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Body Repairs

Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 5:29 pm
by indy
Hey guys just seeking some advice from any who has done body repairs/rust repairs on your L series/Brumby.

Its been a bit neglected, and rust is sprouting up everywhere, i had the rust on the front windscreen done about 3 years ago, and voila its back again. its a bit everywhere, however bad at the top of the windscreen and when it rains it leaks.

so i decided to have a crack myself. being short for time and needing it on the road the next day, and never doing rust/body work before, i dont know what i was thinking lol. but i had a crack.
I removed the rubber strip up the top of the windscreen, masked everything up and grinded & sanded out the rust , used rust converter, bogged up the holes, sanded back, then painted some etch primer on the bare metal, followed by some coats of white primer, then a few coats of white enamel.

The result, looks pretty terrible, but the rust is gone for now (and so are the holes, thank god). I just used a can of white enamel spray paint i had lying around, and its a very bright white, and theres a very visible line of where i masked off. my L series is quite dirty. Apart from a good clean, is there anything i can do to blend this in? ie sand back and spray a duller white on? if so does anyone know can of white spray paint that matches L series colour?

I have no experience in painting, body repairs or anything of such. im complete clueless and no one to really help me, i was looking for a night time tafe course that would be on something like this but cant find a thing.

Im going to attempt to do under the rear passengers window sill and also the bottom of the rear passenger side panel.

So pretty much looking for advice on the proper steps to repair rust/car prep & spray painting basics?

Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 5:33 pm
by TOONGA
these links are for the body repair section from the gregorys for subaru

http://rapidshare.com/files/369419506/1 ... part_1.pdf
http://rapidshare.com/files/369419629/1 ... part_2.pdf

TOONGA

Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 8:17 pm
by fredsub
just my opinion, but I think you'll be fixing the same rust next year.But hey, when I had an L series, thats the same way I started fixing rust.
The L series can rust fairly bad around those areas, after some 20years now hey?
Proper fix needs cutting out badly rusted bits and welding in new steel. A lot of work shaping plate etc. Not that hard to learn it by practice and trial.
If the steel is pitted with holes, that section is all crap and really needs
complete cutout.

Rust converter is only ever any good for surface rust and makes a good paint primer.

I also found that fibreglass is much better than the usual bog around
windows....provided you clean the base really really well, then it seems to
last.

Used to get a white in the small cans called "Subaru White". It was a fairly good match.