Two Problems

[SHELLDRAKE]

Every time I open the drivers door this happens, I know it can be glued but which glue is best?

The next is a small rust bubble is forming on the n/s rear door frame, do I have to remove all of the rubber and chrome to repair it or is there a more simple way?

[ambermarine]

Hi Norman

With regards the door seal ,Try this first before you resort to glue. Get some silicone spray and spray the rubber and the part of the body it is pushing up against,This will stop the rubber seal clawing at the metal when you open the door.With regards the rust ,to do this job properly you should get behind the rubber seal which entails removal of the whole door interior assembly. If you want to avoid all that and just clean it up you could dremel out the rust on the surface and apply rust killer pin back the seal whilst doing so, fill with epoxy filler smooth down get coded spray pint and after masking priming base and lacquer it will be ok for a while but is guaranteed to come back,bearing in mind it might even come back should you take the door apart and do the job that way.

[SHELLDRAKE]

ambermarine :Thank you for the info I have used the silicone and it seems to be working, on the other subject, it looks like the chrome strip will have to come out so I can pin back the seal are there any nasty's I should look out for

[ambermarine]

To take the chrome strip out the inner door card as to come out so you can get at the window surround fastenings this is a major undertaking and as to be done very carefully.

There are push fittings and screws to contend with and if you pull at the card without having all the fastenings undone you will damage the card or worse the fastenings.

Take it gently and feel your way there are screws in the handle and all round the perimiter of the door card, look carefully for anything that stops movement.

When you have the door card off the fastenings for the window garnish are obvious and in full view.

Take photos of the dismantle at each stage so you can put it together again properly.

The screws for the handle are inside under the window switch surround ,tease that out with a screwdriver taped up to avoid damage to the walnut.

When you are into the inner side of the rust take it out with a dremel sander or the like,treat it with rust killer all over the exposed metal then follow the filler and paint schedule I suggested yesterday.

Good Luck and be kind.

[Colin M]

If you are leaving the chrome strip in place and removing the rust using a dremel, it is also worth using small needle files and a sharp bradawl to get as much rust as you can off the surface and out of any 'craters' on the surface.

The more rust you can get out the better chance you have of it not coming through. It is worth putting some masking tape around the good paintwork to protect it. Leave about an eight of an inch from the rust bubbling when you put the tape on and make sure you go back to good clean metal - the rust will have 'crept' under what looks like good paint, which is why I put the tape about an eight of an inch back from the edge of the visible rust. You will probably need to remove the best part of that eight of an inch to get back to clean metal.

When it comes to paint and doing small areas like this, I use a small paintbrush. Use a good rust killing primer first, followed by the correct top colour. I buy half a litre of the correct colour from an auto paint supplier (about £18-20) in single pack acrylic or cellulose. This can then be used for touching in any stone chips, scratches etc elsewhere.

A good tip incidentally for small stone chips is to use a wooden cocktail stick to drop a small amount of paint into the chip. You might need to do this a few times, allowing the paint to dry in between, in order to fill the chip, depending on its depth. But it does work well.

Good luck, whichever way you decide to tackle it.

[SHELLDRAKE]

Well thank you guys for all that info I think I will use both suggestions on how to clean the rust off, I do have a dremel so it should make things easier. There is a paint supplier in St Helens not far from where I live so I will give them a call, the paint code for my car is 6P3---British Green, I have used them before and they are good.

Cheers

[Colin M]

I usually ask the paint supplier if they can put the half litre of paint in a one litre tin - you can then put a stirring stick in the paint tin and leave it there, without having to take it out each time and clean the paint off it when you use the paint.

I am currently using old wooden chopsticks as paint stirrers, cut down to size so that they fit in my one litre paint tins ...