TOYOTA  CELICA    S U N C H A S E R
 

SUNCHASER |  MINE

|  PHOTOS OF MY SUNCHASER  |  WHEEL WELL REPAIR  |

Do you have rust holes in your wheel wells?

Would you like to prevent water from coming in through said holes and filling your cockpit and spare tire pit with water after it rains?

Well, I thought some people might like to see how I did it:

1) There was the standard black rubberized undercoating that comes off easily with automotive paint stripper, and under this was a white / yellow undercoating that was very tough, yet pliable and required considerable effort to remove with a flat-tip screwdriver using a scraping motion.

2) After the undercoating was removed, I scraped, dug, and pried as much loose rust as possible off. I then used a stiff wire brush to remove any loose rust I had missed. I did this to both the inside and outside of the holes. When I was done, it looked like this:

3) I then used Mar-Hyde One-Step (just like EXTEND), a water-based rust stabilizer/sealer, to prevent any residual rust from causing future problems. I used 4 thin coats, about 3 minutes between coats (as it recommends) and then allowed it to dry overnight. It looked like this:

4) To patch the holes, I placed aluminum foil on the other side (inside car) of the wheel well to prevent too much filler going inside. I then used Bond-O polyester filler to fill in the holes. There was a lot to patch, so it took 4 batches of filler to finish. It was quite hot outside, and the filler was hardening unusually fast. After patching it looked like this:

5) At this point you should paint the area with a good enamel paint (NOT a water-based paint.) A can of Dupli-Color automotive paint could be used, or even a standard enamel like Rustoleum. Once again, use 2 - 3 coats. This will seal the rust inhibitor and bondo from water IN CASE water gets by the next step...

6) The final steps are to apply Paintable Rubber Undercoat (not yer standard "rubberized" undercoat). I STRONGLY suggest using Blue Magic rubber coating; it's a marine / automotive wheel well / house gutter flexible paintable sealant that, though ~$8 / bottle, is vastly superior to other standard paintable rubber undercoatings I've seen. I mean, it really SEALS and feels like a coat of solid rubber. Spray it over the entire area and give it a ~3 - 4 coats. In order to camouflage the repair area, give it 2 coats of your standard Rubberized Automotive Undercoat.

Until next time rust-fighters...may the stable form of iron be with you...