Right so my cars a rusty old bucket...

[Le_Petit_Lapin]

Its a citeron AX (Deisel)...Yeah....its old, but I got it free and wouldnt have bought a car otherwise, so I'll happily drive it.

Thing is theres an MOT coming up soon and its got a bit of rust on it, so off I went to Halfords and got:

Some Wet and Dry Sandpaper
Something that resembles a Dish cloth, only way rougher, and was called a "Rust/Paint Remover"
A tiin of spray "Rust Killer" (beige)
A tub of some form of "glass fibre metal filler"
Primer
Can of spraypaint, same colour as car.

Done this on a PC before, when I drilled holes in it for watercooling. Its the same principle, right? Something like:

Take car to Car Wash. Get it cleaned. Go home, wait till it drys (if it isnt already.
Use the rough dishcloth thing to take off paint arrount affected area.
Use Wet and dry to sand it down a bit smoother.
Spray on "Rust Killer"
Sand again
Spray on second coat of "Rust Killer"
Sand
Fill in bits with the glass fiber
Sand so its smooth.
Spray on Primer.
Sand again.
Primer....again
Sand, only a little bit this time.
Spray on Car Paint, sand and repeat.
Slap on a little bit of clearcoat that I have several tins of kicking about the house (all my PC's have been re-painted, and I always buy too many tins of clearcoat).

Does that sound about right to everyone? Should be able to get it done over a weekend no problems, providing it doesnt rain.

I might wax it, not that theres much point, but if the motion takes me, what should I use and whats the process?

 

[Lopéz]

Where's the rust?

 

[Le_Petit_Lapin]

Where's the rust?

Its nothing major, just irritatingly unsightly.

Couple of patches on the bottom of the door panels.
Small bits along the bottoms of the outside of the rear windows.
Front bottom edge of the bonnet.
Inside, on the boot lid bit (whatever you call it, it lifts up, and the windows attached to it) Its the largest bit, there was a leak on this bit, but I've sorted out the leak now, the rubber seal was toast.
One spot forming in the middle of an outside door panel.

Not too sure about the one on the boot lid, as its quite large.

 

[Lopéz]

Cool, I was only going to point out that filling corrosion on what is considered to be a structural area (boot floor, inner wings, sills) will not pass the MOT and is false economy anyway.

Have fun! I quite enjoy doing bodywork when I have the right tools and working conditions.

 

[Le_Petit_Lapin]

Cool, I was only going to point out that filling corrosion on what is considered to be a structural area (boot floor, inner wings, sills) will not pass the MOT and is false economy anyway.

Have fun! I quite enjoy doing bodywork when I have the right tools and working conditions.

Nah, it seems like the car was left sitting outside off the road for a good long time at some point, while it was a bit on the leaky side. I've no idea where the "structural areas" are to be honest, but none of it seems to me to look like it could cause the car to crumple in unexpected ways. (hopefully)

The boot lid bit is the dodgy one really. Might take a pic of that tomorow and someone here could give their opinion on that one. If it breaks, the only thing that will really happen is the boot wont open, I'd guess anyway. I should be able to get a replacement boot lid thing somewhere for a few notes if it needs replaced.

Other than that, do0es my plan sound ok for filling in the odd bits of rust?

Oh yes, I've just remembered. The sterring wheel is slightly off centre, when driving straight it sits about 5 degreees clockwise to what would be centre. Will that be a problem in an MOT?

 

[monkeyspank]

Not straight steering wheel has never been a problem for me. Different test centres though.

Structural bits on cars are things like sills, frame around windscreen etc.