Rebuilding a rusty XJ
- Thread starter ed_
- Start date
stinkity stoink
Well-known member
Good progress on quite an undertaking. Keep at it
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Great progress Ed. I'm assuming you are using an epoxy primer on the bare steel? Out of curiosity, what are you using?
Back in the late 80's well up through the 2015~ish timeframe I was using PPG's Epoxy Primer, but I found over the years the solids were declining and their newer lead free version was nowhere near as good as the earlier version. Then I started using SPI's (Southern Polyurethane Inc.) epoxy primer and it is nearly identical to the old version of PPG's. I love that stuff and have been using it ever since with excellent results. It even sands so much better than PPG's.
Back in the late 80's well up through the 2015~ish timeframe I was using PPG's Epoxy Primer, but I found over the years the solids were declining and their newer lead free version was nowhere near as good as the earlier version. Then I started using SPI's (Southern Polyurethane Inc.) epoxy primer and it is nearly identical to the old version of PPG's. I love that stuff and have been using it ever since with excellent results. It even sands so much better than PPG's.
Thanks and I'm using SPI epoxy as well!
I like it because of how well it sands and have also found from testing that it holds up well against salt when used on stuff like axles and suspension bits. I'm very likely going to finish the engine bay on the XJ with black epoxy.
Welded in the brace inside the driver quarter. The original setup had a brace here so I wanted to replicate it.
I also ended up removing the nut strips to get them and the exhaust hanger out of the way.
This let me see inside the frame rails for the first time in a few years which was cool. Looks like they're holding up pretty good. (These aren't factory)
Pass side:
Driver side. Lots of blasting media jammed up in here.
Not much left to unbolt from the Jeep. All that's left is the charcoal canister and the front sway bar.
Over on the passenger side quarter panel I cleaned up the welds and made it match the driver side.
Also touched up some spot welds that weren't properly ground down while I was at it.
I underestimated how much work was left to do on these quarters lol.
I also ended up removing the nut strips to get them and the exhaust hanger out of the way.
This let me see inside the frame rails for the first time in a few years which was cool. Looks like they're holding up pretty good. (These aren't factory)
Pass side:
Driver side. Lots of blasting media jammed up in here.
Not much left to unbolt from the Jeep. All that's left is the charcoal canister and the front sway bar.
Over on the passenger side quarter panel I cleaned up the welds and made it match the driver side.
Also touched up some spot welds that weren't properly ground down while I was at it.
I underestimated how much work was left to do on these quarters lol.
Couldn't resist getting a head start on tomorrow's project. I want to get the 2x6 welded in.
Just doing a test fit but I put the flares on so I could position the rocker front to back correctly.
Door gap already looks good.
And it's angled about perfectly too. I'm shooting for ~3.5 degrees of downward slope so water won't pool up on top.
I'd say it's basically ready for welding. Just some grinding to do first.
Just doing a test fit but I put the flares on so I could position the rocker front to back correctly.
Door gap already looks good.
And it's angled about perfectly too. I'm shooting for ~3.5 degrees of downward slope so water won't pool up on top.
I'd say it's basically ready for welding. Just some grinding to do first.
Prepped the 2x6 and upper bracket.
Prepped the chassis.
Popped the 2x6 in and positioned the upper bracket so I could tack it to the 2x6.
Then I tried to slide it out the back to fully weld the bracket but ran into a little snag lol. The rear quarter is in the way.
This was the approach I took on the pass side but I didn't run into any issue then because the pass quarter panel hadn't been welded in yet. Since it was only the upper bracket that was blocking the rocker from sliding out the front I cut a slot in the body as a hack.
Welded.
More welding.
Even more.
Driver side looking almost complete for once.
The doors had to be popped off so I could grind all the welds. They'll prob stay off for a bit to do some work in the jambs. Mostly painting bare metal like the hinges and rocker.
Prepped the chassis.
Popped the 2x6 in and positioned the upper bracket so I could tack it to the 2x6.
