I recently purchased a 240d and it has some body rust. I was going to buy some Por15 and brush it on but a friend of mine mentions eastwood. Rust Paint - Rust Proofing Products - Rust Protection - Corrosion Control - Eastwood

I'm more of a mechanic than body guy but I don't want the rust to spread.
I was planning on sanding off as much as possible before applying any of the products.

Any recommendations?

Thanks.

Pete

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I've used Eastwood products extensively in the past and they tend to work great for me. Looking at your pictures, though, I'd be concerned with how scaly those spots are. I wouldn't be surprised if sanding reveals some holes in the metal.

I haven't use eastwood products before, but I have used POR15 extensively. It's amazing stuff. If you have holes in non structural areas you can even use it to patch them. You coat fiberglass cloth with it and then lay it over the hole (having already treated the area with por15) and it will harden into a permanent patch that won't let rust grow underneath it.

That being said, if you can easily replace the panels with good ones, that is a much better option.

__________________
2004 F150 4.6L -My Daily
2007 Volvo XC70 -Wife's Daily
1998 Ford F150 -Rear ended
1989 J-spec 420SEL -passed onto its new keeper
1982 BMW 733i -fixed and traded for the 420SEL
2003 Volvo V70 5 Speed -scrapped
1997 E290 Turbo Diesel Wagon -traded for above
1992 BMW 525i -traded in
1990 Silver 300TE -hated the M103
1985 Grey 380SE Diesel Conversion, 2.47 rear end, ABS -Sold, really should have kept this one
1979 Silver 300D "The Silver Slug" -Sold

The 1st pictures appears to be "surface rust" from paint knocked off in an accident. You would have best luck sanding to shiny metal and using a good primer for clean metal. Photos 2 & 3 appear to have rusted thru from the inside. Working just on the outside won't get it. You need to cut back to clean metal and attach new material from there - either weld new metal or fiberglass patch. Most shops Bondo straight to bare metal, but always prime first. Especially true for fiberglass, since water can migrate thru it. For places where only spray can reach, I like "Rust Destroyer" since it both converts rust and etches bare metal. Home Depot and Ace used to carry it.

__________________
1984 & 1985 CA 300D's
1964 & 65 Mopar's - Valiant, Dart, Newport
1996 & 2002 Chrysler minivans

In terms of POR-15, peoples' experience varies. My main issue is the associated cleaner and prep they tell you have to use prior to the actual paint, which really gets the ching-ching going by the time you buy the whole kaboodle.

Some people have had issues with topcoating POR, as you will need to, as POR cannot be exposed to UV. It is also extremely harsh in terms of the vapours, wear a respirator.

Bottom line is it worked for me okay, but I have only used it on internal surfaces where it did not have to be topcoated.

Just a word of caution on the third pic, which as far as I can tell is the rear part of the front fender.

The space between the fender and the body tub there is a notorious rust trap on these cars. There is a plastic piece in the wheel well that provides spray protection from the front wheel, but lots of moisture and road crap gets in there anyway.

If you want to be thorough, you will want to loosen the two bolts at the bottom of the fender, and I guess the bottom bolt inside the door opening, and take off the plastic panel and gently pull back the fender. Then shine a light in there and see where you are, rust-wise.

As an example: My 300d was a garaged NJ car with low mileage and very little winter use when I got it, but it had a crumpled fender. When I pulled the fender off, I was really surprised at the amount of surface corrosion on the tub behind it. It wasn't serious, but it was more than I would have expected given the history of the car.

Congrats on your new 240d!

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Mac
2002 e320 4matic estate│1985 300d│1980 300td
Previous: 1979 & 1982 & 1983 300sd │ 1982 240d

“Let's take a drive into the middle of nowhere with a packet of Marlboro lights and talk about our lives.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22

I have used POR-15 for over 25 yrs and some of those original repairs are still good. More recently I have used a similar product called DOM-16. These are single part polyurethane paints that use moisture from atmosphere for curing. The Eastwood rust encapsulator sounds like something similar. There are others too like the Miracle Paint Ken at MercSource pushes.

One problem with this type of paint when used for external finished surfaces, is that it cures to a very hard finish. It is very difficult to fair into surrounding areas for painting. I have used POR for repairs like yours, but only applied a relatively thin coating to seal the surface after first grinding out all the rust. If a hole developed, I would use the POR to apply a patch on the other side of the metal using a small piece of fibreglass cloth or mesh. After that I have sanded POR to roughen and used either 2-part Bondo or a 2-part epoxy fairing compound that can be sanded and faired into surrounding areas. Then prime and finish paint. Not easy for an amateur like me, so usually repair can still be seen,but at least the rust has gone!

When we first used POR-15, they didn't even sell all those pre-treatments that they now sell. So long as you get a good oil free surface with enough roughness for paint to grip onto, you can paint on the bare metal (just don't get metal too smooth)

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Graham
85 300D,72 350SL, 98 E320, Outback 2.5

I've messed with rusty cars for over 50 years.

1) Paint (of any sort) and fiberglass patches are NOT structural.

2) #1 matters because rust is like icebergs - the part you see is just the tip. There is nearly always deterioration deeper behind what you see.

3) Older Mercedes' are famous for structural rust. Start by checking the jack pockets, the battery box area, and the rear window channel carefully and thoroughly. You may have greater evil than you think you do.

4) Anyone can learn to weld sheetmetal though it takes patience. If you lack the equipment and can't borrow it, clean the spots, fabricate whatever needs replaced, and take it to a welding shop.

5) THEN apply filler, paint, etc. and make it look pretty.

6) The steps above not only make the car look better, they'll make it last MUCH longer.

I don't mean to rain on your parade but if you don't dig deeply enough you're likely to be seriously disappointed when your car fails sooner than you want it to.

Dan

If you want to see some rust, see my rust thread
Restoration of my 85 300D

My car had no sheet metal rust, but lot's elsewhere.

In particular, I would check the hood hinge pockets. They were rusted through letting water run down into the car near the firewall causing floorpan and sidewall rust.

BTW, 300D is my summer daily driver of choice again. Great car!

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Graham
85 300D,72 350SL, 98 E320, Outback 2.5

Oops - forgot the hinge pockets.

Dan

Thanks for all the advice and information.
I plan on working on the rust issues as soon as the weather gets a bit cooler.

Pete