Rust is showing and i want to help my landy

[Suffolk Defender]

Hi all,

i have some rust breaking through on the bulk head. I figured i better start getting used to this and learn what the best course of action is to beat it/ hold it back.

i am looking to paint my landy this summer so am happy to do what is required even if it looks patchy while i go through the process. I assume i rub back until i dont have rust then treat it with something?

photo:

M

[Retroanaconda]

That looks pretty bad, get a wire wheel in a grinder on it and see what's underneath. Might be filler covering a big hole.

They rot from the inside so by the time you see it on the outside you generally have a hole once you clean it up.

[Anderzander]

Unfortunately James has broke the bad news. Prodding patches of rust usually leads to big holes. The options then are repair or replace. Unless its surface rust then rubbing down etc isn't an option.

Have a prod and see what happens.

[Suffolk Defender]

thanks for the advice guys i appreciate any help i can get.

I recently bought a grinder and some twisted wire cup brushes. I was cleaning a gate for repainting. This would do the job i suppose.

The down side for me is i dont have any option to work undercover so need a good forecast as well as time..

Lets assume its a hole, when you say repair is this a filler job or weld? Or does depend on the size? Would replace be the whole bulk head?

I guess my fear is grinding the rust out and then having a large hole while i get it rectified.

[FridgeFreezer]

Filler isn't an answer to anything. You can repair by welding and then treat with something like Dinitrol to (hopefully) prevent further rust, or you can go straight for the nuclear option and remove the bulkhead & get it galvanised (or splash out on a new galvanised one & swap it). Depends how long you want it to last - a quick fix or a lifetime solution.

I did a similar repair on the ambulance, you can see pics here.

[Snagger]

I suspect that the outer face is rusted through and will need a new sheet of steel welding in after cutting the existing panel along its corner and just above the hinge, drilling the spot welds out. The good news is that the front face looks alright - they usually go there too, so your repair will be significantly easier than usual. If you're lucky, the inner panel above the door hinge will clean up with the wire cups, but that may need a new sheet replacement welded to the aft side of the door pillar. It doesn't look too bad, but is almost certainly a cutting and welding job.