Sill in need of attention

[Critical_Mass 10]

Hi all,

 

Well today i discovered the passenger side sill needs some attention. Where the sill meets the front wing has started to rust - the stone chip paint has cracked and falled away at some point and the underneath is exposed.

 

Can anyone tell me what is used on the sills, is it waxoyl or something else and can this they be sorted by stripping back the whole or part of the sill, reapplying the waxoyl like stuff then repainting. Can this be done with out having to repaint the doors or rear or front wings?

[carrots 1]

hi it will be stone guard on the sills and bottom of wings.you might get away with just spraying the stone guard,it depends on how good the colour match is.ive seen people use a fade out thinner and you cant tell after

[Critical_Mass 10]

I have a can of stone chip and have sprayed some over the area, just to give it a little bit of protection until it can be sorted. But the problem with it is, its a aerosol, its a bit thin and its black - the car is bordeaux.

[carrots 1]

you can primer over the top of it then use a top coat and clear.make sure the stoneguard has gone off tho or it will crack.if you want a thicker look stone guard you will need a proper gun and compressor with the screw on the gun stonguard

[VW_OwneR_85 1]

yea aerosol wont match that factory finish to well, i had to do the same on the passenger side, i sanded the whole lot back, used u-pols gravitex with an underseal gun on the whole side so it has the same consistant texture let it cure then scuff and prime then colour n clear.

Edited February 1, 2012 by VW_OwneR_85

[Critical_Mass 10]

scruff, i assume you mean light sanding?

 

Where can i get this U-pols Gravitex from? how far up did you sand? just the swage line where the sill ends?

[carrots 1]

yer just a light rub to give the paint a key,try ebay for the gravitex or some uniparts mite have it in stock still

[Critical_Mass 10]

Cheers Carrots. WIll just need an air gun now :lol:

[carrots 1]

ebay sell um,i did have 1 but i think i left it in my old house with the ex lol

[Critical_Mass 10]

lol cheers dude.

[24V Renshaw 0]

Good info on here

[DANG60 0]

The stuff on the sills and bottom part of the wing is the same as what is used on the floor pan of the car. Underseal? if thats what vw used which i think it is

[VW_OwneR_85 1]

scruff, i assume you mean light sanding?

 

Where can i get this U-pols Gravitex from? how far up did you sand? just the swage line where the sill ends?

 

yea but no, dont sand because you want to keep the rough texture and sand paper will only flatten that and also wont get into the low spots of the texture, use these green scotch pads and just rough/scuff it up for a good key for the colour coat to adhere,

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Starchem-Finishing-Pads-Starbrite-Scotch-Abrasive-mix-9-/300507552944?pt=UK_Body_Shop_Supplies_Paint&hash=item45f7a55cb0

also the first thing you need to do is clean the sills with hot soapy water and remove everything all the oil,tar dirt etc etc otherwise anything thats there will only get pushed and sanded further into the paint and when it comes paint time your get contamination everywhere.yea i only masked up just half way across that body line but my car was getting a full respray so it didnt matter to much to me but you should be able to do it and keep it lookn prety good, are you buying a compressor and paint gear?

 

heres some pics,

i sanded the lot flat because i had to reshape most of the sill i also wanted a consistant texture rather then the haveing the oem texture going into my new texture which would just stand out,

its primed like that becuase i had to sand out surface rust right next to the sill protector ,you dont have to go that far..

Edited February 1, 2012 by VW_OwneR_85
added pics

[Critical_Mass 10]

Thanks for the pics mate, really helped. If it will give me a better finish ill consider getting a compressor and gun.

 

In regards to how much of the sill you sanded back, what about under neath how far did you go. Was it to the lip the scissor jack stands on?

