Jim Bowen 1 Posted May 10, 2011 Hi not sure if this is something that has happened with age or something hasn't been installed correctly on my car, but its worth checking imo i noticed a tiny tiny bit of rust where the metal trim piece fits over the lights (under spoiler) so took a screwdriver to it and found lots of specks of paint that hadn't quite rusted but formed a perfect few mm round circle and the painted just came off when i prodded them, so the my tailgate now needs a respray (looked mint before) when i took off the plastic cover from inside the tailgate and looked around the inside of tailgate i found water must of been getting through the seal and has rusted the tailgate from inside out. Its only a bit of surface rust, but the protection in the tailgate is minimal, hardly even painted, almost just a thin coat of primer offering no rust protection at all. came to bare metal with just a light rubbing of sand paper. I haven't took pics, but will get some later if this is confusing Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Supercharged 2 Posted May 10, 2011 Yeah, the other issue is the rust spreads from that panel and also the screws... Well worth getting stainless steel replacement screws, new number plate lights are £12 from VW. NB - the panel used to only be a fiver (bare metal) but is now obselete Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Bowen 1 Posted May 10, 2011 i will put it on my list of things to get when i finally get round to going to VW dealers, will be another expensive trip i think :lol: some pics, hard to photo the rest is plenty shiny Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tony_ack 0 Posted May 10, 2011 Just done this on my replacement tailgate which I still haven't fitted yet! I had a theroy too that the heat from the bulbs makes things worse in there. Depending on handy you are with the rattle cans, and how good colour match you get, you shouldn't have to respray the whole tailgate - I just did the panel under the spoiler, and blended in on the corner. I'm also thinking of some heat-proof paint on the inside, and loads of waxoyl or similar. Do the new number lights from VW come with the foam gasket? ---------- Post added at 01:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:40 PM ---------- Just seen the pics - if the pics of the rust are after you sanded down, you need to make sure that metal is shiny and there's no trace of rust AT ALL before you paint! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Bowen 1 Posted May 10, 2011 they are after a quick 5min scratch around, not done anything properly with it yet i'll probably spray inside tailgate and laquer it aswell once finished. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Supercharged 2 Posted May 10, 2011 Yeah new one comes with gasket - quite a nice little assembly Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michael'durham' 10 Posted May 2, 2013 Yeah new one comes with gasket - quite a nice little assembly Does the gasket you have just cover the clear plastic part,? Mine sitsa good few millimetres off the bodywork. It's also heavily corroded. I seek a good seal that runs around the entire edge from tip to tip. Michael Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
coullstar 0 Posted May 2, 2013 Use some de-ox gel before painting to get the rust from the pitted parts. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
