Hi, we'll this has appeared over winter, it's below the step How do I treat it? Never done any bodywork in my life though Thanks in advance
Its rust coming through I'm afraid, popping the filler previously applied. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. In the short term squirt some WD 40 into the crack, that will slow the progression of the rust, but in the longer term it will need cutting out and replacement metal being welded in. Tony
Looks like its water / damp that's got under some old filler work, the way it has cracked, so a good rub down and re-filler and paint, but you may find that it's all gone rusty underneath, then it'll be a case of cutting out the rusty stuff, welding in a nice fresh piece of metal, filler then paint...... Hope this helps
My brother just had a small scuff repaired on his car for £170 and this was mates rates. I had trouble getting any of my local bodywork shops to quote for a small repair, they were all about involving insurance companies! Eventually found a small private guy who charged £300 to fill and paint a scraped wing. I would have a go at that yourself, you can't make it any worse for trying.
Make a temp repair? See what the damage is, then knock the rusty bits and say 5-10mm around them in slightly (a few mm's) with a hammer so you get a thicker layer of filler over the rust. paint and jobs a good'un. Even that will cost you filler, sandpaper, primer and a mix-up top-coat. Nobody will want to do it for you like that because that would be a bodge. Prices will be high because even though it's just a small area, the same processes have to be gone through.
The most infuriating buses to own look really great from even quite close up, but have a bit like that on every panel. That means lots of repairs and a full paint job, even though the bus looks pretty good.
I have a rattle can in the same colour , but I've never used it either An idea in primer would be great please HorTs
But without doing that, you won't know the best way of approaching it? Whoever mends it, you or a bodyshop, a look will have to be had as the first step. You're going to find filler so go easy and don't extend damage to the paint too far from the repair. Then post a picture of what you find.
Bubbles like that are like icebergs what you see on the surface is only a small part of it As the others have said strip it back and you can see what your dealing with Or Fill the step with an aerosol of cavity wax and stick a sticker over the rot
If you have a wire bush wheel on a drill that's good. aim it so if it grabs it won't skuttle it's way over nicely painted bits. keep the area small - you can make it bigger as you go, but you can't make it smaller again. hold the drill so that when the wire wheel contacts the paint it pulls rather than pushes.
If you want a bodge that will last longer, cut the rust out with an angle grinder, then use fibreglass in the hole before finishing with filler. The fibreglass is impervious to water, filler is porous, so the fibreglass seals the repair. If you do it properly, it'll outlast badly preped and finished welding.
