I've bought a 1302 project that is proving to be a bigger job than anticipated. The previous owner stripped the car and sanded a number of body panels but never did anything else so the car has sat and rusted. What I thought was surface rust has proven to be a bit worse and I am having trouble getting the scale off the panels. I've used a wire wheel and 80 grit flap wheel and they are the only things I can shift the scale with but it is heating up the panels and and warping them. The inside of the roof is similarly rusted but not as bad as the outside. I'm trying to avoid the unexpected cost of sandblasting as the car is just to be a quick build and run around, not a show car or restoration.

I'm looking for some advice on whether I should cut my losses and find another base project car or persevere and keep at it. The heater channels seem okay, some patching is requiredin the wheel wells, pillars and surrounds seem sound. Floor is rotten but I knew that and was expecting to replace that part. Any advice or tips appreciated.

The latest roof work

This is the latest roof work - 6 hours just for this small part.

If you do keep it just be aware when buying parts that's not a 1302 Superbug, they are very different, it's a 1300 Beetle.

Learning something new already I thought it was a 1302 standard beetle.

1302 were the first Gen Superbugs which had the coil over strut front end and IRS backend.

Yours is the regular Beetle with torsion bar front and swing axle rear.

Not cheap, but an easy way out would be to get it sandblasted. All depends on how much you want to spend and how much time you have to spend.

Good luck and don't give up

Kev

I agree with Kev that yes sandblasting would save a lot of time.

However I've only done it once on a project and probably never would again as the person I used was suppose to be a car body specialist but the panels still came back warped.

My thought is that sandblasting in the seams such as gutters, along the heater channels. Any strong point would be ok. But large expanse of sheet metal such as roof, doors, bonnet,.. etc,.. do what you have been doing.

The quarter panel you've done looks good.

If your heater channels are good keep at it.

My2cents.

I cant recall what they are called but you buy a disc for angle grinders that is blue. I think they call it coral

Thanks guys, I've bought one of the squidgy stripping wheels so see how that one goes on the weekend.
I'm located in Shailer Park, BNE Southside.

Sorry to go against the flow but I would not waste my time and money on it.
Its rusted on the inside, even if you sand blasted it you would never get to the rust inside the seams or edges!
It would be a lot cheaper to just buy another shell.
Rust on the outside is repairable but its the hidden rust on the inside that you will never get rid of.

Yes, same one.

3M wheel worked a treat. I'm knocking the scale off with the strip wheel, wire brush over the bare metal, prepsol, de-oxidiser, take residue off with damp cloth, prepsol, epoxy primer.

The work I did before seems to have some rust coming from the pitting through the primer so will have to do the rear driver's quarter again and why I went for the convoluted process above to see if that will stop it happening again.

Very good. Keep ploughing through mate!

If you have deeper rust pits that will not clean out, you can go through another process before De-Oxidine.
There is a product available (From Bunnings even) called RanEx. It is a higher concentrate acid. You get a squirty spray bottle of the stuff undiluted. Spray the panels. Then put plastic tight stuck against over it for 12 hours. Then plastic off, Scotch wheel to remove the surface black residue, De-Oxidine, then go from there

Thanks for the tip, I'll see how this one goes and if I get any more rust emerging through the primer after a week or 2.

Disheartened to see the rust pitting is really coming back on the panel I did first. I'm admitting defeat and going to get it sandblasted.

Can anyone recommend a good, reasonably priced sandblaster in Brisbane?

Mate they will blast the shit out of it to dig out the rust and warp it for sure. Plus that metal is getting thinner and thinner.
The $600 you'll spend on blasting will buy another body. basically any flatscreen body will do for you.

True. Check this out: http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/imbil/auto-body-parts/volkswagen-72-beetle-bod...
Might need a bit of work, but might be a better starting point if that is the way you want to go?

Yes, all good points but for me I'm going to stick with this body rather than take a chance on another one only to have similar issues - better the devil you know approach. I'm de-scaling the rest of the roof anyway (but not wire wheeling and conditioning the steel) to limit the potential for blasting to warp the roof. One more days effort should see the majority of it gone. The pitting started to come back on the first panel I used the deoxidiser on, maybe I did not use enough????? Big thing for me is to not have the rust come back after the work goes into the car, recognising it's age and this is not an uber resto I expect some will come back at some stage, just not while I've primed it

The original aim was to go for a flat black look, all the chrome back on it, and put the money into the engine. For the time I'm burning in it just to get the surface rust off I thought the media blasting and priming would be a better way to get back some time and I could then cut out the real rust that needs to be repaired. I'll start another thread to detail the work on the car as I've now cut out the floor pans as well.

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