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 Dasdubber
A.k.a.: Alan Agyik
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| posted on August 10th, 2003 at 08:37 PM |
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How to: beetle door rust repair
This is not really a how to as such because I am not going to tell you how to cut metal and weld, more a pictorial guide on how I fixed my rusty
door!
Here is the outside view of the rust in the lower section of my 63 beetle door. After blasting, it was apparent where the little rust mice have been
nibbling making swiss cheese of this metal. I welded up a little section already which you can see in the lower left of pic.
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Dasdubber
A.k.a.: Alan Agyik
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| posted on August 10th, 2003 at 08:40 PM |
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I cut out the repair section from a repair panel (bought from Harding European). I find that by cutting the repair section first, then laying it over
the door and marking around it, I can then cut the crusty section out to suit the shape. Typically I only need some fine filing and grinding to get
the new section to fit snugly.
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Dasdubber
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| posted on August 10th, 2003 at 08:47 PM |
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Once the repair section has been trimmed carefully (a little at a time) to fit snugly in the hole thats left in the door, I tacked it in place with
the mig and kept checking it hadn't warped out of position with the heat.
I use the blower (from compressed air) to cool the welded area after each little burst to minimise distortion of the surrounding metal.
I only weld around 1-2cm at the most at a time. Make sure to have a rest regularly to let the metal cool properly.
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Dasdubber
A.k.a.: Alan Agyik
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| posted on August 10th, 2003 at 08:48 PM |
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The inside section of the door was equally as crusty....
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Dasdubber
A.k.a.: Alan Agyik
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| posted on August 10th, 2003 at 08:50 PM |
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Same deal, cut repair section first...size it up, panel beat the repair section to make sure the bends line up etc. Mark out on the door then cut that
section out. I used air hacksaw, air powered cut off tool, 9in and 5in angle grinders in this operation (not all necessary I am sure). The 9in grinder
(with cut off wheel) was used to do the major cut because the large blade keeps the cut fairly straight whereas using the hacksaw it always tends to
wander when going around corners.
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Dasdubber
A.k.a.: Alan Agyik
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| posted on August 10th, 2003 at 08:55 PM |
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And finally the repair section is in, rust is gone!! When cleaning up the welds, I knock the tops off with the 5in grinder, then use the air cut off
tool to grind them down further (can control it better)...I also use the blower to cool the area as I grind because the heat builds up quickly.
Finally I use my dual orbital air powered sander with a coarse 60grit disc to really smooth things over - still will need filler but it is a little
neater than a grinder.
If there was rust right along the door I would have replaced the whole section but in this case it was restricted to the area shown and since I
wasn't happy with the sharpness of the bend of the repair panel (and it was too hard to panel beat into shape), I just used the sections I
needed.
Hope this can help someone.
Alan
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Guy_H
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| posted on August 11th, 2003 at 10:22 PM |
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Hey Alan,
You are getting good with the mig! Want to tackle the container van? |
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Dasdubber
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| posted on August 12th, 2003 at 09:55 AM |
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Yep I have had enough practice now Guy! Maybe after I finish Brad's beetle and my double door I can help with the container van :P I would
imagine the mig would get a workout there!
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 Bizarre
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| posted on August 12th, 2003 at 10:15 AM |
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Very impressive work
Are you putting drain holes in the bottom of the new sections?
How do you coat the inside to make sure the bare metal is covered in paint/sealant?
Futue te ipsum!!!
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Dasdubber
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| posted on August 12th, 2003 at 09:34 PM |
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Yep I will replace (redrill) the original drain hole which was there before repair (haven't got to that yet).
Before I welded the inner skin on, I painted the inside of the outer door skin (if you can follow that) with killrust paint brushed on. I will be
painting the inside of both doors and rear quarters etc with POR15 rust prevantative paint. Then follow that with some K&H cavity wax sprayed in
all orifices!
One door to go then the mig can get a rest! :bounce
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blup58
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| posted on August 13th, 2003 at 05:47 PM |
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Not for long though Al......all your practice and experience and mistakes can now be utilised by my project......
Hourly rate ??? Hmmmm can that be paid in beers?? Not while using the mig of course.
brad
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Dasdubber
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| posted on August 13th, 2003 at 09:52 PM |
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Of course payment in beer is fine Brad...not while welding of course 
:beer:beer:beer
there will be a few beers worth of welding on that beast of yours I am sure! Hopefully I can weld on a potential oval perhaps? Fingers crossed.
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Peter Leonard
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| posted on September 14th, 2003 at 11:32 PM |
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more dumbass questions..
do you fabricate the bits?
how much are the repair bits for the doors?
have you ever tried to work with galv. steel sheet?
can you get repair sections for the rear side of window rusty bits?
let sleeping dubs lie
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Dasdubber
A.k.a.: Alan Agyik
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| posted on September 17th, 2003 at 08:27 PM |
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Hi Peter, I bought the replacement bits from Harding European - they needed a bit of manipulating to get them to fit but that is common for most
replacement parts (except if you can find NOS ones).
I think it was around $70 approx for an inner and outer door skin from which I cut sections enough to fix both doors on my bug (better check the price
though).
Haven't worked with galv sheet sorry...and not sure what part exactly is the rear side of window? Is that the section where on the door where the
window winds up? If so most doors aren't rusty there (That I have seen) so you may be able to cut a section from a donor door?
Alan
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Peter Leonard
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| posted on September 18th, 2003 at 11:25 AM |
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thanks, i meant the rear window section. just beside the rear window between the side of the car and the rear of the car... there's a name for
it.. criminy... i think it's the most rusted bit on most VWs.
supers anyway.
let sleeping dubs lie
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Dasdubber
A.k.a.: Alan Agyik
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| posted on September 19th, 2003 at 07:54 AM |
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Ahh, I understand now. May be best to shoot the guys at Micks or Harding an email or call to find out as I'm not too sure!
Cheers
Alan
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Bugged Again
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| posted on September 19th, 2003 at 08:09 AM |
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thanks Alan
Always good to see a work in progress, makes it so much less daunting for us beginners.
Makes me want to get the mig out and practice some more |
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Dasdubber
A.k.a.: Alan Agyik
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| posted on September 20th, 2003 at 07:49 AM |
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I'm far from the world's best welder but I have just learned by trial and error (no welding courses/industry experience)...learning from my
(many) mistakes. I started out practicing on spare gaurds etc, then moved to areas which aren't seen (like under the gaurds, under the rear seat
etc) and are less susceptible to warpage. After I figured out the right settings I moved onto areas like the doors etc that were more visible.
The main thing I worked out was that initially I had the wire feed to high...couldn't figure out why it kept spitting, but had to really crank
the feed down and adjusted the power, and then it was sweet.
Alan
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