Rust treatment for those north climent E34s.

[Rick L]

Just wondering if anyone had a preventive rust treatment done, especially under the doors where E34s have their problems. I recently pulled the bottom door moldings off to check out the condition and it didn't look good. So I purchased POR15 kit and all four new M-tech door moldings. I like to have the bottom of the doors treated before the rust gets out of control...

[Black 535i]

But now I have too bite the bullet and get the door bottoms properly done which means sandblasting down to bare metal and then doing proper primer and paint. POR-15 works as a good stop gap but not as a final fix. At least like me you have an easy color to match! Mine is black. I will end up doing the hood as well since it has so many pits.

[Russell]

Just wondering if anyone had a preventive rust treatment done, especially under the doors where E34s have their problems. I recently pulled the bottom door moldings off to check out the condition and it didn't look good. So I purchased POR15 kit and all four new M-tech door moldings. I like to have the bottom of the doors treated before the rust gets out of control...

No preventive treatment. However, I got an estimate for fixing my drivers door properly $625.00 The shop also would spray a rust inhibitor/preventor in the other doors. This is a restoration shop, not a insurance /dent shop/

[BennyM]

I paid about $650 to have a shop sand and repaint the bottom thirds of all my doors and even still the rust came back after two years. Definitely going to use a different shop next time. I think the key is how the INSIDE bottom of the doors is treated. The door with the least rust (driver's door) is the one I dumped a bunch of rust converter into right after it was repainted.



No preventive treatment. However, I got an estimate for fixing my drivers door properly $625.00 The shop also would spray a rust inhibitor/preventor in the other doors. This is a restoration shop, not a insurance /dent shop/

[Tiger]

Overhaulin TV show show how pro takes care of the rust... although extreme... is the proper way to take care of rust... It all begins with media blasting. I suppose if you get a Harbor Freight blaster and a good big compressor, you can do similar job.

Vacuum all that media... filter it and reuse it... perhap running shop vac while you are blasting will recapture them.

[tim eh?]

I did this myself with por15 a couple of years ago and it is holding up extremely well except for one door which was already too far gone.

http://www.bimmernut.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=6687&d=1239577952
Even this one is still holding on - the rust has barely spread through the por15 at all.
I am very impressed it looks no worse than it did before and has suffered two winters here and will go for another one.

Whatever you do don't get the oil treatment that stuff is disgusting and gets everywhere.

[Rick L]

Wow! That's some nasty rust you got there! My car is no where near as bad; just slight under the the bottom M-tech moldings. I don't need to repaint. Looks like these bottom moldings hold and collect water and create rust... I'll be tackling this project this weekend. :) I'll post some photos.



I did this myself with por15 a couple of years ago and it is holding up extremely well except for one door which was already too far gone.

http://www.bimmernut.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=6687&d=1239577952
Even this one is still holding on - the rust has barely spread through the por15 at all.
I am very impressed it looks no worse than it did before and has suffered two winters here and will go for another one.

Whatever you do don't get the oil treatment that stuff is disgusting and gets everywhere.

[Ross]

Periodic(or permanent) removal of those rust breeding moldings to clean out the grit that holds moisture.
Maybe have a look at the moldings to see if there is a way to incorporate some drainage????

[BennyM]

Even without the lower trim pieces, the bottom edges of the doors rust faster than the rest of the car.


Periodic(or permanent) removal of those rust breeding moldings to clean out the grit that holds moisture.
Maybe have a look at the moldings to see if there is a way to incorporate some drainage????

[Rick L]

Permanent removal? Uh, I can't imagine my car without the bottom M-tech moldings... Maybe drill small holes on each corners and one in the middle?


Periodic(or permanent) removal of those rust breeding moldings to clean out the grit that holds moisture.
Maybe have a look at the moldings to see if there is a way to incorporate some drainage????

[Kibokojoe]

Rick
Here is how you do it. Its time consuming but Rust Bullet is amazing.

http://www.bimmernut.com/forum/showthread.php?t=42867

[Russell]

Rick
Here is how you do it. Its time consuming but Rust Bullet is amazing.

http://www.bimmernut.com/forum/showthread.php?t=42867
This is serious effort!

[Mr._Graybeard]

I like the chemical approach too. It's slower than blasting but thorough. My rusty door wasn't bad enough to warrant removal (no rust in the pocket or drains). I took the sealer off the seam where the skin is crimped on, sanded off as much rust as possible and then applied Naval Jelly, covering the chemical application with saran wrap to keep it moist. It took several applications, one per day, but it removed all traces of rust.

I used POR15, and then used a primer they make. It's guaranteed to adhere (some don't stick well to the cured POR15 surface) and it has good surfacing properties. A cheap airbrush works well if you're just tackling areas that are marginally visible.

[Kibokojoe]

It looks hard but actually once you get started its not to bad. I spent about an hour breaking down the door and the rest of the time is spent cooking the door or painting and you know when you are waiting for paint to setup it takes forever ;). Lots of down time to rewrap the wiring or cleaning up door components.

[Kibokojoe]

Problem with blasting is you will never get all of the sand back out of the cracks and water will be trapped with the sand then the rust will return.

[Kibokojoe]

Rust can't hide from the electrolysis treatment. Where ever the water flows this liquid goes. Any and all rust is neutralized.

[Rick L]

Thanks for the link Kibokojoe...

It sure does look time consuming. I enjoy working on my cars but not sure if I would have the patience for something like this. :p

I treated bottom of my doors over the weekend. My door bottoms weren't bad (few small surface rust starting). I also purchased new M-Tech moldings. I had these painted to match my car at local body shop.

Here is my process:

Sanded down to metal to all rust areas and surround with 60 grit sandpaper.
Sanded other areas with 400 grit sandpaper that wasn’t rusted.
Applied marine clean.
Treated rust area with rust converter.
Applied metal ready to areas with bare metal.
Applied POR15 paint treatment.
Light spray with primer.
Paint with matching color paint.

I guess only time will tell... ;)

POR15 Kit
http://iccrents.com/ICC/Driver/161/1.JPG

New M-Tech moldings
http://iccrents.com/ICC/Driver/161/2.JPG

Applied POR15
http://iccrents.com/ICC/Driver/161/3.JPG

Applied POR15
http://iccrents.com/ICC/Driver/161/4.JPG

Painted door bottoms myself (just inside).
http://iccrents.com/ICC/Driver/161/5.JPG

I didn't have to paint exterior door bottoms. Treated areas are covered by M-Tech moldings.
http://iccrents.com/ICC/Driver/161/6.JPG

http://iccrents.com/ICC/Driver/161/7.JPG


Rick
Here is how you do it. Its time consuming but Rust Bullet is amazing.

http://www.bimmernut.com/forum/showthread.php?t=42867

[Rick L]

Actually, there is a drain hole in the moldings. I noticed this looking at the new ones. There are located each end. Drain holes in my old moldings were clogged with dirt. I guess it is best to remove bottom moldings and have it cleaned once in awhile...


Periodic(or permanent) removal of those rust breeding moldings to clean out the grit that holds moisture.
Maybe have a look at the moldings to see if there is a way to incorporate some drainage????