Remove Rust From Spare Wheel Well

LashNeo · October 1, 2012

Need some help from you experts.

There's some serious rust development in the spare wheel well area of my car.

This car has been with me for about three years but the rust was not visible when i bought it and there aren't any leaks either

But the wheel well was painted in some black colour paint when i bought it.

It seems like the previous owner has sprayed anti-corrosive paint or some undercoating on the

wheel well without completely removing the rust from the surface and the rust has developed under the paint coating and has eaten up the metal fom the inside.

Now the metal seems to be very thin and there's a hole of the size of Rs25 cents coin.

My question is whats the best way to remove this rust?

I took it to my mechanic who does my usual repairs and his idea was that i need to cut the corroded metal area of the wheel well out and weld a new well made out of new

metal sheets with the same guage since the corrosion is too heavy to do any tinkering work.

Is this method safe? If i proceed with it, what are the things i should look out for? What should be the type of metal used for this purpose?

Are there any other solutions for this?

The Don · October 1, 2012

On 10/1/2012 at 9:52 AM, LashNeo said:

Need some help from you experts.

There's some serious rust development in the spare wheel well area of my car.

This car has been with me for about three years but the rust was not visible when i bought it and there aren't any leaks either

But the wheel well was painted in some black colour paint when i bought it.

It seems like the previous owner has sprayed anti-corrosive paint or some undercoating on the

wheel well without completely removing the rust from the surface and the rust has developed under the paint coating and has eaten up the metal fom the inside.

Now the metal seems to be very thin and there's a hole of the size of Rs25 cents coin.

My question is whats the best way to remove this rust?

I took it to my mechanic who does my usual repairs and his idea was that i need to cut the corroded metal area of the wheel well out and weld a new well made out of new

metal sheets with the same guage since the corrosion is too heavy to do any tinkering work.

Is this method safe? If i proceed with it, what are the things i should look out for? What should be the type of metal used for this purpose?

Are there any other solutions for this?

Your mechanics solution is correct. The only option you have available now is to either use a chemical solution or a welding torch to burn out the existing rust, cut the thinned out metal out and weld in new metal to replace the corroded sections. If it was only surface rust you had the option of just cleaning out the rust and applying anti corrosive paint, but since it has corroded down and thinned out the metal, now the only option is to cut out and replace.

The other thing you have to figure out is how it rusted. The usual culprit is the boot lid being out of alignment so not sealing properly with the beading, worn out or damaged beading, or leaves or other foreign material blocking the drain lines around the beading, causing and overflow of rain water into the boot.

LashNeo · October 1, 2012

On 10/1/2012 at 10:32 AM, The Don said:

Your mechanics solution is correct. The only option you have available now is to either use a chemical solution or a welding torch to burn out the existing rust, cut the thinned out metal out and weld in new metal to replace the corroded sections. If it was only surface rust you had the option of just cleaning out the rust and applying anti corrosive paint, but since it has corroded down and thinned out the metal, now the only option is to cut out and replace.

The other thing you have to figure out is how it rusted. The usual culprit is the boot lid being out of alignment so not sealing properly with the beading, worn out or damaged beading, or leaves or other foreign material blocking the drain lines around the beading, causing and overflow of rain water into the boot.

Don, Thanks alot for your reply. What's the type of metal that should be used for this purpose? Where can i source it?

My mechanic showed me some type of metal sheet which seems ok but i'm not sure whether that's the correct thing...

The Don · October 1, 2012

On 10/1/2012 at 10:57 AM, LashNeo said:

Don, Thanks alot for your reply. What's the type of metal that should be used for this purpose? Where can i source it?

My mechanic showed me some type of metal sheet which seems ok but i'm not sure whether that's the correct thing...

LashNeo, sadly I'm not a body work expert. I suppose the ideal type of metal would be galvanized metal sheets of the same gauge as the one you are replacing. But more often than not bare metal of the correct gauge is used and then treated with anti corrosion paint.

Scooter · October 1, 2012

It would be great if posters initiating a thread would, as a matter of course, detail the maker, model and year of the car/s in question. This would assist others in providing accurate andappropriate advice.

If the car in question is an oldie and Lash is not too concerened about originality, slicing a wheel well section out of a wrecker is an option. Sometimes the cut doesn't have to be exactly the same model as that area of a vehicle is pretty generic - given the application of a big hammer and a bit of persuasion.

If she has been leaking through the boot lid seals and into the drain channels, really inspect those areas. lift the seals, etc as you may have a bit of rust in other areas too.

In the spare wheel well area some cars are fitted with a drain plug, which is OK, others actually have a drain pipe with an ant-dust end - which is a good idea and can be fitted to your well after repairs are finished.

PS. And, Lash, if its a real oldie, just flat plate the boot and throw a can of aerosol tyre-repair in the glove box like today's cars do! Probably the cheapest option.

LashNeo · October 2, 2012

On 10/1/2012 at 3:03 PM, The Don said:

LashNeo, sadly I'm not a body work expert. I suppose the ideal type of metal would be galvanized metal sheets of the same gauge as the one you are replacing. But more often than not bare metal of the correct gauge is used and then treated with anti corrosion paint.

Thanks again. I'll check on this on some other places as well to get a better idea. I think there were some old threads on restoration work. maybe i can dig down on them for some information. If you know any good place for this type of work, please let me know. Cheers.

On 10/1/2012 at 11:29 PM, Scooter said:

It would be great if posters initiating a thread would, as a matter of course, detail the maker, model and year of the car/s in question. This would assist others in providing accurate andappropriate advice.

If the car in question is an oldie and Lash is not too concerened about originality, slicing a wheel well section out of a wrecker is an option. Sometimes the cut doesn't have to be exactly the same model as that area of a vehicle is pretty generic - given the application of a big hammer and a bit of persuasion.

Sorry for not mentioning the model. It's not a classic by any means. actually it's a Mazda familia BJ5P (YOM = 1999). So, it's not that old.

Everything else in it is in perfect condition except for this issue. i had lots of fond memories with her. so, she's a keeper for me at the moment. Therefore i want to make sure that i do this job to perfection.

That's why i'm seeking advice from you guys.

Edited October 3, 2012 by LashNeo

Ripper · October 2, 2012

generally 20~22 gauge sheet metal is good for body work. for heavy work 14 gauge is good.

just started meddling with sheet metal myself

I would follow MasterDon's resto thread. that should give you a good idea about rust fixes. He's a proud owner of many rustbuckets

LashNeo · October 3, 2012

On 10/2/2012 at 12:59 PM, Ripper said:

generally 20~22 gauge sheet metal is good for body work. for heavy work 14 gauge is good.

just started meddling with sheet metal myself

I would follow MasterDon's resto thread. that should give you a good idea about rust fixes. He's a proud owner of many rustbuckets

Thanks bro. will be checking out MD's threads definitely. Hope reading on MD's rustbuckets would help me in shaping up my babies rusted a**.

By the way, from where can i purchase those metal sheets? If you know a good place, please let me know. would like to do some research before commiting into anything.