TheSamba.com :: View topic

Sun Sep 23, 2018 9:22 am

I have an '81 rabbit that has 2 or 3 half dollar sized rust spots on the floor, exterior. Is that small enough just to have someone brush them up and weld them over? And, if so, should a regular auto service place be able to do it?

Sun Sep 23, 2018 11:26 am

You'd likely be better off at a body shop for repairing the exterior floor.
You will have to strip the interior before getting the rust repaired. Otherwise your facing a possible fire.

Good Luck.

Sun Sep 23, 2018 3:44 pm

Thanks.

Sun Sep 23, 2018 4:00 pm

Exterior floor means under the car and not seen except by owner. Muffler Shop can weld that.

Mon Sep 24, 2018 8:22 am

If you want these to be gone for good you need to do inside and out.
POR15 and fiberglass would be super easy from the inside and will last YEARS...
BUT..
If you don't want to rip out the sound pads and carpet you could do POR15 with some glass matting in it.
Buy the starter kit from amazon for $30 and some fiberglass cloth.

Scrape off the undercoating about 2" around the holes and then excess rust with a putty knife and then a stiff steel brush. It doesnt need to be bare.

Clean it with the included degreaser, then treat it with the metal prep, and paint on the POR15. Wait 20-30 minutes until the POR gets tacky and then press your fiberglass patch into it.
Wait another 10 minutes and coat the whole patch.
OR, it you can't get the patch to stick on you could tape the patch on and pull the tape off after it dries.
Or! you could shove the fiberglass abouve the hole, (between the sound mat and the floor. But the problem is the grease thats on the floor.
After you're done just spray on some undercoating.

Many may scoff at this, but I've used POR15 on a floor pan of a leaky car two years ago. There is almost always water sitting in that spot and rust has not returned.

Mon Sep 24, 2018 11:20 am

Thanks, Chris!

Mon Sep 24, 2018 11:56 am

Rust-Prep etc phosphoric acid rust killer & then www.MasterSeriesct.com silver and/or black brushed on pans/chassis.
Filler is fine but Say No to fiberglass.

Mon Sep 24, 2018 12:03 pm

Thanks, Mike. What is "filler?" Sorry, I am a newbie to all this.

Mon Sep 24, 2018 12:10 pm

Body filler like Bondo etc if you want to make it perfectly smooth?

Mon Sep 24, 2018 12:26 pm

Mike Fisher wrote: Rust-Prep etc phosphoric acid rust killer & then www.MasterSeriesct.com silver and/or black brushed on pans/chassis.
Filler is fine but Say No to fiberglass.

I'm saying to put the glass into the POR15, not resin.
It's a different process.

Have you ever done this? If not you should try before you knock it.

Why would Bondo be better for a hole in the floor pan?

Mon Sep 24, 2018 1:25 pm

I advised him to have a Muffler Shop weld it (yesterday) & then Rust Killer & Bondo if he wanted to make it 'perfect'?
I think Master Series is Superior to POR15 from personal experience

Mon Sep 24, 2018 6:55 pm

Mike Fisher wrote: I advised him to have a Muffler Shop weld it (yesterday) & then Rust Killer & Bondo if he wanted to make it 'perfect'?
I think Master Series is Superior to POR15 from personal experience

OK.
I haven't used that. I'm sure it's good stuff.

Have you laid glass in it when tacky? If you haven't you should give it a try. Its works very well on holes in floors.

I'm suggesting that he buy the POR15 starter kit because it has everything he needs for this small job and it's $23.

It comes with a hardcore degreaser, metal etch, 4 oz of POR15 rubber gloves and a paint brush. $23 delivered from amazon prime. Can't beat that.

Tue Sep 25, 2018 7:13 am

Thanks for all the ideas. Regarding having the floor welded. How hard/what's required(?) is it to remove the carpeting? And is that possible without destroying it?

Tue Sep 25, 2018 7:48 am

Studiotwosession wrote: Thanks for all the ideas. Regarding having the floor welded. How hard/what's required(?) is it to remove the carpeting? And is that possible without destroying it?

You can do it without damaging it if you are careful.

The plastic trim is the part you have to be careful with. It's best to do it when it is warm out. Watch some videos and get a few plastic putty knives.

You might be able to go to your local old VW shop and hand the guy a few bucks to take the trim out without breaking it.

Are these just spots?

Or are they holes?

Either way they will come back if you just treat the under side.
Sometimes when you scrape you will get little tiny holes, don't rip this stuff out. Just POR over them. They will fill.

If they are just spots, then scrape and do the POR15 or the rust bullet.
If you are going from the top, do what they did on the video I sent you.

When you pull up your carpet you will probably see more rust bubbles.

Also, if you are getting water in your car they will come back.

I've often though of drilling holes in the low spots and treating the edges with POR. But I don't drive these cars in the rain.

Tue Sep 25, 2018 8:37 am

You have to make a commitment that is at least as great to get the floor bare or it's going to be a hack job. Take the seat out and maybe even just fold the carpet over to the pass side. My original beetle had some sort of tar covered foam on the floor inside of the floor pans so that should come out as well.

Tue Sep 25, 2018 9:32 am

Thanks, Mike.

Tue Sep 25, 2018 12:07 pm

I will have another look to determine if they are just spots, or holes.

Wed Sep 26, 2018 11:08 am

For all intents and purposes, at least one is a hole.