Then I tried to slide it out the back to fully weld the bracket but ran into a little snag lol. The rear quarter is in the way.
This was the approach I took on the pass side but I didn't run into any issue then because the pass quarter panel hadn't been welded in yet. Since it was only the upper bracket that was blocking the rocker from sliding out the front I cut a slot in the body as a hack.
Welded.
More welding.
Even more.
Driver side looking almost complete for once.
The doors had to be popped off so I could grind all the welds. They'll prob stay off for a bit to do some work in the jambs. Mostly painting bare metal like the hinges and rocker.
Back at it. I did some small touches and welded the quarter to the 2x6 and the back edge of the rocker to the inner bracket.
Before:
After:
Then while looking over the quarter panels I noticed the edges where the new quarter skin was welded in weren't great. See example of the pass quarter panel by the hatch.
I forgot to take a before pic of the driver side but I settled on cutting the edge off and welding a new patch in.
Done.
Just a small improvement to help hide the weld seams. I'll do the passenger side soon.
Lastly I dripped epoxy into all of the crevices as a rust preventative measure. Kinda hard to get a good photo of it but you can see the primer between the 2x6 and inner angle.
Before:
After:
Then while looking over the quarter panels I noticed the edges where the new quarter skin was welded in weren't great. See example of the pass quarter panel by the hatch.
I forgot to take a before pic of the driver side but I settled on cutting the edge off and welding a new patch in.
Done.
Just a small improvement to help hide the weld seams. I'll do the passenger side soon.
Lastly I dripped epoxy into all of the crevices as a rust preventative measure. Kinda hard to get a good photo of it but you can see the primer between the 2x6 and inner angle.
gahrajmahal
Well-known member
Fun to read and watch your metal craftsmanship!
Been running out of a lot of supplies this week. I even had to make a welding gas run to swap out my two cylinders and that's a 45 min drive one way so that ate up a lot of time today.
I've kinda been going in circles on the driver quarter but I'm making progress. I've changed my approach to focusing on getting each panel to the point where it'd be ready for bodywork before moving to a different one because it feels like I've gotten most panels 80% of the way there and then stopped.
Unfortunately this means redoing some metalwork that isn't up to snuff because I can either address it now, or suffer when it comes time for filler.
On the driver quarter there's an old patch below the quarter window that is "sunken" down and doesn't have a crisp enough bend radius on the body line.
So I ended up chopping it out and tuned my metal brake for a crisper bend and made a new patch.
The new patch has a much crisper bend which is great.
But the bottom warped from all the heat. I believe it was from poor placement of the weld with it being too close to the body line.
I may redo the lower bit, but the quarter's really not that bad.
Another spot I wanted to improve was the top corner of the quarter where it meets the door. There's a patch welded in there and it wasn't angled right so the door gap grows wider the closer it gets to the roof.
So I cut it out and made another patch.
All done.
I want to start doing more fun things like making the inner wheel well.
I've kinda been going in circles on the driver quarter but I'm making progress. I've changed my approach to focusing on getting each panel to the point where it'd be ready for bodywork before moving to a different one because it feels like I've gotten most panels 80% of the way there and then stopped.
Unfortunately this means redoing some metalwork that isn't up to snuff because I can either address it now, or suffer when it comes time for filler.
On the driver quarter there's an old patch below the quarter window that is "sunken" down and doesn't have a crisp enough bend radius on the body line.
So I ended up chopping it out and tuned my metal brake for a crisper bend and made a new patch.
The new patch has a much crisper bend which is great.
But the bottom warped from all the heat. I believe it was from poor placement of the weld with it being too close to the body line.
I may redo the lower bit, but the quarter's really not that bad.
Another spot I wanted to improve was the top corner of the quarter where it meets the door. There's a patch welded in there and it wasn't angled right so the door gap grows wider the closer it gets to the roof.
So I cut it out and made another patch.
All done.
I want to start doing more fun things like making the inner wheel well.
