My slow battle against hatch rust (1 Viewer)

[Mixelplix]

The exterior face of the hatch requires two bends very close together, which I discovered my $30 brake would not do. That limitation would require me to use the brake for one bend - and hand bend the other reverse angle.

I would have liked to use one piece of metal for the whole exterior repair, but I wasn't confident I could hand bend an 18" long section cleanly, so I broke it up into smaller sections (hopefully this won't come back to bite me).

This is the area I decided to hit with one patch.

Here's how the bend turned out. I was impressed considering I used a vice, a MAP gas torch, a hammer, and pliers to make the bend on the left.

It will need a bit of massaging to get the angles to match precisely. But it fits pretty well for a hand bend.

If the gods of a Two Year Old Daughter smile upon me tonight I plan to do the exterior cutting, and the rebuilding of the windshield wiper gusset.

 

[Ed Camenzind]

Cool man. I’m seriously in the same boat, more time than money, and a rusty rear hatch. I’ve got less tools tho...

 

[Aloha Jen]

After following a couple of leads for good used hatches I decided that at the moment I have more free time than free money (although I have little of either), and took the plunge into trying to repair my hatch.

I started by grinding it to see what I was working with.
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Then I removed the hatch and took the LC outside to get a little room in the garage to work.

I decided to start on the inside of the hatch. That way if I made any mistakes it would be less visible.
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Don't pick on the sawhorses. They've seen some sh*t, man...

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The interior face of the hatch was in the worst shape, but there weren't a lot of bends to deal with. So I set up my $30 harbor freight sheet metal break and went to work.

That’s the spirit! Good for you on going for it.

 

[Mixelplix]

I followed the same technique for the exterior side as I did for the interior (clamping the patch on, plasma arcing through both). It worked out well, but I cut a bit of the interior bracing with the plasma as well. Oh well, I'll weld it up.

I then started on the largest patch in this project. It required a long reverse bend which I had to do by hand.

I hand bent the reverse, and got back to clamping and cutting.

 

[Mixelplix]

You can see the interior brace which was also rusted in the photo below. I followed my normal procedure of cutting, clamping, then recutting.

I turned a corner the other night and actually started the process of putting things back together rather than cutting them away.

After watching a few youtube videos I was able to get reasonably good at welding the relatively thin sheet metal. I originally had problems with the welder burning through, but after a bit of grinding, and moving to a bunch of small tacks rather than actually trying to run a bead things began to come together.

This interior brace will hopefully never be seen by anyone ever again - so it was a good part to begin practicing on. I hope to grind it smooth in the coming nights, and then begin working on the interior side patch.

 

[The Bumble]

Glad to see that my rusty upper hatch has inspired you! I would hate to see what mine looks like on the inside, after seeing the pics of yours. I got lucky and picked up another white upper hatch this past fall. I stripped it down over the winter and hope to have it on the Cruiser for the summer. I'm not sure of your plans, but I am going to be getting a new window gasket to help keep the salt from creeping in.

I took a pic from the opposite end! Good luck with your fix!!

 

[Tools R Us]

Most of the metal used in the '80 is plated for rust prevention, the hatch is one of the few parts that are naked inside. In rust bucket areas, it wouldn't be a bad idea to slop paint around inside before installing it?

 

[Red Merle]

Most of the metal used in the '80 is plated for rust prevention, the hatch is one of the few parts that are naked inside. In rust bucket areas, it wouldn't be a bad idea to slop paint around inside before installing it?

Oil baby, Texas crude. I spray bar chain oil in mine until it leaks out and then I keep the whole area rinsed as the year goes by.

 

[Mixelplix]

Most of the metal used in the '80 is plated for rust prevention, the hatch is one of the few parts that are naked inside. In rust bucket areas, it wouldn't be a bad idea to slop paint around inside before installing it?

I intend to paint the inside, and then drench it in sweet sweet fluid film before I reinstall the internals.

I took a pic from the opposite end! Good luck with your fix!!

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Cheers to you too! If you ever need a hand with anything, shoot me a PM. Always good to meet another cruiserhead.

 

[The Bumble]

Thanks for the offer! Looking forward to seeing how your hatch turns out. Definitely cool to see other Cruisers out and about!!

 

[Mixelplix]

Made some more progress over the weekend.

 

[Mixelplix]

I've made some more progress on this repair.

Previously I had the patch panels on the exterior spot welded. I ground down the welds using a 4.5" grinder, and a flap wheel - and then got them flush with a mini belt sander.

Running my hand across the exterior I can feel very little variation. I hope that results in less body filler.

 

[Mixelplix]

The interior face of the hatch is much thinner metal than the exterior. As a result I had a very hard time welding it.

It looks like crap, but it will be completely covered by the interior trim.. so I wasn't going to loose too much sleep over it. I ended up making a copper 'spoon' to help welding it. Essentially you hold the copper to the back side of the thin metal - the copper acts as a heatsink (presumably). Also the weld doesn't really stick to the copper, so you can use it as a form to bridge any gaps with the welding rod.

I decided to gain some experience with body filler on the interior side (as I said, it gets covered by trim).

So that's where it sits. I think it's turning out pretty well.

I've been treating any slightly rusty or pitted spots with rust converter and phosphoric acid. Hopefully if all goes well I'll have it ready for paint this weekend.

 

[Red Merle]

This is actually starting to look much better than I expected it would. Solid work. Still not sure if this would have been the direction I would have went, given the amount of time you've sunk into it, but it does seem like it will end up looking pretty decent.

How are you going to address the painting?

 

[BILT4ME]

Damn!

That's a BOATLOAD of work!

That's also why I hate bodywork. I'll do mechanical all day long, but that thin fine work and making it pretty is TOUGH!

 

[Mixelplix]

Thanks fellas!

Regarding paint, I got single stage white from a small paint shop near my office. I intend to scuff everything up with a DA sander, prime it, and paint it.
I own self storage units. I intend to bring my compressor and my gear up there and spray it in one of my storage units. That way I can shut the door to keep it safe from the elements, with the added bonus of not poisioning everyone in my house.

 

[Pascoscout]

Looking good. I have a very small spot on my hatch that's bubbling a bit, this helps me prepare for what I may find.

Did you use anything special to get the glass out or just kind of pry it along? Was thinking about using one of the plastic body panel tools I got at harbor freight.

 

[Mixelplix]

I didn't need to do anything special to get the glass out.

I just rolled the molding out starting on the bottom, and kept gently rolling and pushing until it came out.

 

[Mixelplix]

I got the body filler done on the interior side of the hatch. Considering I'm a novice at this I decided to rattle can it to see what it would look like finished, and make sure I'm happy with it. I'm very happy with it.

 

[Mixelplix]

I moved on to the outside of the hatch and repeated the process. I'm a bit more confident now, so it's going much quicker.

I think I'll be ready to spray this weekend.