Chrome/copper plate/gold plate the bare shell when it's done

Cadmium plating - shame about the RoHS regulations...

Thanks for all the input (off topic too don't mind that its amusing)
Hi Nigel Why do you say several thousand What am I missing?when you say several thousand do you mean a strip and spray of the donor shell?

I always get depressed when someone mentions RUST. I have nightmares about it feasting on my coop! Repiped the back brakes last weekend (horrid job) and saw it staring at me from every nook and cranny .

Sound's like you and me Jeff need to down whiskey and gin at an all night bar and just stare into the bottom of empty glasses.

jef i expect Nigel is saying thousands due to

new panels fitted ie new outer qtr ,sills etc and inner wings cleaned and rebuilt etc
basicly a lot cut off , some brought panels and some custom metal work
add things like fuel tank ,brake lines etc removed or drop away

a lot of work and will easily double any trim off window out respray
sure a lot will come off to paint it anyway
but its still a lot of hours labour extra if your paying a bodyshop to do it

i have reshelled a omega estate and frontera at work years ago, well done the prep and paint side
helped a little with refit

from memory the omega bill was some where around 7k shell was 2.5-3k

who in their right mind would pay to do that sort of work to either a omega estaTe or a frontera??

WTF???!!!

insurance companys

the omega was like 6months old ,rear end shunt and had a very heavy duty towbar fitted it buckled the rear of car

was a v6 estate top of range 25k+ car so not written off

the frontera was a vauxhall off road demo car for new frontera buyers to be shown what it could do

it was rolled with customers in it oooopps

Well I pulled off my rear wheel arch liners today and thankfully the outer arches are both fine.
Behind the arch liners though was half a field although I think it was more rock salt than soil.
The result?


Going to clean this up a load and then try and decide how best to deal with the holes.

This shows how I dealt with Project Jigsaw, best to start on page 4 of the album and work backwards: clicky

You'll notice that I took the car apart completely, subframe off, fuel tank off, and then got cracking. It made a huge difference!

Depends how many holes you find, I was lucky and didn't find any holes as such, just rust, rust and more rust, which required grinding back to nice clean bare metal, treated, primed, painted, rustproofed. Sorted

The only holes I have found I made so that is some thing. Thanks for the link Stan I saw it two two years back and knew I had to do that but I put it off. If I had done that then or last summer it would all be fine now.

Coupsters check your cars!

I have just been out with the sand paper and found some shiny things pictures to follow.

Ah, you might have seen the front end as well then?

Clickety click!

That album only contains the front arches but not the obvious things like radiator support/slam panel/crossmember, all parts that like to corrode hidden away from view.....

So I have had a little look at my coupé today.
Last weekend the one I looked at had more rust showing through in a few places than my one does so here goes project try and save it.


I have had a blitz at some of the rusty spots.
Got it back to some metal used a screw driver to try and make holes This time failing, knocked off loads of rust and then started to sand it.
There seems to be three layers the yellow a grey and a white that's not including the black plasticy junk.


The problem seems centred around the holes used for the clips.



In a few places the welds that hold the car together can be identified

I have left the metal coated in crust over night, I'll attack again tomorrow and then undercoat this side.

What they have a radiator support bar? ta Stan not seen the front, I have rust on the exact same spots where the chassis leg is welded to the under-tray support.

Top tip: I use a nylon-type disc from B&Q which is specifically designed for removing rust and paint. They stock two different discs, one for paint only, the other for paint and rust which is more robust. So I started with the rust removal wheel and then moved onto the paint removal disc to finish off and get into good metal.

Like you, I treated with Kurust from Halfords or an equivalent product, then a zinc primer, then more primer, then paint, then Schutz, then Dinitrol, just to remove the chances of moisture getting back in there.

Pity they banned "Red Lead" paint, it seemed to be perfect for stopping rust, well according to the long-dead friends I had that used to use it! Hmmm, maybe they were right to ban it after all!

...and I live just round the corner from where he performed his dasterly deeds...

It is much worse than I realised. Hole in front passenger wheel arch water into cabin. under carpets insulation rotted Only a few bad points and I pushed a screw drive through one so now hole in floor
Probably still possible to fix it but really it is not worth it.
Floor pan is bent where I grounded it too, that was on a 4 post lift when the wood slipped.

Oddly the carpet seems dry.

Oh the hole in the wheel arch is yet again where the arch liner has rubbed and the sill is rusty on the mount with the front wing as this WAS NOT PAINTED!!!

did the same thing yesterday ,,every hole some rust no holes ,,it seems fine but when you take of the paint there is rust under it..iv put rustconverter and it turned black and stronger try it no sanding

Try RUSTCONVERTER makes the rust black and becomes stronger and its a primer arexons

No holes a certain distance of suspension must be welded for MOT pass and safety. I will only use rust converter / harder on no structural or surface stuff.