The patch underneath the rear quarter window didn't feel right to me so I redid it again. This time I made the patch longer which was a huge improvement because it helped reduce warping.
The panel itself has pulled slightly inwards here but I suspect that's from the heat of 3 patches being welded in. Live and learn.
The main thing I didn't like about the patch that I welded in last night was the backside. It got pretty beat up from me trying to push it outwards.
I also spent some time with a hammer and dolly working the long weld seam on the quarter and was able to flatten it out nicely.
I also finished up the bottom of the driver A pillar where it meets the 2x6. It still had the relief hole from when I needed to slide the 2x6 in and out.
Patch welded in.
Finished with a small brace to give it a more polished look. The OEM setup had a brace on the inside so this kinda replicates that.
The panel itself has pulled slightly inwards here but I suspect that's from the heat of 3 patches being welded in. Live and learn.
The main thing I didn't like about the patch that I welded in last night was the backside. It got pretty beat up from me trying to push it outwards.
I also spent some time with a hammer and dolly working the long weld seam on the quarter and was able to flatten it out nicely.
I also finished up the bottom of the driver A pillar where it meets the 2x6. It still had the relief hole from when I needed to slide the 2x6 in and out.
Patch welded in.
Finished with a small brace to give it a more polished look. The OEM setup had a brace on the inside so this kinda replicates that.
stinkity stoink
Well-known member
The detail of your work is quite impressive
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Nice work.
Patching definitely takes time to get everything as close as possible before even striking an arc, and what I've found is that no two are alike. They all differ just enough that different plans of attack are usually required. What works on one car on one panel won't work exactly the same on another for one reason or another. Could be the proximity to an edge, a double thickness panel bonding or out in the middle of an open panel, they all required a different approach to manage heat.
Patching definitely takes time to get everything as close as possible before even striking an arc, and what I've found is that no two are alike. They all differ just enough that different plans of attack are usually required. What works on one car on one panel won't work exactly the same on another for one reason or another. Could be the proximity to an edge, a double thickness panel bonding or out in the middle of an open panel, they all required a different approach to manage heat.
Made some more progress and started on the inner wheel well.
48" piece of 18 gauge bent.
Then I traced the shape of the original wheel well on paper and bent my new piece to match.
At this point I thought the new piece would perfectly line up with the XJ but it took another 2 hours of tweaking it over and over until it actually did. Once things looked good it was welded into place.
I'm going to use it as a base for building the new wheel well piece by piece. I did the pass side in a different order but the end result should be the same.
48" piece of 18 gauge bent.
Then I traced the shape of the original wheel well on paper and bent my new piece to match.
At this point I thought the new piece would perfectly line up with the XJ but it took another 2 hours of tweaking it over and over until it actually did. Once things looked good it was welded into place.
I'm going to use it as a base for building the new wheel well piece by piece. I did the pass side in a different order but the end result should be the same.
My current goal for the weekend is to try and get the driver side covered in epoxy primer. I still need to build out the inner wheel well but everything else on this side is basically done so I'd like to get all the exposed metal protected.
I spent the evening cleaning up some spot welds, removing a bit of weld splatter around the rear door hinges and a ton of sanding.
I noticed a bit of rust on the bolt holes for the door latch strikers so I gave them a quick blast.
Much better
The rear door hinges were blasted too because I couldn't reach everything with sand paper and my fingers are sore.
The metal work on the bottom of the pillar is a little rougher than I hoped but I plan on using bed liner to give the lower parts of the door jambs some texture to hide everything.
And lastly a bonus pic of when the XJ didn't have a driver side. (I like looking back at the old photos for motivation)
I spent the evening cleaning up some spot welds, removing a bit of weld splatter around the rear door hinges and a ton of sanding.
I noticed a bit of rust on the bolt holes for the door latch strikers so I gave them a quick blast.
Much better
The rear door hinges were blasted too because I couldn't reach everything with sand paper and my fingers are sore.
