I was getting into the car a little while ago, and I found a small bit of rust just above the driver's outer door handle. It's a little pinhole of rust that you can hardly see, but I saw it.
This is the first time I've noticed it, but it may not be the first day it's shown up. I also found some rust on the leading edge of the driver's side rear door, just behind the crack between the two doors. There's a little bit more than a pinhole on that section of corrosion. Also, on that part of the rear door, I can see where the paint has come off, and I can see the primer around the corroded area.
So, I have a few plans of action, as I see it. . .
1) Leave it be for now and wait until I can afford to have the car properly painted around summer of next year.
2) Remove what corrosion I can and do a quick fix for now, using some cheap primer and a factory touch-up pen.
3) It's 535i time! Anyone wanna buy my eta?
After learning what I've learned about corrosion, I can say that I'm not really inclined to do #1. #3 will be a PITA, because I'll be without a car unless someone wants to trade straight up. . . which I doubt.
That leaves me with #2. The problem with #2 is: I've learned that the cardinal rule in corrosion removal is to REMOVE ALL OF IT before you begin prepping the surface for painting.
What this means to me is that I'm going to have to go in and remove the clearcoat, remove the paint, remove the primer, and start sanding down the corrosion as I find it, finishing with a very fine scotchbrite pad. After that, I'll need to get ready to paint the area, and let's not forget that it has to be warm enough to do this!
I would really prefer to do #2, but it'll be a PITA.
Does anyone have any suggestions for me? I could replace the doors, but if they're off, I might as well just fix the corrosion.
It looks like this sub-$800 top-half-only paint job that the PO got for the car is biting me in the ass!
BTW, all of the corrosion I've found is on the TOP HALF of the car!
Damn.
As luck would have it, I found some rust on my E28!
I just went out and snapped some pictures of the corrosion and other bad parts of the paint -- found some orange peel, peeling clearcoat, and some scales.
Unfortunately, my battery was low so I couldn't activate the close-up function of my camera. So, none of the pics came out. I'll try to get some better pics tomorrow afternoon and post them then.
The bottom line is that I need a repaint, but if I can solve this rust problem -- or at least patch it for a year and try to keep it from spreading -- before it gets out of hand, I'll be happy until I can afford a repaint.
Unfortunately, my battery was low so I couldn't activate the close-up function of my camera. So, none of the pics came out. I'll try to get some better pics tomorrow afternoon and post them then.
The bottom line is that I need a repaint, but if I can solve this rust problem -- or at least patch it for a year and try to keep it from spreading -- before it gets out of hand, I'll be happy until I can afford a repaint.
Drive it until you can't stand all the rust then part it out or sell it.
That's my plan with my 535i. It has just started rusting this past winter, before that it spent its life down south. I just hope to get her to last 3.5 more years (or until I get sick of my rustbucket and get rid of her) so I can upgrade to an E36 or a Wrangler or maybe a Miata for my daily driver.
It's really not worth spending money on to try to stop, because if it is in the North and you drive it in the winter it is going to keep on rusting until it dissolves. And you will end up with a paint job that is worth more than the car. Bad economics. Cars as cheap as ours are basically disposable up here.
That's why we drive cheap cars up here in the winter.
[Edit by SmokinDav on [TIME]1109361811[/TIME]]
That's my plan with my 535i. It has just started rusting this past winter, before that it spent its life down south. I just hope to get her to last 3.5 more years (or until I get sick of my rustbucket and get rid of her) so I can upgrade to an E36 or a Wrangler or maybe a Miata for my daily driver.
It's really not worth spending money on to try to stop, because if it is in the North and you drive it in the winter it is going to keep on rusting until it dissolves. And you will end up with a paint job that is worth more than the car. Bad economics. Cars as cheap as ours are basically disposable up here.
That's why we drive cheap cars up here in the winter.
[Edit by SmokinDav on [TIME]1109361811[/TIME]]
I'm not in the north. I'm in the mid-west. . . or somewhere. What do they call Missouri, anyway?
It's snowed only a few times during the 3 months I've been here, so I'm not extremely worried abou the snow/salt. Besides, I don't plan on being here much longer than a year from now, although I have no idea where I would be after that (might be Alaska!)
