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rust repairs

To: british-cars@hoosier
Subject: rust repairs
From: Dennis Wilson <DWILSON@OREGON.UOREGON.EDU>
Date: Wed, 11 Mar 1992 12:19 PST
Martine asked what to do about rust holes.

Well when was an even poorer high school student in England I owned a Mk I 
Ford Escort (1974).  All cars rust quickly in Engalnd and mine was no exception.
To patch the holes cheaply and on my own I used fibre glass which was messy
and a pain.  So I resorted to using thin sheet aluminium and pop rivets.  This
was very easy and worked well.  Just get rid of all the flacky rust (or all
the rusted metal) and get it as shiny as possible.  Treat it with a rust 
inhibitor paint.  I used Finnegans No 1 primmer (don't know if you can get if 
here, I
brought it over with me). This primmer will stop rust comming back etc.  Then
cut a peice of aluminium about the size of the hole plus 3cm or so extra round
the edges. If the hole is not in a flat part (they never are) shape the 
aluminium plate with a hammer or whatever around the hole.  Then drill your 
first pop-
rivet hole and rivet it in place and work your way round with the dril and
rivets.  This way you can hammer and work the plate into a goog fit. Then 
primer the hole job with rust paint and put a good coating of underseal.
I found this makes a good water-tight repair.

But if the car is show car of course this might not be the way to go.  But 
it worked for me!!

Cheers DW


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