Door Seam Rust - The consequences of chronic neglect can be dire.

[zakthor]

OMG. I think this is beyond my skills. I think I need a new door. And a paper bag to breathe into.

Like the dentist says you gotta floss twice a day. Doctors tell diabetics to stay on top of their blood sugar. And fj60 owners need to stay on top of proper drainage and sealing. Whatever that grey stuff was that PO put onto the rust... it DINT WORK!!!

Not sure I want to look under the carpet and dynamat on passenger side...

 

[OSS]

That's a common area in the door for rust to spread. It's a sneaky spot because you can't normally see it. The reason it's billowing and growing like a hyperactive organism is because rust creates and accelerates more rust. Rust holds and attracts moisture and salts and feeds the process. As long as there's puffy rust, it'll keep on growing.

But...

If you knock it all out (yes punch holes in the rusty part of the doors) using nothing more than a screwdriver and elbow grease until all that crumbly stuff is gone (you dont even need a dremel or grinder) and then coat what's left in linseed oil (a few coats applied at least a week apart) it will absolutely kill the rusting process and rust will NEVER return back to that area again... even decades later.
I know that sounds like malarkey, but it's true, I promise. My cruiser had a pretty big rust hole growing in that same spot (nowhere near as bad as yours) and after I dug it out & coated it with linseed oil- it never rusted there again ... even 15 years later.

 

[zakthor]

That's a common area in the door for rust to spread. It's a sneaky spot because you can't normally see it. The reason it's billowing and growing like a hyperactive organism is because rust creates and accelerates more rust. Rust holds and attracts moisture and salts and feeds the process. As long as there's puffy rust, it'll keep on growing.

But...

If you knock it all out (yes punch holes in the rusty part of the doors) using nothing more than a screwdriver and elbow grease until all that crumbly stuff is gone (you dont even need a dremel or grinder) and then coat what's left in linseed oil (a few coats applied at least a week apart) it will absolutely kill the rusting process and rust will NEVER return back to that area again... even decades later.
I know that sounds like malarkey, but it's true, I promise. My cruiser had a pretty big rust hole growing in that same spot (nowhere near as bad as yours) and after I dug it out & coated it with linseed oil- it never rusted there again ... even 15 years later.

Thanks for the perspective. I didn't expect this problem. This was rust that I should have started cleaning with a shop vac. Giant brown billowy clouds from the grinder.

Maybe I'm starting to calm down a little bit. I can just start welding scraps in there to replicate the old shape. One piece at a time and it'll be done eventually, right?

What I think makes this hard is that the part that is supposed to seal is now sorta gone. I'm not sure I can replicate it with my meagre metal forming skills.

And I still need to cut more metal away before I'm at good metal to weld.

 

[Wayne Jacobs]

Replacement doors are available. Get one and have it painted. After you check it for rust!

 

[zakthor]

I grinded it down to see the damage. And chickened our and despaired, reinstalled the door.

Then looked and you know I think I can do it just fine. A 10# spoil of wire is $35 which wouldn’t even pay to ship a door. Maybe a day of work. It’ll match the road warrior aesthetic, the ‘honest repair’ look, and if it gives me any grief I’ll fix that too with more 16g.

Doesn’t look as difficult as the stuff I’ve already done, and the good metal there is thick and easy to weld.

 

[zakthor]

Son had track meet so couldn't start until 2pm. Got 4 hours in but didnt finish.

Filled the inside metal, and.. Then I filled the outside metal.

Used the weld one edge in place and then pound on it technique.

 

[zakthor]

 

[joebattle1]

Wow! Big work to take on. Congrats. Looking good.

 

[zakthor]

Thanks. I’m happy I tried. Burning out rust is really therapeutic.

Hey I have found that the little nylon plastic tees that hold the door rubber strangely aren’t heat proof(tm) and I’ll need some new ones. What are they called? I want to order some.

 

[zakthor]

The start of today's session:

Grindering:

Ready to fill:

Big phat weld:

 

[zakthor]

Fill more voids:

Ready to paint. Right before this I installed the door to make sure there was no metal interference. There wasn't.

I'm sort of bummed that the inside of the door is so hard to see. Pretty much invisible.

After I put up the tape I cleaned really well. Then inspected and found a few holes where I'd ground the metal too thin. So touched them up with more of that melted Mig Wire stuff.

Couple coats of vht epoxy suspension paint:

Let it sit for a few hours then installed. Looks great to me. Met my bar. Like I said above the inside of the door is really hard to see. My FINE work won't be witnessed, so I guess I can't fish for compliments.

After installing I vacuumed all the dirt and splatter from inside the door, then fired up the compressor and hosed it all down with fluidfilm.

Ya, no need for new door.

 

[2mountainfish]

Fill more voids:

View attachment 1930265


Ready to paint. Right before this I installed the door to make sure there was no metal interference. There wasn't.

I'm sort of bummed that the inside of the door is so hard to see. Pretty much invisible.

After I put up the tape I cleaned really well. Then inspected and found a few holes where I'd ground the metal too thin. So touched them up with more of that melted Mig Wire stuff.

View attachment 1930269

Couple coats of vht epoxy suspension paint:

View attachment 1930271

Let it sit for a few hours then installed. Looks great to me. Met my bar. Like I said above the inside of the door is really hard to see. My FINE work won't be witnessed, so I guess I can't fish for compliments.

After installing I vacuumed all the dirt and splatter from inside the door, then fired up the compressor and hosed it all down with fluidfilm.

Ya, no need for new door.

Way to grab the bull by the horns and get er done .

 

[SteveH]

Good job. I hope your rolled-down window didn't get hammered by weld splatter... you might check it.

 

[zakthor]

Good job. I hope your rolled-down window didn't get hammered by weld splatter... you might check it.

It was rolled up when it totally did get splattered with metal. Some nicks remain. I’m so stupid. Live and learn. It cleaned pretty well with a razor blade but that’s a sort of stupid thing I feel bad about doing.

 

[SteveH]

I have done it, too. A new single-edge razor blade is your best bet to clean it off, as you used.