I don't think the problem isn't the weather. I think the problem is the paint job. Somewhere around 3 or 4 years ago, the car got some hail damage. It wasn't bad, from what I can tell. There are two or three very small star cracks on the windshield that have never spread, and the chrome trim has a few small dents on it. I suspect the body got a few dents like that, too. The PO got $3,000 from the insurance company to fix the car. He obviously didn't replace the glass or the chrome trim, but he paid $800 to fix the car. I suspect he just had the dents popped out on the body, and he said he had the top half of the car resprayed.
It looks good from a few feet back, but up close it looks like ass. The color matches well, but the clearcoat is coming off, and I found a few spots where the COLOR is coming off. I see primer. And, now I see rust.
The rust is only on the top half, from what I can tell -- I'll examine the car more closely this weekend -- so it just leads me to believe that it's the paint job, not the environment.
The rust is so minimal -- very small pinholes that some might not notice -- that it's pointless to part the car because of rust. It's just surface rust, and this can be easily fixed. I know people have dents that go deeper than this, so I'm really not afraid of this rust. It's more of a nuiscance. . . a nuiscance that I want to get rid of ASAP so it doesn't become a more serious problem.
It's snowed only a few times during the 3 months I've been here, so I'm not extremely worried abou the snow/salt. Besides, I don't plan on being here much longer than a year from now, although I have no idea where I would be after that (might be Alaska!)
I don't think the problem isn't the weather. I think the problem is the paint job. Somewhere around 3 or 4 years ago, the car got some hail damage. It wasn't bad, from what I can tell. There are two or three very small star cracks on the windshield that have never spread, and the chrome trim has a few small dents on it. I suspect the body got a few dents like that, too. The PO got $3,000 from the insurance company to fix the car. He obviously didn't replace the glass or the chrome trim, but he paid $800 to fix the car. I suspect he just had the dents popped out on the body, and he said he had the top half of the car resprayed.
It looks good from a few feet back, but up close it looks like ass. The color matches well, but the clearcoat is coming off, and I found a few spots where the COLOR is coming off. I see primer. And, now I see rust.
The rust is only on the top half, from what I can tell -- I'll examine the car more closely this weekend -- so it just leads me to believe that it's the paint job, not the environment.
The rust is so minimal -- very small pinholes that some might not notice -- that it's pointless to part the car because of rust. It's just surface rust, and this can be easily fixed. I know people have dents that go deeper than this, so I'm really not afraid of this rust. It's more of a nuiscance. . . a nuiscance that I want to get rid of ASAP so it doesn't become a more serious problem.
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stuartinmn
- Posts: 9752
- Joined: Feb 12, 2006
- Location: Minneapolis
My 325iX had various spots of rust when I bought it four or five years ago - bubbling in the bottom seams of the door panels, around the rear license plate light, the bottom edge of the passenger side front fender, and a rusted through spot in the passenger side rear quarter. I've done nothing to any of these spots, and interestingly enough they don't seem to have gotten any worse over time. I drive this car in the winter only, so it sees worst case use. It seems like that German steel corrodes pretty slowly, so I don't think you have to jump on it right away...chances are your car isn't going to collapse in a pile of rust flakes anytime soon.
There are rust converter products out there, like Corroless from the Eastwood catalog, that are supposed to be pretty good at stopping rust without going through the whole sandblasting/cutting and welding routine. It may be worth checking into those kinds of products to stop the rust where it is.
[Edit by stuart in mn on [TIME]1109363531[/TIME]]
There are rust converter products out there, like Corroless from the Eastwood catalog, that are supposed to be pretty good at stopping rust without going through the whole sandblasting/cutting and welding routine. It may be worth checking into those kinds of products to stop the rust where it is.
[Edit by stuart in mn on [TIME]1109363531[/TIME]]
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BayMW_John
- Posts: 77
- Joined: Feb 12, 2006
I don't think you should dispose of the car just yet. With as little as you've found, you can keep it in check.
Go to the POR15 website and do a little reading. It's great stuff and, actually, you aren't supposed to remove all the rust before applying. I hit some areas in/around the trunk a few years ago, and they are holding very well.
Go to the POR15 website and do a little reading. It's great stuff and, actually, you aren't supposed to remove all the rust before applying. I hit some areas in/around the trunk a few years ago, and they are holding very well.