[VW_OwneR_85 1]

yea almost to the lip, but aslong as you go far enough to where you can see it ya know? you dont have to go that far, yea a compressor will be needed, you can try the aerosol cans out on a test peice and see what its like? but to spray that gravitex and get the texture it takes like 50psi, an aerosol cant realy put thick paint out like that,btw its **** easy to spray that gravitex, if you do buy a compressor get one with a high cfm something around 9-10 is good then you can spray stuff if you ever wanted to, this compressor is ideal!! with a 14 cfm! in fact the specs of this compared to mine kills mine!!! and i paid prety much the same price, damn!!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BURISCH-Air-Compressor-3HP-90L-Belt-Drive-Twin-14CFM-Twin-Cylinder-/160721262092?pt=UK_Air_Tools_and_Compressors&hash=item256bbbd60c

[Jim Bowen 1]

had a bit on mine showing through, i started cutting and found it all started on the inside of the sill

 

Has your sill been bent slightly from underneath? usually from jacking in the wrong place.

 

Think thats how it starts, bending the sill has cracked the wax protection inside and its rusted from there outwards,.

 

---------- Post added at 10:31 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:28 AM ----------

 

 

sill was fine from the outside, just a tiny bubble, not trying to worry anyone btw :lol:

 

---------- Post added at 10:32 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:31 AM ----------

 

Cut it open

 

Can see the water/moisture in the sill had started rusting backwards along the join in the sill

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Where the wing meets sill is the main area of spray impact. I sanded mine back to metal, primed (U-pol acid etch), then a decent layer of U-Pol Greystripe, then top coat and laquer.

 

I prefer to use something rubbery to deflect gravel and stones etc. The same stuff used on the floor. Greystripe is exactly that stuff and it brushes on. When it's semi-hardened I used a small round ended tool to 'dimple' the surface to look OE.

[Jim Bowen 1]

I have some U-pol buts its just called etch primer, is there a difference between acid etch and etch primer?

[VW_OwneR_85 1]

I have some U-pol buts its just called etch primer, is there a difference between acid etch and etch primer?

 

im prety sure its the same stuff m8,could be labled different by the manufacturer?, its designed to go on bare metal and digs itself in, from what iv been told on the paint forum idealy what we need is epoxy primer as it blocks out moisture and inhibits corrosion, but i cant find anything but marine stuff , dont know if its suitable for automotive use,

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/INTERNATIONAL-INTERPROTECT-EPOXY-PRIMER-750ml-WHITE-/220925361760?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_BoatEquipment_Accessories_SM&hash=item33702d7e60 think i might get some but in a different colour for underneith , if its good enough for boats then im sure its good for sills and troublesome rust spots, then just cover over with thick underseal paint ?

[Critical_Mass 10]

Where the wing meets sill is the main area of spray impact. I sanded mine back to metal, primed (U-pol acid etch), then a decent layer of U-Pol Greystripe, then top coat and laquer.

 

I prefer to use something rubbery to deflect gravel and stones etc. The same stuff used on the floor. Greystripe is exactly that stuff and it brushes on. When it's semi-hardened I used a small round ended tool to 'dimple' the surface to look OE.

 

And that exactly where mine has started. Just at the crease where the sill ends and the wing starts. Must have got cracked and its slowly peeling the underseal. I like the idea of the brush on stuff, would save me havign to buy a compressor.

[Jim Bowen 1]

when you take the wings off, i notice a 4" long bit of black tubing up at the top of wheel arch, i guess all the water from above runs off into it and then the water just runs down the inner wheel arch and onto the bottom of the wing there.

 

I might extend those pipes right down so the water run off misses the car body completely.

 

does that make sense to anyone?

 

---------- Post added at 02:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:24 PM ----------

 

can just see it in this pic, top left

[Critical_Mass 10]

yep makes sense. Maybe worth doing but in the grand scheme of things will it make that much difference?

 

Is that a sensor going into the hole on the top edge of the wing 3CM?

[VW_OwneR_85 1]

that tubeing is the sun roof drain, if you remove the rear bumper the back drains exit there,theres basicaly a drain pipe in each corner of the sunroof, if you blow up from the bottom it will clear any blockages that you may have,

i think this drains the reason my arch rotted!

thats a damn good idea about extending the pipe!

Edited February 2, 2012 by VW_OwneR_85

[Jim Bowen 1]

Is that a sensor going into the hole on the top edge of the wing 3CM?

 

its the side repeater from the wing, i just poked it the wrong way round in that hole to get it out the way :lol:

[Critical_Mass 10]

ah yeah course it is :lol: i thought it was the external temp sensor at first haha.