Prepping the panel joint?

Anybody got any advice on prepping the external joint between the two body panels like this:

RestoDay01002.jpg


I have put a protective layer of Upol Etch Prime down the seam, but upon further reading it seems that some people are putting some sort of rust killer down these sort of seams. Advice please as I am certainly no expert and I would prefer to do the Commer to the best of my ability!
 
The best rust killer I've found is Aquasteel, similar the the Loctite stuff but seems more concentrated. You would need to dig the paint and as much rust as you can out then run some Aquasteel in the seam using a small brush, you can then seal, prime and paint over it once it has dried. Search for it on Ebay - it's about £8 for 500ml.

Harvey the RV
 
I was just going to ask the same question!

Does anyone have any favourite method of sealing the joint afterwards? I'm not a great fan of seam sealer on body panels as I've known it to lift or for brittle paint to crack on the soft sealant. I've even heard of builder's Pink Grip glue being used (was that you Panky??). What do you pros use???
 
According to the Aquasteel blurb it is a treatment and primer, I am pretty confident that Etch Primer would seal the joint after the Aquasteel treatment, considering I am having a few coats of high build primer on top of the etch aswell.

If anyone has any extra opinions or advice please help myself and Chamba!
 
The trouble is that once the rust is in a joint its there for good unless you can open it up and get rid of it somehow - at least with the Aquasteel there is a chance of it seeping in deep and delaying it for a while:I

Harvey the RV
 
Another vote here for aquasteel, I've used a syringe with one of those stainless nozzles, the sort of thing you get with printer refill kits, perfect for squirting the stuff into small crevices where rust might be lurking.

tigger
 
your best bet it to put a knotted wire wheel onto a grinderett and run up and down the seam as much as you can ,trying to force the wires deep into the joint . this will remove sh-t loads of rust from inside the seam, once you have done this method then you need to put a rust killer on there with a brush and rub it in as deep as you can apply a few coats for good measure.i use either kure rust by hammerite,or genelite rust remover. once you have done that and its dry, i used a tube of tiger seal. its brilliant stuff,abit pricey , about £8-9.00 per tube but works really well. its used to stick fiberglass body kits onto cars.;):p
 
oh one thing i will say though .is always wear a good strong set of safety googles when doing the wire wheeling, as sometimes pieces of the wire shoot off at high speed and can stick into your skin,it can bloody hurt as well. i would dred to think what would happen if you didnt wear googles.;)
 
Right, I have some Aquasteel on the way and some Tigerseal, any advice for smoothing out the tigerseal as I do not want it too thick in the seams?
 
you will have to keep the nozzle of the tube as small as it comes ,dont chop any off of it. then start at the top and very very slowly squeeze the trigger and point the nozzle into the seam.if you can get it just right and do it nice and slow and not to much pressure on the trigger it will fill in the seam nicely. once you have made your way down the seam to about half way stop,release the quick catch on the back of the trigger straight away or the tiger seal will still keep coming out of the tube, and you will just waste it. then make sure you already have a couple of clean rags at the ready one wet and one dry.just incase. then start at the top and slowly run your finger down the seam and try to force the sealant into the seam further creating a curved affect in the sealant, to match the seam.again not to much pressure or you will pull it all off again. you will have to stop every so many inches and wipe the excess stuff of of your finger as it will build up as you pull down, wipe this onto abit of kitchen roll or something.if you see that the sealant has gone onto the body work because you have put to much on or pressed to hard dont panic ,once you have got to the bottom you can then go back to the top and run down the outer edges of the seam using a cloth to wipe off any over spill. oh one more thing if you have any i would recommend wearing a pair of those very thing diposable plastic gloves, like the food handlers use,as the tiger seal is a real pig to get of you hands. and lastly take your time nice and slow wins the race, dont leave excess amounts of sealant on the bodywork outside of the seam to go dy over night as again it will set hard and is a pig to get off. if you run out of time stick a small screw into the end of the nozzle over night to stop it drying out.;):p:D phew enough said
 
I just thought I would update this thread with a little extra info....

While using TigerSeal recently on the rear of the Commer I have been using Panel Wipe on a rag to clean any excess off the bodywork, fingers or anything it gets onto, takes all the Tigerseal clean off :)

View the Commer resto thread here http://66.129.69.181/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=3555 And more pics here: http://s786.photobucket.com/albums/yy149/bazil1972/

mybanner4ab7d769aa2c9.jpg
 
All of the above rust remedies contain Phosphoric acid as the active ingredient which converts the iron oxide to iron phosphate - Wasnt it the early beetles & renaults that had a phosphate dip before priming as standard?. I think the varying brands add varying amounts of thickening agents to make it cling but as long it has a similar Phosphoric acid content it should be ok (we used phosphoric acid in the navy for touching up upper deck rust) - just remember its nasty if it gets in your eyes - really nasty!

I must be mad
 
Hey

Really glad to get into this forum
It's what I am looking for.
Hope to know more member here.

Escorpio
 
Back
Top