Quote:
Originally Posted by BodhiBenz1987
Could I rivet in a couple patches, POR the heck out of it, and come back to it when I reach that skill level? Or would that just be asking for worse rust?
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I have been going through a similar, but probably much more extensive rust repair on my 85 300D. (
It is documented in the Bodywork Forum)
The approach I chose, was to have structural metal weld repaired by a local shop. Non-structural repairs were left for me to complete and I am in middle of that process right now.
A rust hole that lets water in just needs to be closed up. Similarly, a hole around a bolt or screw hole just needs to be repaired in a way that it will accept and hold the bolt/screw.
POR15 (or
in my case DOM16) work well as a resin for laying up fibreglass. Small holes can be easily repaired by laying up glass cloth on both sides of holes up to say 1 or 2" diameter. Larger than that,
using a combination of a riveted or screwed in place patch along with POR will provide a sturdy repair.
How long will the POR repairs last? On my 72 350SL, I have a low section in the trunk that was completely rusted out - nothing but rust remained. I cleaned that out exposing the original undercoating. I laid up a fiberglass bottom for that section using POR as the resin. That was 21 years ago, and it is still perfect.
There are some repairs where POR/fiberglass is in my view preferable to welding. For example, where heat will damage other components or adjacent coatings.
Based on my current experience, I would
recommend you check the hinge pockets - leaks there were likely the main cause of my firewall and floorpan rust.
Good Luck with it whatever you decide.