liberal spray of waxoyl or similar inside the door?

[Harold]

Touch up pen and lacquer was £5-ish from Mr T.

Hope there's a bit more advice to appear on this thread though. I've got a little bit of rust similar to that mentioned.

Although I could sand down and touch up the bit I can see, how would I paint the inside of the door where the water seems to flow?

Liberal spray of waxoyl or similar inside the door?

Indeed, i'd be interested as to why it's rusting in these particular spots. It's almost exactly the same position on both doors.

[djpkins]

re fibre glass doors...trick and light but offer absolutely no protection from someone elses font end...or trees...or lamposts...they are the only bit of structure there on the side is what I'm getting at, and whilst they're totally fine on a track where you've got less chance of being mashed by another driver coming from a different direction...I think they're a potentially fatal error on a road car, particularly if it hasn't been designed with them in mind.
I wrapped an FTO up once, yes it did actually go fast enough to do some damage, if I hadn't been flying through the air about 18 " or so off the ground...the rover that sideswiped me would've planted his front end on my lap...as it was the floor pan took most of the force.
I am the first to vote for trick parts and stuff...just gave me a chilling reminder when I read the post...drive slower you might say...not in these cars really, if we're honest about it...

I hate been a negative nelly I am a happy bloke.

[TheBaker]

I have/had bad rust on one door where water is getting trapped inside, so I basically sanded it all down, removed the crud and fibreglassed it. Looks alot better outside but the root cause is still happening inside.

Here's some pics.


Don't have a before but here you can pretty much see the extent of the total damage(didn't look as bad before having to investigate and pick away at it) and where I had to fill it

And that's it today pretty much, I'd actually taken this pic as I was going to post and enquire as to why it is starting to rust again, I didn't realise rust could penetrate through Fibre glass? PS: Yeah I know it's not been feathered in to the original paint, I didn't feel skilled enough so just left it, can't really notice it anyway.


This is what it looks like from the inside btw, just for reference.



New door might deffo be on the cards epec since some dingle dented it.

Now my other door is starting to get it too.

Without going off on one, what is the cause of it and is there anyway to stop the water getting in?

[djpkins]

new window rubs...thetstrips that fit on the top of the door panel with the felt inside edge...and poss the triangle bit that the mirrors attach to...mine have worn through.

[Rob]

The problem is caused by moisture breaching the seam sealer where door skin and frame are roll-jointed.

Cut back the sealer with a dremmel or similar, sand back all visible rust to silver metal, rust cure and then top coat. Keep an eye on it to make sure you have got it all......

[rev3gtturbo]

what do you guys think about opening the door and washing that lower seam on the inside and also the top of the sill to keep them good before they rust? Some people wash the shuts, some dont, but I am curious if it actually makes any difference whether a good door will rust or not? Mud/dirt accumulating in that area will help hold moisture against the seam helping it to rot I reckon.

I do clean around there sometimes hoping it gets any road salt and mud/dirt/dust off and hopefully leaves a wax barrier to protect it. I dont know if this helps or makes it more likely to rust.
My doors have never looked anything like those pics.

My other thought is if the doors are getting that bad, there is probably rust in less noticeable places that needs sorting out if you are planning on keeping the car for a long time.

[Harold]

I've been tackling this today, have rubbed down the rusty bits as much as I can, applied some jenolite, and touched up with a few coats of paint. Hopefully that should keep it at bay for a little while, though the problem seems to be that water is getting in past the window weatherstrips as they aren't flush against the glass. Whenever I open one of the doors after its been raining a fair amount of water comes out of the drain holes.
Is it just a case of replacing the weatherstrips?

[synXero]

Metal + oxygen + water = corrosion. It's always going to rust. I posted a topic looking at my rust recently and since visited a prestige and sports cars restoration company. They gave me the lowdown on it and really even the best fix is sadly temporary

[GreddyMR2]

When I open my doors after rain, the water is going from inside the doors. What should I do to prevent water in my doors?