The metal work on the bottom of the pillar is a little rougher than I hoped but I plan on using bed liner to give the lower parts of the door jambs some texture to hide everything.
And lastly a bonus pic of when the XJ didn't have a driver side. (I like looking back at the old photos for motivation)
Driver side is primed. I did a little taping to cover the front door hinges since they've already been blasted and primed and I don't want to build up too much epoxy on them.
Most of the shine will go away. Primer is only ~1hr old.
Most of the shine will go away. Primer is only ~1hr old.
Not much to report because I've ran out of 80 grit DA discs. I had a fresh order arrive on Friday last week but when I opened the box they were 400 grit and not the 80 grit I needed. Turns out some dummy (me) ordered the wrong stuff lol.
I did sand and prime a few small items.
I'm not gonna put anything back on the XJ unless it's primed from here on out.
The primer on the XJ has settled down nicely too. I sprayed a couple more spots inside the quarter panel last night since I'll be closing it up soon and won't be able to get in there anymore. No pics of that but here's the outside all dried.
I did sand and prime a few small items.
I'm not gonna put anything back on the XJ unless it's primed from here on out.
The primer on the XJ has settled down nicely too. I sprayed a couple more spots inside the quarter panel last night since I'll be closing it up soon and won't be able to get in there anymore. No pics of that but here's the outside all dried.
I don't have a 60s mustang laying around but if you wanna send me one maybe I'll fix it.
In terms of updates not much has changed. My new body panel stand came in this morning and I finally have 80 grit sand paper so I decided to put it to use by priming the interior side of the driver rear door.
I already replaced the bottom of this door so there's no rust to worry about.
Wet primer.
I'll prob give it a few days to cure then flip it over and do the outside.
looking very nice .
fabulous skills you have
fabulous skills you have
larry4406
Well-known member
Are you rattle can spraying the primer or using a small touch up gun?
Nice fab!
Nice fab!
Thanks!
Thanks and I have a couple hvlp guns. Most epoxy is being sprayed with the classic purple HF gun but I do have a flg5 for epoxy too. The flg5 is better but I'm more familiar with the HF gun so I usually default to the HF one since I can tune it without much effort.
Another day another door. The driver rear door was set aside so it can cure for one more day before I spray it's other side.
The main reason why I'm waiting to do it's other side is because I've found when the primer is fresh if it gets in contact with wet primer the wet primer will pull the sprayed primer off the panel. I'm worried that if I were to start on the outside that the freshly sprayed primer on the inside will be resting the body panel stand and any overspray on the stand could damage the finish.
Next up will be the pass rear door. I didn't get any good shots of it before I started sanding so here's an old pic of it back in 22'.
The door itself is about as rust free as you can hope for and hasn't need any patching. I suspect it'll be the only patch free body panel on the XJ (ignoring the front fascia since that's fiberglass) when everything is all said and done.
It does have a little rust on the door hinge mounts but I'll remove them and sand blast them before priming them.
.
The bottom seam is showing some early signs of rust but I'm gonna send it as I think it'll be fine for a long time.
Lots of sanding.
And some blasting on the bottom.
Fresh primer. I feel like this door came out even better than the first one.
Bonus pic of my old reliable HF gun. It's going on about two years of use now and still chugging along. I swapped out the plastic cup for a metal one from TP tools (I think) because the plastic one was a PITA to clean. I'll be bummed when this one eventually dies because HF switched manufacturers and I haven't been impressed with the newer purple guns.
The main reason why I'm waiting to do it's other side is because I've found when the primer is fresh if it gets in contact with wet primer the wet primer will pull the sprayed primer off the panel. I'm worried that if I were to start on the outside that the freshly sprayed primer on the inside will be resting the body panel stand and any overspray on the stand could damage the finish.
Next up will be the pass rear door. I didn't get any good shots of it before I started sanding so here's an old pic of it back in 22'.
The door itself is about as rust free as you can hope for and hasn't need any patching. I suspect it'll be the only patch free body panel on the XJ (ignoring the front fascia since that's fiberglass) when everything is all said and done.
