Does damage to bodywork cause rusting?

Richard53

Halfords touch-up paints are a good match. I have used them many times. You need to take care with the application (they seem to run very easily) but on a small dent/scratch they are almost invisible if done well.

davidwood681

Depends on the metal. Some vehicles are galvanised so won't rust on the panels even when the metal is exposed.

droopsnoot

I've always been told that primer isn't generally waterproof*, so I'd paint them if I were you.


(* obviously there are many different kinds of primer and some may well be waterproof, perhaps epoxy is, but I'd err on the side of caution).

Ergates

DocQuincy wrote: »

Is the stuff you get from Halfords and do yourself any different to if you went to a body shop? I am not talking about restoring the shape here but purely the paint on top.

I'd say the main things have affect the quality of the result are: 1) how well the colours match and 2) how steady your hands are.

I have terrible hand-eye coordination so I've never managed to get the best looking results - but it still protects even if it's a bit wobbly.

If you're not bothered cosmetically, then just go with what is cheapest.

ginashamz

The lower front wings and sills of my car is suffering from some pretty severe rust. I don't want to even imagine what the underside looks like and I do know the rear boot floor (rear sub frame) will need welding to pass its next MOT.
The stones and chips must have hit through the lacquer of the wings and sills causing minute cracks for moisture to penetrate through. Overtime the trapped moisture would have rusted from inside out. For now I have applied Hammerite Kurust over the exterior surface as a temporary measure but I have no idea what I can do going forward as its a very expensive job to properly fix.

Mercdriver

ginashamz wrote: »

The lower front wings and sills of my car is suffering from some pretty severe rust. I don't want to even imagine what the underside looks like and I do know the rear boot floor (rear sub frame) will need welding to pass its next MOT.
The stones and chips must have hit through the lacquer of the wings and sills causing minute cracks for moisture to penetrate through. Overtime the trapped moisture would have rusted from inside out. For now I have applied Hammerite Kurust over the exterior surface as a temporary measure but I have no idea what I can do going forward as its a very expensive job to properly fix.

It's a dark kind of matter what this has to do with this thread, DM.

DocQuincy

neilmcl wrote: »

What colour is it?

The Halfords stuff is OK, probably better to get the touch-up paint directly from a main dealer though. Having said that, I've had very good results using the Chipex repair kits and it's a lot easier and quicker to use.

It's black.

Thanks for the link. As someone who knows very little about cars I find the fact you enter your car reg and it has a colour match promise reassuring.

The kit looks like it's more involved that simply putting a bit of paint on. If you don't mind me asking, is it hard and/or time-consuming?

EDIT: I just watched their vid and it looks easy enough!

DocQuincy

Richard53 wrote: »

Halfords touch-up paints are a good match. I have used them many times. You need to take care with the application (they seem to run very easily) but on a small dent/scratch they are almost invisible if done well.

I was expecting everyone to say that it won't rust but the general consensus seems to be to do something about it so I think I'll give it a go.

neilmcl

DocQuincy wrote: »

It's black.

Thanks for the link. As someone who knows very little about cars I find the fact you enter your car reg and it has a colour match promise reassuring.

The kit looks like it's more involved that simply putting a bit of paint on. If you don't mind me asking, is it hard and/or time-consuming?

EDIT: I just watched their vid and it looks easy enough!

It's not involved or time consuming in comparison to using standard touch-up paint. In fact for the novice it's ideal and actually does provide decent results.

DocQuincy

neilmcl wrote: »

It's not involved or time consuming in comparison to using standard touch-up paint. In fact for the novice it's ideal and actually does provide decent results.

I have some coming tomorrow so will give it a go and let you know. If it's half as good as it looks on the video it'll be worth it.

Thanks again.