TempleUWS6
Member
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2014
- Location
- Celebration, FL
So I've been wanting to deal with my severe rust issues (holes in floor) in my '90 245 DD for well over a year, but I could never afford the down time to fix it the "right" way (weld in patch panels). I even saved the good panels from an '84 245 GL that I chopped up.
After researching alternatives, I stumbled upon a method using fiberglass and a resin-like paint called Miracle Paint. "A moisture cured non porous paint that bonds to rusted and corroded metals like no other coating. It dries rock hard and will not chip, crack or peel. Impervious to gasoline, lacquer thinner, salt and most acids. Can be painted directly over rusted surfaces. Is strengthened by moisture. Will seal concrete, grout, wood, metal and porous tile like nothing else. Can be sprayed, rolled or brushed."
I bought a starter kit offered by Kent Bergsma of Mercedes Source in Bellingham, WA seen HERE.
Its very straight forward and the results are great. I'll let the pictures do the talking...
Step 1) Clean up all the rust scale and under coating at least 1" from affected area. (Some of the black over the rust is a urethane primer used for auto glass. I work at a glass shop and put it on months ago. I was sure to sand and clean the areas well.)
Despite Volvo's attempt to combat rust with galvanizing and undercoating, my car rusted from the inside out from water leaks into the cabin and festering under the foam/rubber sound deadening and carpet.
I used the air scraper from Hobo Freight to bust up the scale and clear the undercoating.
Step 2) Apply the Miracle paint to all exposed areas, overlapping about an inch.
Step 3)Let it get tacky, takes 1-3 hours. Cut fiberglass pieces to size. Coat pieces thoroughly with Miracle Paint, use the thicker chopped fiberglass mat to cover holes and the thinner woven glass goes on top. Lay the pieces over holes and paint in edges. I used only the fiberglass that came in the Mercedes Source kit, which was just barely enough to cover my holes. I could use a second application as you can see pinholes where just the chopped mat was used.
Here is the final results:
Still drying here:
Fully cured (takes about 24hrs):
There you have it. The fiberglass that fills the holes is very very strong; when you knock on it, it sounds just as dense as the metal does. All together this cost me about $100 (if that) in all the supplies including the Miracle Paint kit from Mercedes Source, and about a days worth of work. I did this at my parents house and had to leave after only letting the last coat with fiberglass dry for maybe 4-5hrs, and it was almost completely set by then!
I highly recommend this method and might consider it better than the traditional cut and welding as its quicker, cheaper, and will never rust again.
This was done on the floor pans so I wasn't worried about looks, but for areas that will be seen you can sand and paint the area. The kit also comes with a nice can of stone chip/rock guard to give you a factory appearance. I plan on applying more fiberglass to the underside and smoothing it all out.
After researching alternatives, I stumbled upon a method using fiberglass and a resin-like paint called Miracle Paint. "A moisture cured non porous paint that bonds to rusted and corroded metals like no other coating. It dries rock hard and will not chip, crack or peel. Impervious to gasoline, lacquer thinner, salt and most acids. Can be painted directly over rusted surfaces. Is strengthened by moisture. Will seal concrete, grout, wood, metal and porous tile like nothing else. Can be sprayed, rolled or brushed."
I bought a starter kit offered by Kent Bergsma of Mercedes Source in Bellingham, WA seen HERE.
Its very straight forward and the results are great. I'll let the pictures do the talking...
Step 1) Clean up all the rust scale and under coating at least 1" from affected area. (Some of the black over the rust is a urethane primer used for auto glass. I work at a glass shop and put it on months ago. I was sure to sand and clean the areas well.)
Despite Volvo's attempt to combat rust with galvanizing and undercoating, my car rusted from the inside out from water leaks into the cabin and festering under the foam/rubber sound deadening and carpet.
I used the air scraper from Hobo Freight to bust up the scale and clear the undercoating.
Step 2) Apply the Miracle paint to all exposed areas, overlapping about an inch.
Step 3)Let it get tacky, takes 1-3 hours. Cut fiberglass pieces to size. Coat pieces thoroughly with Miracle Paint, use the thicker chopped fiberglass mat to cover holes and the thinner woven glass goes on top. Lay the pieces over holes and paint in edges. I used only the fiberglass that came in the Mercedes Source kit, which was just barely enough to cover my holes. I could use a second application as you can see pinholes where just the chopped mat was used.
Here is the final results:
Still drying here:
Fully cured (takes about 24hrs):
There you have it. The fiberglass that fills the holes is very very strong; when you knock on it, it sounds just as dense as the metal does. All together this cost me about $100 (if that) in all the supplies including the Miracle Paint kit from Mercedes Source, and about a days worth of work. I did this at my parents house and had to leave after only letting the last coat with fiberglass dry for maybe 4-5hrs, and it was almost completely set by then!
I highly recommend this method and might consider it better than the traditional cut and welding as its quicker, cheaper, and will never rust again.
This was done on the floor pans so I wasn't worried about looks, but for areas that will be seen you can sand and paint the area. The kit also comes with a nice can of stone chip/rock guard to give you a factory appearance. I plan on applying more fiberglass to the underside and smoothing it all out.