It does have a little rust on the door hinge mounts but I'll remove them and sand blast them before priming them.
.The bottom seam is showing some early signs of rust but I'm gonna send it as I think it'll be fine for a long time.
Lots of sanding.
And some blasting on the bottom.
Fresh primer. I feel like this door came out even better than the first one.
Bonus pic of my old reliable HF gun. It's going on about two years of use now and still chugging along. I swapped out the plastic cup for a metal one from TP tools (I think) because the plastic one was a PITA to clean. I'll be bummed when this one eventually dies because HF switched manufacturers and I haven't been impressed with the newer purple guns.
Happy Thanksgiving all.
The pass rear door came out good. All I had to do on it today was touch up a spot inside the shell because I had blasted some rust out.
The pass rear door was then set aside and I switched focus back to the driver rear so I could prime the exterior.
Sanded. I'm amazed how it only has a few small dents. (not counting my weld seam lol)
Primed. This also means I'm officially done with this door until it's body work time!
The pass rear door came out good. All I had to do on it today was touch up a spot inside the shell because I had blasted some rust out.
The pass rear door was then set aside and I switched focus back to the driver rear so I could prime the exterior.
Sanded. I'm amazed how it only has a few small dents. (not counting my weld seam lol)
Primed. This also means I'm officially done with this door until it's body work time!
I was going to reinstall the driver rear door but realized I never cleaned up any of the door shims so I held off on putting it back on to address them.
Each door gets two shims. The thin ones go up front, thick on the rear. (One is homemade, I think one or two may be original to the Jeep)
Primed. I drilled the holes so I could hang them.
I also finished up the passenger rear door so that's two done, two to go now.
The front doors will be harder since one still needs to be patched.
Each door gets two shims. The thin ones go up front, thick on the rear. (One is homemade, I think one or two may be original to the Jeep)
Primed. I drilled the holes so I could hang them.
I also finished up the passenger rear door so that's two done, two to go now.
The front doors will be harder since one still needs to be patched.
stinkity stoink
Well-known member
You’re moving along at quite a pace now .. looking good !!
Thanks! Progress will slow down for the next week or so due to other obligations but sometimes time away from the project seems to help with motivation.
I'm back. Figured I'd wrap up the passenger front door next.
Sanded.
Primed. Painting is so satisfying.
The front doors have some rust on the inner crash bar. I don't think there's much I can do about that though. The pass door (this one) isn't too bad but the driver door is worse than I'd like.
I'm not super worried about the rust since the bar has foam between it and the outer panel so it's not like it'll be able to eat through the outer door panel but I should do something about it. Maybe I'll sand / wire wheel it as best as I can and brush primer on it.
Sanded.
Primed. Painting is so satisfying.
The front doors have some rust on the inner crash bar. I don't think there's much I can do about that though. The pass door (this one) isn't too bad but the driver door is worse than I'd like.
I'm not super worried about the rust since the bar has foam between it and the outer panel so it's not like it'll be able to eat through the outer door panel but I should do something about it. Maybe I'll sand / wire wheel it as best as I can and brush primer on it.
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Looking good.
As for the surface rust on the door interior, I don't know what you can do that isn't pretty invasive other than maybe apply some rust neutralizer or converter to prolong the effects.
As for the surface rust on the door interior, I don't know what you can do that isn't pretty invasive other than maybe apply some rust neutralizer or converter to prolong the effects.
XJSuperman
Well-known member
A small sandblaster gun or one of those expensive new laser rust removers would make short work of that inner rust. Obviously each has its issues however: cleanup and cost.
I'm impressed with the project and your sheetmetal repair skills!
I know you mentioned that finding a more "rust free" vehicle is hard to find. I have a friend that has a 2wd XJ that the last time I looked at it, the body looked really good. Its been off the road for about 4 years due to health issues. Whats something like this worth? And can it be converted to 4wd? Unfortunately I dont know what year it is.
