front end rust.. allot of it.. what can i do...

hey.. i've recently bought a pretty nice looking kombi (from the outside anyways).. but after having to replace a front windsrcreen found some pretty heavy rust around the window seal and frame... any ideas on what can be done there....
..thanks for the help.. awesome forum...

Find a Good ( opps theres no such thing ) Panel beater

Check the rest of the body with a magnet to see if there are other disguised rust patches.

if u want to be stingy (like me) or cant find a good dona, because the area (as long as it isnt tooo big) doesnt take much weight or force you can use an aluminium mesh to create the shape (after rust treating the metal) and fibreglass reinforced filler. the mesh is pretty goo and strong, but combined with the fibreglass filler is EASILY as strong as your original panel and wont rust. I'l post some piccies in readers rides when Im done.

Find a Good ( opps theres no such thing ) Panel beater

Well I suppose that is true these days. We CANNOT get apprentices even.
Unfortunately too many people are too lazy.
There are people who will repair, fabricate, metal finish, lead load, customise anything.
I am a firm believer "Anything is possible"
Fact is the number of hours X hourly rate is just too expensive for most people.
It is about $50 p/h to run a legit, legal, enviromentally certified, insured, 9% super etc. Panel shop. With ins companies only allowing $23 p/h, it doesn't take long to understand why corners appear to be cut!!

The only option people have is to spend copious amounts of hours themselves to be able to afford it.

For example if a panel beater wants $800 to put some pans in your car, buy a MIG for $800 and do it yourself with a welder to boot.

great advise. :bounce:bounce:bounce

Helbus

Yeah most shop only want to do R & R they dont want to know about fabrication or RUST repairs which unfortunatly is what most of our VWs have now days.

I did find a shop that will do what i ask but as you say its $50 per hour, but i didn tmind paying it cause i knew what i was getting would be good.

Helbus wrote:

Find a Good ( opps theres no such thing ) Panel beater

Well I suppose that is true these days. We CANNOT get apprentices even.
Unfortunately too many people are too lazy.

i dont think people are lazy but i do think that trades people dont
get paid enough, my mate just left a panel beating shop after 5 and half years did his apprentaceship and at the end of it all a guy who had no qualification doing less than him just on the tools helping out was on more than him, i carnt blame him for leaving what a rippp. why waste 4 years of your life that way, he also ended up with a nice case of repetive sprane in his wrist for it.

I am a apprentice pannel beater and i can understand why there is a shortage of apprentices, they pay is crap. I have friends who have left school and are just working in supermarkets and they make triple what i do a week.
"Find a Good ( opps theres no such thing ) Panel beater" thats not true, about a month ago we had a mid 70s bug in our shop that was full of rust, we told the owner that we would need to cut it all out and weld in new metal but when the owner realised how much this was goin to cost them they just got it boged up. To me the only thing that makes a bad pannel beater is the car owners not wanting to pay for good repairs🙁

My father and i need to make repairs to our 76 passat. Your aluminium mesh and fiberglass idea seems like a good one.
What kind of aluminium mesh did you use? and where did you get it from?
Is it the same mesh the ricer boys use to mesh the air ducts in their front bumpers?
thanks.

I would only replace cancerous metal with new metal. Its not that hard if you have the right tools and a bit of help. As hellbus said get yourself a mig, some wiss aviation snips, a 4" grinder, drill, a planishing hammer and dolly kit and a couple of cold chisel's and a sheet of zinc plate. make cardboard templates of the sections you have to replace and practice making them up practice welding on some scrap untill you get it right and then weld them in, just dont weld too long runs this will cause distortion, its all in the book I mention at the end of this post.
I have a 66 Beetle that I was going to throw on the tip, I only bought it for parts, one of my friends that has done restos before talked me into repairing it. Boy am I glad he did, I am learning heaps about repairs.
I have a great book that shows you how to do major work to your Beetle or Kombi, its worth it's weight in gold, once you see the extent of the repairs that these guys do our worst stuff seems like childs play.
Buy it. VW restoration Manual. How to restore your Beetle and Transporter. BY Lindsay Porter, it covers everything you need to know, even how to make a new fabric top for a Karmen convertable!
Rob....

K-mart, in the auto section, also in some other auto shops in the repairs and paint sections.