Ok so I stripped my Interior out to find all the rot. Ill let the pics show it. Should I try to fix this myself or should I just pay somebody to do it? What do I need to buy tool wise to fix this if I go the diy route?

 

you need a welder and time. you can get sheet metal from a welding shop for like 10 bucks for more than you need.

cut and sand down the rust till you have clean metal on the rot spots.

cut the sheet metal to fit the holes. square cuts/pieces work best.

this will all be under the carpet so depending how perfect you want it you can jsut make a nice patch job and call it a day

the final step is to buy POR15 and brush it over the patches so it doesn't re-rust.

and your done

enjoy

not worth the 60 bucks an hr labor and bugging the shop on when its going to get done.

goodluck

 

Welding and patching is the best way to go. Another good suggestion... Try not to get overwhelmed. Patching floor boards can be very easy. Mostly because no one will ever see it. So if your welds arent that pretty, who cars. But you gotta just take one spot at a time. Tackle each one, and before you know it you'll have a solid base again.

Some things you'll need. 4.5" angle grinder and a bunch of cut off discs. I use this tool as often as I use basic wrenches. A couple hammers. Maybe some tin snips. And of course things like markers, safety glasses, gloves, yadda yadda yadda.

Some things to be aware of at ALL times. Be very careful of what you are cutting. Try not to cut through supports. If you need to, drill out spot welds to remove damaged metal. You dont want to cut through a support for obvious reasons. They tend to stay solid longer than the sheet metal floor. Also watch for wires and lines. I dont think you'll hit any where you are working...but check for them anyway.

Ok...Im done babbling. Good luck! Maybe start a thread and post your progress for others to see!

Justin

 

So what kind of welder should I buy? Im really clueless about tools and supplies but Im sure I'd do just fine at it once I learned how.

 

try to see if you have a friend who has a welder or friend of a friend or see if you can rent one. no sense in buying something your going to use once.

not sure what its called but don't get a spot welder you want the kind that will weld all around the patch to seal it up real good.

 

I don't know anybody with a welder and Im sure Id find more ways to use the welder once I had one.

 

You want to get yourself a MIG welder. Preferably one that uses gas. Again, since you wont see the welds, any half decent welder will work. Doesnt need to be real expensive. Couple companies that come to mind are Clarke (what i have) and whatever brand you can get at harbor freight. Trust me...if you buy a welder, and like to tinker with things, you WILL use it again. You'd be surprised how often you'll find things to weld around the house.

If you cant find someone with one that will let you use it, then you can just find a cheapie. And hey...if you will never use it again..just sell it. Sell it for 75% of what you bought it for...you got your money's worth out of it so who cares.

You CAN use a gasless welder with flux core wire. But it wont be as easy to weld and the welds wont come out as nice as if you were using gas. Atleast I found it easier to use gas vs. gasless. Seems like it penetrates and makes a better stronger weld.

Try to look at it this way. You'd be paying someone to fix it otherwise. So figure how much that might be. Now figure the cost of the welder...plus the experience that you will get from learning how to weld, and the satisfaction of fixing your car yourself, and its usually worth it in the end. Assuming you are ambitious enough and stick through it.


J.

P.S.... Search around on google for MIG welding tutorials. I found some awhile back with some videos on MIG welding and they were VERY informative. Both about how to set your machine up and how to use the machine. Worth it to do some internet studying...plenty of good info around. Then get yourself some scrap steel about the same thickness as the car and do some practicing. You'll get the hang of it quick...MIG is easy. When you feel comfy with the scrap...go at it!!

 

Cool thanks for the advice. I found out my girlfriends best friends husband is an auto body guy. So Im gonna try and get him to help me and teach me how to do it.

 

Ah, a familiar site. I had the same thing in my car, minus the fender well rust. I used a grinding wheel to clean up the rust and then put some bondo in the holes. I then put POR-15 on the entire floor pan and anywhere showing signs of rust. This may be something for you to consider if you don't want to do a lot of welding, but keep in mind it only works on smaller holes.

 

I want it to be patched correctly because we plan to keep this car for along time.

 

With smaller holes, bondo is fine and will last for a long time. That stuff gets like concrete when it dries. Adding a coat of POR-15 to the floor ensures that you will never have any further rust problems and stops the ones you have (its a rust preventative paint).

 

Ill whole heartedly agree with the suggestions to coat everything in POR15. I wont however agree with the bondo. Thats just a quick fix, and unless conditions are perfect, you will have issues with that later on down the road. If you want to fix it for the long haul, weld in new metal, make sure everything is as clean and rust free as you can make it, and lather on the por15. That stuff is like armor for your metal parts. Then you'll be set.

Ide use fiberglass before I used bondo... Unless you guys are talking about the "bondo" brand and not referring to the body filler. Bondo makes some fiberglass products, and they have that cat hair stuff. Works pretty good.

Justin

 

POR-15 is shitty. I have used it a bunch of times and it doesn't hold up like its supposed to.

 

I'm having good results with rustoleum's rust reformer.

 

Ok... For your few bad experiences, there will be 20 people that will vouche for it and say its great... Not trying to start an argument, but Ive used it for years, and that stuff is great. Assuming you use it as directed. They have a great reputation. I used it on my sub frame connectors like 2 years ago. Those things see stones, road grime, water, and everythign else. I can go under, wipe them off, and they still look shiney and nice with no corrosion at all. And I didnt even prep them as well as I should have.

And since Por15 sucks in your opinion, instead of just saying that, how about recommending another option for coating the floors after repair. Give the guys that read this later some other ideas/options in case they dont want to use the por15...

J.