I know you mentioned that finding a more "rust free" vehicle is hard to find. I have a friend that has a 2wd XJ that the last time I looked at it, the body looked really good. Its been off the road for about 4 years due to health issues. Whats something like this worth? And can it be converted to 4wd? Unfortunately I dont know what year it is.
XJSuperman
Well-known member
Yes 4wd conversions are possible on those. Driveshafts, transfercase, and front axle are big chunks, and I would assume but can't remember off the top of my head if you need a 4wd transmission as well. Good news is that there are lots and lots of parts for XJs out there. Many of which are shared with the Wranglers.
In regards to the rust converter idea I'm a little hesitant because Barry the founder of SPI has heavily advised against using them with SPI epoxy (that's what I'm using). Realistically the inside of the door is probably a safe place to test them but I'm cautious.
I ended up sand blasting it out like XJSuperman suggested. It made a royal mess but I was able to get the rust to a more reasonable state at least.
Whenever I need to do portable blasting I steal the gun out of my cabinet and use a bucket lol. I should probably get a proper portable one soon.
It's hard to get a good angle with the blaster inside the door so I can't get the last bits of rust out but I don't want to drive myself crazy on this door though so this will have to be good enough.
Yeah there was a lot of media stuck in the door. I had to use my vac / air blaster to get it out. This took longer than the blasting.
Some poorly brushed on epoxy. It'll look a lot better dried up.
Tomorrow I'll paint the exterior of this door and it'll be all done.
I ended up sand blasting it out like XJSuperman suggested. It made a royal mess but I was able to get the rust to a more reasonable state at least.
Whenever I need to do portable blasting I steal the gun out of my cabinet and use a bucket lol. I should probably get a proper portable one soon.
It's hard to get a good angle with the blaster inside the door so I can't get the last bits of rust out but I don't want to drive myself crazy on this door though so this will have to be good enough.
Yeah there was a lot of media stuck in the door. I had to use my vac / air blaster to get it out. This took longer than the blasting.
Some poorly brushed on epoxy. It'll look a lot better dried up.
Tomorrow I'll paint the exterior of this door and it'll be all done.
Thanks and price heavily depends on region, year, mileage, motor, etc but a rough guess for something like that around here would be $2500 - 3000. If it's "driveable" I'd wager higher like $3500 - $4000.
I also started looking over the driver door to come up with a plan of attack. This doors definitely rough and it's not the original to my XJ as the original was even worse.
Pretty certain this area will need some patching. I'm already planning on cutting the lower outer panel off to get in there but patching the inner structure will have to be custom since there's nothing available off the shelf.
The inner plates that the door hinge bolts go into will be removed and blasted.
The brace bar is worse on this one.
I think I'll have enough access to clean up the bar once I cut the lower outer panel off. I may need some additional access on the backside though. Lot of work for a dang door.
Pretty certain this area will need some patching. I'm already planning on cutting the lower outer panel off to get in there but patching the inner structure will have to be custom since there's nothing available off the shelf.
The inner plates that the door hinge bolts go into will be removed and blasted.
The brace bar is worse on this one.
I think I'll have enough access to clean up the bar once I cut the lower outer panel off. I may need some additional access on the backside though. Lot of work for a dang door.
Front passenger door is all done. That's 3 doors down, one to go. Hopefully these don't become my kryptonite.
How the outside started off
I forgot to take a pic after sanding so here's the door freshly primed.
It was early in the day when I painted so I tried using my IR lamp to cure the door faster so I could do other stuff.
But by the time the door was dry enough to set aside I had lost motivation to do anything else. Oh well, I'll start the driver door tomorrow!
I noticed there's some small cratering in the epoxy that I sprayed. I'm not super worried since this is far from the last coat of epoxy the door will see but I think it happened because some of the epoxy I used was a day old. I've always had trouble getting older epoxy to spray nicely even though others seem to be able to do it. It just never wants to flow out right for me.
