Ford Escort MK6 - Rusty wheel arch repair cost

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Wed 15 Apr 2020 17:56
Ford Escort MK6 - Rusty wheel arch repair cost - Alfred Rees-Glinos

Hi everyone. The one rear wheel arch on my car has been cosmetically rusty for some time, and now I feel that I need to remove the rust before it becomes more of a structural problem. The rust starts from where the arch meets the rear bumper and goes half way along the arch. The metal body behind the rusty exterior is solid enough. My question is, is it significantly cheaper to repair the arch at home, than getting a professional to do it (estimates for how much doing it at home vs how much a professional would charge would be appreciated)? Also, for those who recommend repairing it at home, any tips for what I should use or any videos on youtube which give good advice?

Thanks in advance. Alfie.

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Wed 15 Apr 2020 18:19
Ford Escort MK6 - Rusty wheel arch repair cost - elekie&a/c doctor
These are notorious for corrosion at the rear end . I would get a professional body repairer to take a look first, as the extent of the rust may be far more severe than it looks . As for any amateur body repairs, they usually end up looking worse than the original problem .
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Wed 15 Apr 2020 18:23
Ford Escort MK6 - Rusty wheel arch repair cost - Andrew-T

Seconded. It's very outdated to DiY-bodge bodywork and hope to get a half-decent result (I hope you aren't in the trade). If you value the car and how it looks, ask your preferred bodywork man for a free estimate.

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Wed 15 Apr 2020 18:25
Ford Escort MK6 - Rusty wheel arch repair cost - Alfred Rees-Glinos

No, I'm certainly not in that trade haha

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Sat 18 Apr 2020 12:22
Ford Escort MK6 - Rusty wheel arch repair cost - edlithgow

It's very outdated to DiY-bodge bodywork and hope to get a half-decent result (I hope you aren't in the trade). If you value the car and how it looks, ask your preferred bodywork man for a free estimate.

Ooer. Outdated. The horror!

OP, depends what your objective is.

If you want to massively slow down the rust, that needn't cost very much at all, although of course it will be some work. Not highly skilled work though.

OTOH, If you are after a cosmetic repair, (which is usually the case), that is likely to be more work, more expensive, less long lived, and more difficult.

IF I had a car I cared about cosmetically (never have, but it could happen, I suppose) I think the best combination might be to deal with the rust first myself (which I suspect many pros wont tend to bother with very thoroughly, though there are probably honorable exceptions) and then get someone else to make it pretty.

Edited by edlithgow on 18/04/2020 at 12:25

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Sat 18 Apr 2020 12:33
Ford Escort MK6 - Rusty wheel arch repair cost - John F

I think the best combination might be to deal with the rust first myself (which I suspect many pros wont tend to bother with very thoroughly, though there are probably honorable exceptions) and then get someone else to make it pretty.

I agree. I find The metal body behind the rusty exterior is solid enough. hard to believe in an umpteen year old Escort.

I would chip and gouge away with a screw driver and wire brush back to preservable metal to reveal the extent of the damage. If not too bad and you are not particular about looks, a pot of Kurust, a tin of resin and some fibreglass filler powder might be all you need - but I doubt it!

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Sat 18 Apr 2020 20:12
Ford Escort MK6 - Rusty wheel arch repair cost - Big John

, a pot of Kurust, a tin of resin and some fibreglass filler powder might be all you need - but I doubt it!

Agreed - I really doubt it. In practice I've always found someone asking me to JUST sort a little bit of rust or weld in a small patch usually was the tip of the proverbial huge iceberg. I generally refused to just do stuff like this. I once agreed to do some work on a Mini for a friends Father - he had been lending me the use of his garage so I felt kind of obliged to do so. What a bloomin nightmare - what started as "a patch" on a sill turned into me welding every bit of the car below the bottom of the doors (top body looked perfect!) - Literally was like the Forth Bridge as at the end I ended up welding to the first repair I had put in, never again! The only solid things were the front/rear subframes - these had probably already been replaced but what they were attached to was somewhat fragile. Ended up being a pretty solid job though - I doub't if it's alive today though as it didn't get my usual rust proofing treatment.

I always struggle at classic car shows as usually (with some exceptions) when I look at a car all polished up I immediately start spotting the hidden (to some!) horrors.

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Sun 19 Apr 2020 17:51
Ford Escort MK6 - Rusty wheel arch repair cost - Big John

Another thought - sometimes if not toooo bad it can be worth properly cleaning out the root cause of the rust - If I remember rightly with the Escort this is likely to be solid accumulated mud behind the wheel arches - especially near the sills. It can be so solid that it seems to be part of the structure - it's not and it'll be causing rust. A strong jetwash can be useful here.

Once clean and dry a product I've found that is fantastic at holding rust is Owatrol oil. It looks like engine oil but kind of sets to a resin type finish. My wife was given an outdoor hanging "thingy" as a present a few years ago that looked awful with rust after one night outside - I wiped the whole thing with Owatrol oil and two years later it still looks perfect despite enduring two winters and associated weather. This stuff really works - but it will only hold, it can't perform miracles

Edited by Big John on 19/04/2020 at 17:53

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Wed 29 Apr 2020 02:49
Ford Escort MK6 - Rusty wheel arch repair cost - edlithgow

I've had very good results abrading with aluminium and then binding with sunflower oil.

I used the latter because I found a lot of it that probably wasn't fit for human consumption, and I dunno where to get better alternatives in Taiwan.

It works, but is quite slow setting (not always a bad thing), can be attacked by mould, and I dunno if overpainting would work with it.

Linseed or tung oil would probably be better and an alkyd resin would probably be better still.

I fancied Penetrol, but the Owatrol you mention sounds very similar.

For heavy rust I flatten a can and use it as a grinding disk in a power drill. Effective and free.

Described here

https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/4397515/Re:_Coke_Can_for_Brake_Drums

https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3830294/Coke_can_for_brake_disks

For a more negative feedback (though some of the + above may be sarcasm) shop local


https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=110241

A prophet is without honour in his own country. :)

Edited by edlithgow on 29/04/2020 at 03:03

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