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[Omega_Dan]

I have a little blister under the n/s/r arch about the size of a penny. It hasnt cracked the paint and is not visible (yet) but its the only bit of rust on the car and i want to get it sorted in the next month or so. Just wondering what the best course of action would be to take to maintain my paintwork? Im a bit of a novice in this area

[Johnny English]

Not sure it'll be a simple case. The rust is an underhand stuff you can see a small stain but a lot more you have to repair. Like a berg and its peak...

[Webby the Bear]

Dan,

IMHO I would pay a bodywork shop to do it.

You may have seen a little while ago my own attempt at sorting out a rusty wheel arch. I did an ok-ish job of filling and sanding but it still didnt look correct and coupled with the fact that when I resprayed it, it dried and looked awful. And because you have to try and ''feather'' the spray (blend it with the existing paintwork) you would have to cover a bigger area than the affected penny-size rust spot.

Mine has just come out the body shop. It cost £200 + VAT. However, for this the guy reshaped the wing and wheel arch where I'd filled it. He then reshaped the bumper where I'd caught it with the sander  and then resprayed the bumper and the wheel arch.

A beautiful job he's done! I will post pics if you're interested.

Anyway, my point is that if you get it wrong it could escalate in to a world of problems.

Shop around in your area and get the best quote from the guys that give you confidence with what they say.

HTH 

[Webby the Bear]

Ps, I have before and after pics if you're interested. 

[jtypecav]

Agree with Webby - I got a mate who owns a bodyshop to blow in the arches two years ago with a bit of filler as he owed me a favour. He said they would last a year and I got a couple out of them. You are looking at £150 a side if you need both doing at the lower end and still get a good job. I was loath to spend as mine is Gold! ..which is harder to blend! They now need doing properly. Does seem that the later facelifts last last a lot better on the rear arches!

[Webby the Bear]

Agree mate.

Also as Dan, like me, has mentioned he's a novice means that he prob won't have the right tools which means prob using the Halfords spray.....  which is shite! And you can't get an even spray

[albitz]

Imo if it on the underside of the arch you can sort it easily yourself.After last winter the paint on the underside lip of both my rear arches had flaked and blistered. I cleaned of the loose paint etc. treated with rust neutraliser (Bilthamber is best although expensive), then carefully masked the area and sprayed the underside lip part with gravigaurd.Its the type of slightly crinkled finish you sometimes see on sills etc. to protect paint from chipping.Then sprayed original colour and lacquer on top of that. Peel the edge of masking tape back slightly to prevent an obvious step from forming.Taking your time and being patient is the key to a good finish.
I was well pleased with the finished job on mine and I dont expect any further problems as the gravigaurd will stop chipping/ flaking of paint which is where the rust would probably start.

Having said all that,if it extends out onto the visible area on the sides of the lip/ rear quarter it will be best to get a pro job done.Particularily as yours is a very nice example.But I would still remove the paint from the blister and treat with rust neutraliser straight away to stop it from spreading.

[Omega_Dan]

Agree mate.

Also as Dan, like me, has mentioned he's a novice means that he prob won't have the right tools which means prob using the Halfords spray.....  which is shite! And you can't get an even spray

Yeah i remember your thread mate and i know it was harder to get the results than you thought. I still have contact in the motortrade so i may give them a call. It probably wont show for a good 6 months i reckon but i just want to get it done.

[Omega_Dan]

Imo if it on the underside of the arch you can sort it easily yourself.After last winter the paint on the underside lip of both my rear arches had flaked and blistered. I cleaned of the loose paint etc. treated with rust neutraliser (Bilthamber is best although expensive), then carefully masked the area and sprayed the underside lip part with gravigaurd.Its the type of slightly crinkled finish you sometimes see on sills etc. to protect paint from chipping.Then sprayed original colour and lacquer on top of that. Peel the edge of masking tape back slightly to prevent an obvious step from forming.Taking your time and being patient is the key to a good finish.
I was well pleased with the finished job on mine and I dont expect any further problems as the gravigaurd will stop chipping/ flaking of paint which is where the rust would probably start.

It hasnt blistered the paint though albert. Would i stil be able to use the rust treatment as it isnt visible?. It is on the underside

[Webby the Bear]

Agree mate.

Also as Dan, like me, has mentioned he's a novice means that he prob won't have the right tools which means prob using the Halfords spray.....  which is shite! And you can't get an even spray

Yeah i remember your thread mate and i know it was harder to get the results than you thought. I still have contact in the motortrade so i may give them a call. It probably wont show for a good 6 months i reckon but i just want to get it done.

I'm the same mate. it was the only thing letting my car down! Other than that it's mint! I'm sure there are folk that wouldn't bother bearing in mind the age of our cars but if, like me, you want it mint then take it to the shop. And if you got contacts then happy days!!

Good luck Bud 

[Omega_Dan]

Agree mate.

Also as Dan, like me, has mentioned he's a novice means that he prob won't have the right tools which means prob using the Halfords spray.....  which is shite! And you can't get an even spray

Yeah i remember your thread mate and i know it was harder to get the results than you thought. I still have contact in the motortrade so i may give them a call. It probably wont show for a good 6 months i reckon but i just want to get it done.

I'm the same mate. it was the only thing letting my car down! Other than that it's mint! I'm sure there are folk that wouldn't bother bearing in mind the age of our cars but if, like me, you want it mint then take it to the shop. And if you got contacts then happy days!!

Good luck Bud 

Thats exactly it. The ammount of effort i have put in to the thing i think i will get it done properly.  all i have done to the blister is clean the area on and inside the arch and put some waxoyl on it. Just so my mind doesnt worry about it too much.

[Webby the Bear]

If you were to look at the car can you see the spot?

[Omega_Dan]

If you were to look at the car can you see the spot?

Not at all. only spotted it when i fitted the MV6 wheels a few weeks ago.

[geoffr70]

I had some blistering on the underside of my elites rear arches. It was a good 5mm away from the side so I did it myself.

I took the paint off and sanded the rust back to bare metal. I used kurust to treat it then a few coats of black hammerite, then underseal. Luckily for me it was only the underside, and the car is nocturno blue so the black isn't much of a contrast.

Not as good as a body shop but alot less money, and will save the arches for a long time yet. I always blast the inside of the arches when I wash the car as crud collects there, stays damp and promotes rust.

My mv6 had been professionally done before I got it, and is like brand new.

[Omega_Dan]

I had some blistering on the underside of my elites rear arches. It was a good 5mm away from the side so I did it myself.

I took the paint off and sanded the rust back to bare metal. I used kurust to treat it then a few coats of black hammerite, then underseal. Luckily for me it was only the underside, and the car is nocturno blue so the black isn't much of a contrast.

Not as good as a body shop but alot less money, and will save the arches for a long time yet. I always blast the inside of the arches when I wash the car as crud collects there, stays damp and promotes rust.

My mv6 had been professionally done before I got it, and is like brand new.

Id say it was about 5mm from the side too. That sounds like a very cost effective way of prolonging the life of the original paint.