Rust on bottom of driver's door trim - 95 525i

[Russell]

I just noticed the body color painted trim (95 525i) on the bottom of my driver’s door is showing a bit of rust on the inside of the door and the trim. No rust visible on the outside of the door. I sprayed "Super Lube", a synthetic water displacing lube in the groove along the inside door edge on all four doors. Hope that slows it down.

Question. Is there any sort of rust stopping spray/paint I can use in this grove to stop the spread of rust? I have heard of POR-15 and the Eastwood encapsulating products.

If bodywork is needed, what is usually done and what parts are needed? Is it just the trim that is the problem and simply replaced and repainted or is there rust on the door bottom and the door needs to be repainted. If so, that usually involves paint matching on the entire bottom of the vehicle. Looks a major deal.

Archives offered some advice. However, i just wondered what the current thinking is.
TIA

[Dave M]

Not sure whether we're talking about the 'bottom door strips', but if so, they tend to retain moisture and cause rust on the door bottom. If you can see rust, you've probably got a fair bit beneath the strip and, maybe, on some other doors. I ordered four new strips from BMA, tore the old ones off, sanded down the door bottom (coarse plastic drill mounted scrubber and hand sanding), applied rust converter, primer and painted with a generic black paint. My car is schwatz and the rust didn't extend past the strips, so I had no worries about matching (nothing significant anyhow). I found it a good excuse to pick away at some small rusty spots on my rocker panels. Plenty of board members have done similar jobs, so there should be something in the archives.

Good Luck
Dave

[Russell]

Not sure which ones my car has. As a 95 it has the painted so called M Technic "rocker panels". Therefore I think it requires the more expensive ($50 each or so) door bottom strips. It is also my understanding they actually press/clip on the bottom of the door and once removed the stips must be replaced. Bad design IMO. I would like to remove them to check/clean and seal if possible and replace.

Thanks for your comments.



Not sure whether we're talking about the 'bottom door strips', but if so, they tend to retain moisture and cause rust on the door bottom. If you can see rust, you've probably got a fair bit beneath the strip and, maybe, on some other doors. I ordered four new strips from BMA, tore the old ones off, sanded down the door bottom (coarse plastic drill mounted scrubber and hand sanding), applied rust converter, primer and painted with a generic black paint. My car is schwatz and the rust didn't extend past the strips, so I had no worries about matching (nothing significant anyhow). I found it a good excuse to pick away at some small rusty spots on my rocker panels. Plenty of board members have done similar jobs, so there should be something in the archives.

Good Luck
Dave

[JonE]

Done it, old door bottom strips not re-usable, mine might've been different than yours, though, 1990 535i. I had the door bottoms sand-blasted, treated and repainted just below the trim line part way up the door. I understand that this may just slow things down and if keeping the car, might need to look for replacement doors eventually. I am hoping for 2+ years of rust not showing itself.

[uberhahn]

POR-15 is a great product. Though you have to follow the directions, otherwise no-go. I have used it to treat floorboards of my '72 Datsun with great success.

I have seen a product (though not used it) called something like Silver Bullet, or equivalent. Only available in silver, but works like POR, cheaper, and only single application.

uberhahn

[philbyil]

Russell,
There is no easy way to do this if you REALLY want to keep your car for a while and in pristine condition!
First off, the rust starts on the trim strips and then percolates through into the actually bottom of the door.....
So....I ordered the new bottom trim strips from Patrick at BMA then took them to a local German auto specialist body shop (Westmont Body Werks, Westmont IL) and had them sprayed to match my Alpinweiss. I then removed the old trim strips one by one (easy!) and then stopped after two (replacing them is a BEAR!)
I stopped because I noticed a couple of rust bubbles on the door bottom on the passenger side. This basically because all the salt and crud is on the kerb side!

Long story short....After seeing the rust, I took the car back to Westmont Body Werks and had them sand blast the door bottoms and refinish up to the middle trim line.

They did an excellent job and you can't even tell it was sprayed.

The cost for the whole job was around $2k. Those on the board that know me and my car will tell you that this was WELL worth the money :) .
The good news is that the GQ is being driven down to its new home in Texas a week from Friday. So no more snow, slush or, more importantly, SALT plus more FUN ROADS to drive on :D !!




I just noticed the body color painted trim (95 525i) on the bottom of my driver’s door is showing a bit of rust on the inside of the door and the trim. No rust visible on the outside of the door. I sprayed "Super Lube", a synthetic water displacing lube in the groove along the inside door edge on all four doors. Hope that slows it down.

Question. Is there any sort of rust stopping spray/paint I can use in this grove to stop the spread of rust? I have heard of POR-15 and the Eastwood encapsulating products.

If bodywork is needed, what is usually done and what parts are needed? Is it just the trim that is the problem and simply replaced and repainted or is there rust on the door bottom and the door needs to be repainted. If so, that usually involves paint matching on the entire bottom of the vehicle. Looks a major deal.

Archives offered some advice. However, i just wondered what the current thinking is.
TIA