Well Brad,
The thing you should remember about any E28 (or car for that matter) is that ALL of them will have rust somewhere, big or small. Especially if the car has lived much time in the humid south and was not garaged to keep it dry. On the doors in particular, BMW did a poor job with seam sealer inside with the drains. The late 1970s designed '85 Saab 900 Turbo I owned was considerably better of a vehicle with regard to channeling moisture out of the car while the German's design looks from the 1960s (well the E28 was what, basically an evolution of the E12 and E3?). Moisture has several key places to sit and cause problems on the E28 (doors, trunk seal region, hood vents, driver side bumper mount, etc). Now I'm not saying the E28 is bad because it is considerably better than most of cars of the time, just not perfect
If your doors look good before a repaint I'd suggest removing the old seam sealer and reseal inside AND outside. The seam sealer as it ages dries out and cracks/peels so it is deteriorating. From looking at my doors they always rust from the inside, out, because the insides aren't sealed very well and water collects in the bottom since the drain placement isn't perfect. So you get a nice sauna effect when the weather is hot and humid. Almost the entire inside of the door will have rust, the add-on side impact beams will also rust at the seams.
My 535i has rusted doors and sunroof, but that doesn't make it some rusty-as-shit car from NJ that is garbage. I'll either re-skin my doors or find some from a California/desert E28 and work those on the car. The problem is my car has been repainted and I'm not ready to repaint the whole car again! Replacing all 4 doors is a big project but now there is a practical case for a glass moonroof!
The thing you should remember about any E28 (or car for that matter) is that ALL of them will have rust somewhere, big or small. Especially if the car has lived much time in the humid south and was not garaged to keep it dry. On the doors in particular, BMW did a poor job with seam sealer inside with the drains. The late 1970s designed '85 Saab 900 Turbo I owned was considerably better of a vehicle with regard to channeling moisture out of the car while the German's design looks from the 1960s (well the E28 was what, basically an evolution of the E12 and E3?). Moisture has several key places to sit and cause problems on the E28 (doors, trunk seal region, hood vents, driver side bumper mount, etc). Now I'm not saying the E28 is bad because it is considerably better than most of cars of the time, just not perfect
If your doors look good before a repaint I'd suggest removing the old seam sealer and reseal inside AND outside. The seam sealer as it ages dries out and cracks/peels so it is deteriorating. From looking at my doors they always rust from the inside, out, because the insides aren't sealed very well and water collects in the bottom since the drain placement isn't perfect. So you get a nice sauna effect when the weather is hot and humid. Almost the entire inside of the door will have rust, the add-on side impact beams will also rust at the seams.
My 535i has rusted doors and sunroof, but that doesn't make it some rusty-as-shit car from NJ that is garbage. I'll either re-skin my doors or find some from a California/desert E28 and work those on the car. The problem is my car has been repainted and I'm not ready to repaint the whole car again! Replacing all 4 doors is a big project but now there is a practical case for a glass moonroof!
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the Tanned One
- Posts: 2725
- Joined: Feb 12, 2006
- Location: Tampa Bay area in Fla.
Brad, do the POR15 or local paint jobber should have something like that I use to sell prodoct call RustMort does the same thing Stops rust & turns it into primer After you get the rust fixed make sure you topcoat it with something ie: paint, epoxy primer,clear,etc That will stop any moisture from getting thru Also fill any holes w/ product called DuraGlass its waterproof ! filler unlike other plastic filler(Bondo) You can find it at any paint jobber its made by USC = U.S. chemical co. Randy/Fla.
I researched this very same question about rust I found on my E28 earlier today.
I was told to look for a phosphoric based rust converter. "It converts rust to iron phosphate which is inert, thus stopping any more oxidation." I am told it will discolor surrounding paint that it touches, but I don't know how far it spreads from where it is applied. I'm actually about to head out the door to pick some up. I'll post my results after applying it.
Pic of my rust taken today:
Edit: Just got back from the store. My local Sears doesn't carry anything like it, but Loewe's had a fairly substantial selection from which to choose.
I bought "Naval Jelly" brand Rust Dissolver, part #80277 for $4.98.
[Edit by csp23 on [TIME]1109467946[/TIME]]
I was told to look for a phosphoric based rust converter. "It converts rust to iron phosphate which is inert, thus stopping any more oxidation." I am told it will discolor surrounding paint that it touches, but I don't know how far it spreads from where it is applied. I'm actually about to head out the door to pick some up. I'll post my results after applying it.
Pic of my rust taken today:
Edit: Just got back from the store. My local Sears doesn't carry anything like it, but Loewe's had a fairly substantial selection from which to choose.
I bought "Naval Jelly" brand Rust Dissolver, part #80277 for $4.98.
[Edit by csp23 on [TIME]1109467946[/TIME]]