Y10 FIRE LX

[Kevinlincs]

The one I'd left alone got a session in the tub tonight, takes a while for it all to come off but as you can simply plug it in and walk away then it's no effort. This piece took a couple of hours to get clean, once out you just scrub it with a wire brush under the tap and the rust falls off.
The one on the right is the one I'd not touched so was covered in scaly rust, now very clean steel.
You must dry the part off and paint straight away though, if left damp bare metal rust will form in hours..
Gets all the details to shine through..

[Kevinlincs]

As David points out, there's loads of instructional videos on youtube and the like.
A very simple process that is very kind to any piece so especially handy on delicates.
One of the first pieces we did was on my lads Hillman Imp ashtray that had rusted badly inside the car. A delicate little piece that wouldn't have survived being blasted and too tight in corners to sand or chip away by hand. This process got it sparkling in about 15 minutes and as we painted it straight away it's been fine since, nothing I've done in this way has had rust return.
There's people that have created a mini swimming pool in their back gardens and put whole chassis in! Took about a week and a big charger but it worked!!

[DavidLaver]

DAZ is a good tip.

[frankxhv773t]

Kevin seems to be doing OK with thick and creamy mayonnaise!

[Kevinlincs]

Bonus is going in the shed tonight it smells of fresh laundry instead of paraffin 

Day off work tomorrow so hope to do a bit more welding

[Kevinlincs]

The sill repairs were started at my last visit, taking back anything that remained rotten looking or even a little suspect is the key to a long term repair. At this point there is no sense in not having a good look at it as I really don't want to be doing it again in a few years so whilst it's apart make sure it's all looked over.
A section aside the rear suspension mount looked one such dubious area, not stand out rusted but from what I could see it needed to be investigated.

[Kevinlincs]

As you can see it was worth the effort, even though it looked OK on the inside the side that was open to the elements was less so..
Once cleaned up it got treated and welded fresh metal in place.

[Kevinlincs]

Once that was welded up I attached a new length of angled steel which will become the datum point for where the sill bottom lip will fit, everything will be built from that. Sections to join it to the floor were welded in.

Today one end of the cross reinforcer bar needed to be repaired so that was first task to make and weld it in. A small piece let into the floor too where another bit of rust was hiding.

Next was to make the repair pieces to weld the new bottom lip to the inner sill, spot welded where I could as it saves time and looks better plus I wanted to try and get the bottom edge tightly spot welded together with the 3 new layers.

[Kevinlincs]

Time finally came for the outer sill to be welded on, again spot welded where I could.
The joint to the rear quarter was butt welded with the mig, same for in the doorway and around the front pillar. There was also a little tag reinforcer bracket that comes down from the rear quarter but was too far in for the spot welder arms to reach so just simply drilled holes and plug welded through.

[Kevinlincs]

Underside will need a little tidying and seam sealing but I'll do all that later when it comes to cleaning all the old sealant off.
Spot welds anyone? My idea of a job well done, sorted once the weld is made and doesn't need grinding and cleaning up.

[Kevinlincs]

Multi layers means multiple spots...

[Kevinlincs]

The question was asked a while back as to what condition the main sill section was in that I'd cut off instead of just repairing the bottom rotten section.
As can be seen it was still like new, so why cut it out?
We'll, it's now got new metal that I know is good all within the sill cavity and the weld joins are out of sight, aside from the rear quarter joint of course. Should all last for many years to come once painted, sealed and protected.

Next visit I'll make a repair for the bottom of the wing and the rear inner arch to cap in for the sill then onto the other side.
These sills are very good, nice fit and well made.

[lancianut666]

great stuff Kevin!!!

[DavidLaver]

Bet you're pleased you didn't do it on the drive but waited to get it indoors on the spit.

[Kevinlincs]

It is so much easier in the long run to do it this way, no scrabbling around on the gravel and being able to rotate the car so it's comfortable to weld when you'd be trying to keep sparks from your ears is very refreshing!