Why don't bodyshops use rust inhibitor?

[PeterE320Cdi]

Why don't bodyshops use rust inhibitors?

Well I took my car in to the bodyshop yesterday for the rust repairs detailed in this thread.

http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=26669&page=3

Got a phone call today saying that once they started stripping the car it looks a lot worse then they thought and have sent photos to Mercedes asking for permission to fit new wings and boot!

In a bit of a panic as to the state of my car I drove to the bodyshop tonight to take a look and to my relief the inner wings looks fine and are showing no signs of rust :bannana: , it seems to only be affecting the outer panels.

I did notice rust around the rear bumper mount, asking if this would be treated before refitting the bumper I was told "NO", this was then amended to "we could cover it in underseal".

Why is it that bodyships do not generally use rust inhibitors like rustbullet or Kurust?

I have a 33 year old triumph spitfire which has resisted rust well for my 13 years of ownership by the application of kurust and Hammerite to all effect parts shortly after purchase.

 

[GazCaff]

I know a guy who is a panel beater by trade and he thinks that rust inhibitors/killers are practically useless.

It's a pity that health and safety did away with RED LED imo.

 

[kensalriser]

Can someone explain why cars aren't made from stainless steel? Because I can't think of any reason except the car makers would kill their future market.

 

[Kamisuma]

Can someone explain why cars aren't made from stainless steel? Because I can't think of any reason except the car makers would kill their future market.

It is much more difficult to weld stainless steel than mild steel, but could possibly be done on a new production line.
It is much more expensive than mild steel, and you would ultimately see a significant increase in prices, but in saying that, cars wouldn't be rustbuckets.

The deLorien was made with stainless, and expensive compared to its contemporaries.

 

[Shude]

It is much more difficult to weld stainless steel than mild steel, but could possibly be done on a new production line.
It is much more expensive than mild steel, and you would ultimately see a significant increase in prices, but in saying that, cars wouldn't be rustbuckets.

The deLorien was made with stainless, and expensive compared to its contemporaries.

Stainless is also more brittle. Anyone see any curves on the Delorean? Nope!

 

[glojo]

Fibreglass?? The simplest answer would surely be better preparation, design, quality control. Mercedes-Benz have clearly made terrible mistakes which they are now paying for.

John

 

[Alps]

when i had my arches treated for rust, they hammerited the inside of the arches before spraying.

 

[jaymanek]

yep i think all in the trade think its useless. the only person in the trade that has recommended it is the mechanic off wheeler dealers!!

Its expensive too if you want to treat large areas... and lets face it, the bodyshop dont really care...

 

[Shude]

Fibreglass?? The simplest answer would surely be better preparation, design, quality control. Mercedes-Benz have clearly made terrible mistakes which they are now paying for.

Fibreglass? No-one wants to hear that!

What you want is "composite" panels . We were promised that in the future cars would be made out of composite materials that would make them lighter and stronger etc. This never happened. It is possible to produce very high quality composite parts, especially at production-car volumes, indeed the CL has plastic front wings etc and most cars have plastic mouldings, trim, bumpers, sideskirts etc. Why not the rest?

 

[stats007]

A plastic chassis? would be interesting! Have you seen anyone try to repair carbon fibre? The cost of repairing an Elise is horrendous because of these sort of designs.

You could always just galvanise the car and paint it properly - but maybe that's too easy .

 

[big x]

yep i think all in the trade think its useless. the only person in the trade that has recommended it is the mechanic off wheeler dealers!!

Its expensive too if you want to treat large areas... and lets face it, the bodyshop dont really care...

I saw that program..Ed china used kurust under some filler on a rusty Mazda MX5 windscreen frame.
Ouch
Kurust does work well in converting rust into a hard black surface ,however it
only lasts a couple of years at best. OK for someone with dark coloured paintwork as you can can just keep applying it and it doesn't show but a real bodge job for a bodyshop to use.

adam

 

[PJH]

Can someone explain why cars aren't made from stainless steel? Because I can't think of any reason except the car makers would kill their future market.

Stainless Steel cars are ........ DeLoreans

 

[glojo]

Stainless Steel cars are ........ DeLoreans

Spot on.. I thought they were aluminium, but the bodywork was indeed stainless steel.

Q: The Bodywork's Stainless Steel, right?
A: Yes. Alloy 304, commonly used in the catering industry.
Q: Must be tough getting it fixed if you ding a panel?
A: No. NOS replacements are still available. There are one or two geniuses capable of flawlessly repairing the panels.
Q: Is it all stainless?
A: No. The car sits atop a Lotus-engineered epoxy-coated steel backbone chassis, similar in design to the Esprit. Above this rests the fibreglass underbody, constructed using Lotus' VARI process (Vacuum Assisted Resin Injection). The stainless panels are hung on the underbody. A company in the US will build you a stainless steel chassis with modern design upgrades.

 

[kensalriser]

Well, my kettle is almost spherical and that's made out of stainless steel so it can't be that difficult.

Let's face it, mild steel is a crap material. It rusts as soon as it's shown any oxygen. I can understand its use in cheap cars that aren't going to last longer than 10 years anyway, but it should be standard in more expensive models.

Agree that galvanising and proper painting should be good enough but problems typically happen on repaired panels which are usually responsible for first rust outbreaks.

 

[Satch]

Oh it is not difficult. And DeLorean was not exactly the first:

http://www.alleghenyludlum.com/pages/companyinfo/stainlesscars.asp

Just that the cars cost more to make. And some horrible cynics might suggest then last for far, far too long.......