Quarter Panel Cracking

[smithy 1]

sure it has been asked before but search not working still so unable to check.

 

basically both the quarter panels are cracking in the grooves top and bottom like most 205's,i am going to be prepping it for painting soon and was wondering if there is a way to deal with the cracks to stop them coming back?

[monkee87 2]

It's the paint that cracks from stress of the body flexing. Not much can be done about it... Unless you have a cage in your car?

Best thing would be to scrape out the old seam sealer and put some new stuff in, then re paint it. Should be much better after that's done.

[SurGie 54]

Iv not done this myself but maybe you could put some weld inside these crevices, then file down smooth etc.

[smithy 1]

Cheers for replies I am going to dig the old out and see how difficult it would be to weld and grind flat and then decide what to do.

[Pugleyrich 37 1 Cars]

Take some pictures as you do it as I would be interested to see progress on fixing this

[SurGie 54]

Cheers for replies I am going to dig the old out and see how difficult it would be to weld and grind flat and then decide what to do.

 

 

If you do decide to weld it, remember that the roof is very thin and it could warp the surrounding steel. So putting in some weld on a low setting i think would be the best way.

 

Be good to see your progress on this work

[cRaig 273 1 Cars]

Maybe a stupid question, but isnt the join filled with something flexible for a reason? Would welding it up have any disadvantages?

[matt.f 16]

I personally wouldn't go welding the whole lot.It's not that the panel has come away it's just the sealer cracked in most cases.

Panel bond from your local Bodyshop might be a good idea,you can bond roofs on with this and goes off solid.

[SurGie 54]

If you decide to try the above way then using etch primer will make the bond to the steel much stronger and more corrosion resistant.

[smithy 1]

thinking about it some more welding might not be the best route,pug must have used flexible sealent to allow some flex. If i welded i wonder if it might just cause something else to take the stress and crack?

 

think i will dig out clean up and etch prime then reseal with panel bond prior to painting,will take some piccies as and when i get round to doing it.

[Leet205 48]

When/if i get round to doing mine i will be using something like sikaflex.

[backroadpug 12]

I defo wouldnt go down the welding route. One of my mates was getting a full spray so he welded them up looked good for about 5 months then started to look worse than ever cracking under and above the weld. Looked awful so back to the body shop sorted and sprayed again but was never the same. So I would stick with some flexible sealant.

[Teggers 1]

Sorry to bump this one up but surely better than starting a new thread!

 

I have this problem at the roof level and wondered if anyone had done a guide to the repair? And how said repair is now holding up?

 

If no one has, I will try to do one when I eventually get round to doing mine. Any tips of best tools to use? I was thinking of sanding the surrounding area down (I have a few rust specks coming through), using a dremel to grind out the groove and fill with some kind of filler. Sikaflex was suggested earlier in this thread - I was considering P40 fibreglass filler. Not to fill and remove the groove but to pack in and re-form it. If a PU-adhesive is better and the proper way, could someone confirm?

 

I'm sure some people on here have done this job and I'd be interested to see/hear how they did it and how its now standing the test of time.

[Simes 248 2 Cars]

Leave it, they all do it, some more than others.

It's just paint / sealer.

It won't rust.

[Teggers 1]

Thats just it - mine has speckles of rust appearing around them. It looks hateful against the nice white paint. If I'm going to repair it, I want to do it properly.

[SurGie 54]

Without seeing the pics, you would need to clean all the rust away completely, always the best way of preventing it coming back. Then use the P40 on top of some etch primer on the clean steel.You might need to get rid of the rust under the roof lining too.

[Anthony 1,002]

It won't rust.

I think I'd qualify that with "it usually doesn't rust".

 

I have seen a few 205's with really nasty rust above the rear quarter windows, I assume that's started from moisture getting in through the crack in the seam sealer. It is rare compared to the number of cars with the cracked sealant (ie almost all of them) but it is a problem - some just have unsightly bubbling under the paint, whereas some have rusted through and left a hole big enough to poke your finger through

[Teggers 1]

Its just a few specks starting around the area. I was going to rub it down to bare metal, sealant/p40, zinc primer and paint.

 

Not sure whats caused the rust specks - I have a few patches on the car with them - they appear to be outside only - maybe a few iron filings were on the car and were not cleaned off. Its that kind of effect.

 

I'll see if I can get some pics later.

[Strictly_Derv 34]

Mines got cracks so I went and bought a Halfords alpine white touch up kit at it worked a treat (till it cracks again lol) spot on colour match too not bad for a 20 year old car

[Teggers 1]

O-K. Long awaited (maybe!) pics. Fairly close up but you all know where this is!!

 

Passenger side:

 

Driver side:

 

Basically, I know these cars tend to crack the sealant a bit here - but its the rust thats bothering me. If it wasn't white, it wouldn't be so bad (add to that the passenger side has a patch of paint the wrong colour )

 

I have wet'n'dry, PU adhesive (not Sikaflex, but same stuff), zinc primer, paint, P38, P40 and all the tools I'll need. Best suggestions?

Edited September 22, 2011 by Teggers

[stu8v 68 1 Cars]

I dragged mine out fully with a wood chisel back to metal.

 

Then treated it with rust killer.

 

I then filled it with PU panel sealer.

 

Mine has been fully painted though.

[SurGie 54]

Just make sure once all the rust has gone completely, make sure its had a good clean with panel wipe and avoid rust converters. Getting rid of the rust completely is the only way of making sure it wont come back, rust converters are not worth the time or money.

 

Once the area is clean, i would zinc prime the clean steel then use the P40 fibreglass filler on top of the primer. Then once its all been sanded down and flat, prime it with the zinc primer, sand back with 600 grain sandpaper, wipe over with panel wipe then paint. Depending on how far the the new paint goes onto the old, make sure its taped up and old paint sanded down so that has a key to stick to.

 

I used rust converters and found after 2 years it made the underlying rust worse than it was before i applied it. Iv read/heard that rust converters have to be done very very well and all that takes more time than getting rid of all the rust with a grinder brush in the first place.

 

It does look quite bad tbh, not seen one as bad as that for a long time.

[Teggers 1]

Ok, done them! Came out ok. Although TBH, I rushed the job and didn't do it as well I I think I could. Rust spots have gone though and the car looks so much cleaner and tidier for it.

 

Sorry: forgot to take pics of the process. Basically, sanded paint off, chiseled and dremel'd out the old sealant back to metal. Masked everything up with a nice big area around to allow for paint blending (turns out the new white is slightly brighter than the old. But 22yo paint isn't going to be fresh anymore!!) squirted polyurethane adhesive/sealant into the groove, zinc primed the metal surrounding (tip: wait for the sealant to ry first!!) and re-painted.

 

From this:

 

to this (ignore water drips - washed onn the polishing compound spray):

 

I'm happy with that. For now. Till the OCD kicks in and I have to re-spray thw whole car...

Edited October 1, 2011 by Teggers

[SurGie 54]

Good job