does anyone have any tips? I was wondering what I can do about the rust forming aroujnd the seam on the firewall behind the engine. I always sand and prime any rust I find,but why did it rust here in the first place? is there water collecting somewhere under the wipers??

 

I heard somewhere about someone spraying WD-40 along all the seams on the car, especially underneath. I guess this keeps water out of there, and no water=no rust.

 

The only 100% effective way to remove rust is to have the car totally stripped and hot-tanked in an acid dip. That's a bit extreme. For the average Joe, sand blasting is your best bet, although sand blasting won't be able to get within seams to eliminate 100% of the rust, plus you can only blast what you can see. Simply sanding the rust doesn't completely remove it from the little tiny pits, so eventually it will return.

Preventing rust from forming is tough too. The best way to do this is to keep the car away from all salt. Without salt, most cars rust very, very little and it's usually contained only to easy-to-fix surface rust, without any rot. Barring this, weekly (or more) washings are your best bet. Take it to a drive-thru carwash that sprays the underside too. Ziebart undercoatings and similar rust protectants are fairly useless. They can trap moisture and cause rust, plus unless it's put on before the car ever sees salt, it's too late. Then you just wind up with messy gooy junk that you have to fight through when you start rust repair, plus it covers a lot of the rust, so you'll never find it.

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The IROC Homepage
<A HREF="http://www.rit.edu/~jli4307/camaro" TARGET=_blank>
View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A>
"I didn't know a bored out Ford could go so slow" -Shenandoah

 

You can remove rust with THERMITE. Well actually rust is one ingredient of Thermite. You need rust shavings and aluminum powder, and a strip of magnesium (from chem lab!). Mix equal amounts of rust and aluminum and have the magnesium under some of it. Light the magnesium with a lighter and watch- but dont look directly at it :P You'll be amazed as your rust turns back into steel and the aluminum is now aluminum oxide! BTW this burns quite hot and has been known to melt through the hood of a car. Just a little tip.

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1992 Pontiac Firebird (stock)
- 5.0L V8 TBI / Automatic Trans / Every option, excluding leather
- Killer car audio system:

• Aiwa CDC-MP3 head unit
• Rockford Fosgate 360a2 amp
• pair of 12" MTX Thunder 5000s in a custom box
• Pioneer 3-way 6x9s, soon to add more more more!

 

one eye Jack reads the anarchy handbook i see...hmm if i have some rust (not very much about a 2inch by 3 inch spot) behind my front tires its surface rust...so if we sand it down to metal will the paint stick to it or bubble right away cause of rust?...
Snuffit

 

check out this website www.por15.com There are several of us on the board that swear by this stuff.

 

We also watched a video where they had thermite in chem

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1992 Pontiac Firebird (stock)
- 5.0L V8 TBI / Automatic Trans / Every option, excluding leather
- Killer car audio system:

• Aiwa CDC-MP3 head unit
• Rockford Fosgate 360a2 amp
• pair of 12" MTX Thunder 5000s in a custom box
• Pioneer 3-way 6x9s, soon to add more more more!

 

I know there are many supporters of POR-15 and I'm sure its an excelent product,,, but if your not wanting to send away for a rust cure,,, go to your local welding supplier and ask for some ZRC or equivilant zinc cold galv spray paint.

One eye,,, if whatever you are talking about can "burn" through a hood,, then its surely hot enough to warp whatever metal you're trying to coat and cause more problems than cure
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• My Firebird
• Others 3rd gens
• Part Diagrams

The mind is like a parachute, it only works when its open

[This message has been edited by deadbird (edited June 13, 2001).]

 

The POR 15 is a good product as well as Eastwoods corrosles. Both chemically react with rust and convert it to primer. These are good for hard to reach areas where sandblasting wouldn't be feasible.

 

1 I Jack,

Where are you getting your aluminum poweder? I need about 10-15 pounds for a "project" I'm working on....

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Later,
Vader
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"Let the bodies hit the floor!"
Adobe Acrobat Reader

 

The por15 stuff is the best, we swear by this stuff but get ours from www.por15store.com, they were always cheaper and faster!

 

Junkyard be sure to seal your primer with a topcoat. Primer is a surfacer to fill scratches. Unknown to many is it also absorbs moisture like a sponge and will actually promote rust...under the primer on the surface metal.

You just won't see it until it's too late. Paint a topcoat over your primer.