How the outside started off
I forgot to take a pic after sanding so here's the door freshly primed.
It was early in the day when I painted so I tried using my IR lamp to cure the door faster so I could do other stuff.
But by the time the door was dry enough to set aside I had lost motivation to do anything else. Oh well, I'll start the driver door tomorrow!
I noticed there's some small cratering in the epoxy that I sprayed. I'm not super worried since this is far from the last coat of epoxy the door will see but I think it happened because some of the epoxy I used was a day old. I've always had trouble getting older epoxy to spray nicely even though others seem to be able to do it. It just never wants to flow out right for me.
cpttuna
Well-known member
nice job. I have owned 8 XJ's. Yes rust is a problem. I have worked on rust several times. Driver and passenger front floors had big holes. I weld in pieces of stainless. I would suggest using stainless on your build, otherwise there is the possibility of rust down the road. also using stainless hardware where you can.(especially exhaust hangers)
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
While mechanically removing the surface rust will be messy, it may be the best "where you can reach it". My worry would be where panels are sandwiched which is why I suggested a converter because it will create an oxygen free environment which should stop the corrosion from propogating further.
That being said, I would suggest using a chemical called Ospho, which is actually recommended and mentioned specifically in the SPI literature. Not sure why Barry would make a blanket statement advising against when he himself as well as in the literature states the use of Ospho being allowed with his products.
I have personally used Ospho in a couple of situations and had excellent results, but the key is to thoroughly flush and ensure everything is dry before applying SPI's Epoxy Primer.
My bad on that, I forgot about Ospho and minced Barry's words. Whenever I hear rust converter I think of all the cheap brands out there and forget there is good options too.
I haven't used Ospho before but I have used phosphoric acid prior to spraying SPI epoxy and had good results (I think it was the roof of this jeep actually. It was so pitted after blasting it needed more)
I figured out how to get good access to the driver door crash bar lol.
Backing up a bit, I started digging into the door today and cut the bottom of the door off since I have a patch panel that'll I'll be replacing it with.
The inside of the door wasn't as bad as I expected so I'm feeling optimistic.
To prep for sandblasting I used a wire wheel and removed all of the old panel adhesive. With the edge all cleaned up I only see one rust hole so I may not need to do much custom patching on the inner structure so that's a plus.
The back edge looks kinda bad though so we'll see after blasting.
Here's the patch panel I'll be using.
While I was looking over the inside of the door I noticed the crash bar was only held in place via 4 spot welds on each side of the door and it looked kinda easy to temporarily remove. I figured removing the bar would get me the best results for cleaning it up and I'm pretty confident I can weld it back in with ease.
I felt this approach would just make life easier and I wish this was how I did the passenger door now.
Without the crash bar the door looks so empty.
The only spot that worries me is the lower front edge because it's two layers of metal sandwiched together. It doesn't look like there's much rust between the layers (hopefully) and I'm really not interested in splitting them apart.
Backing up a bit, I started digging into the door today and cut the bottom of the door off since I have a patch panel that'll I'll be replacing it with.
The inside of the door wasn't as bad as I expected so I'm feeling optimistic.
To prep for sandblasting I used a wire wheel and removed all of the old panel adhesive. With the edge all cleaned up I only see one rust hole so I may not need to do much custom patching on the inner structure so that's a plus.
The back edge looks kinda bad though so we'll see after blasting.
Here's the patch panel I'll be using.
While I was looking over the inside of the door I noticed the crash bar was only held in place via 4 spot welds on each side of the door and it looked kinda easy to temporarily remove. I figured removing the bar would get me the best results for cleaning it up and I'm pretty confident I can weld it back in with ease.
I felt this approach would just make life easier and I wish this was how I did the passenger door now.
Without the crash bar the door looks so empty.
The only spot that worries me is the lower front edge because it's two layers of metal sandwiched together. It doesn't look like there's much rust between the layers (hopefully) and I'm really not interested in splitting them apart.