All about door corrosion and its elimination using the example of a Daewoo Matiz car

Corrosion of the car at all times provided their owners with a lot of trouble. Car doors are especially vulnerable to rust. This part of the car body has several places where rust and destructive corrosion appear first. Protecting a car door from corrosion varies in methods that depend on the degree and nature of the damage.

Causes of corrosion damage to doors

In order to more consciously approach the issue of protecting car doors, you should familiarize yourself with the causes of corrosion on this body part. You should also understand the types of foci of rust. Depending on these factors, you need to plan the fight against car rot. This applies only to those vehicles for which refurbishment is still appropriate. In some cases, replacing the door will be the only way out of this situation, when it is no longer possible to stop corrosion.

The very process of rust removal and the subsequent protection of car doors also has many nuances and little things. The fight against door corrosion can be considered using the example of Matiz. This car has become popular in recent times, as has the refurbishment of its doors.

The first cause of rust is the poor protection of the metal part of the car. Quite a lot of motorists do not pay due attention to this issue and do not carry out timely processing of body parts with anti-corrosion materials. As a result, the operation of the Matiz ends with disastrous consequences and the costly replacement of entire parts. So the first thing to do to stop corrosion is to prevent it.

In addition to the negligence of the motorist, constant moisture attacks are carried out on the metal. Even metal protection eventually succumbs to water, with which the car comes into contact very often. This is especially true for operation in regions with natural high humidity. Moisture constantly accumulates inside the cracks and negatively affects the metal.

The third enemy is the salts and chemicals used by road services to remove snow and ice from public roads during the cold season. These substances accumulate inside between the adjacent parts of the car, clog in the doors and simply settle on their surface in the form of a plaque. If Matiz does not wash often in winter, then the chemistry successfully eats up the paint, and then the metal by spring.

Another factor that negatively affects the metal of a car is minor accidents and other damage to the surface of the doors. In places of damage, the protection of the paint layer is weakened, and this contributes to the acceleration of the destruction of the metal. This happens especially quickly from below and inside the doors of a car, where moisture and chemistry are the most.

Varieties of door corrosion

Corrosion of car doors can be divided into several types:

• Slight swelling of the paintwork. A relatively small bubble grows very quickly, and as a result, the owner discovers that his Matiz has a through hole in the door. Such phenomena are observed quite often, but it is very simple to remove such a defect.
• Slight rust forms and becomes visible when the paint layer is damaged. Just like in the previous case, this is a signal for immediate action, otherwise the consequence will be a through hole.
• Large pockets of corrosion with obvious traces of rusted metal. In such cases, pieces of a rusty part can be picked off even with a finger. At this stage of the decay of the driver's car, a serious body repair or a complete replacement of the door awaits. It is very difficult to remove such corrosion, since it is not always possible to see its real scale.

Depending on how much corrosion has spread through the door, the method of dealing with it should also be determined. Whether it will be a local repair or a restoration one also depends on the place where the rust has formed. It is not easy to repair the door both from the inside and from the outside. And all because the door is the exact mechanism of the car, and if you make a mistake in the repair, then it simply will not close.

Methods for eliminating corrosion damage to doors

According to the methods of combating corrosion, several varieties can be distinguished. All of them have mixed opinions of experts and amateurs, but they have been successfully used for many years, and their effectiveness can only be judged by trying everything on your car.

The very first thing to do when corrosion occurs is to completely remove it. Even if it is not yet planned to paint the door, it is enough to treat the cleaned place with a primer and apply a protective substance to this area.

This is especially true on the inside of the door. Such localization of corrosion will not be noticeable, and your Matiz will be able to wait for a more convenient opportunity for painting. A more difficult task is facing those who started restoration repairs with painting and other delights. This option requires much more time and money, but after its implementation, you can forget about door corrosion for quite a long time. This type of repair is the most common, so it is described below in more detail.

The most difficult type of door repair is the restoration of its geometry with partial metal inserts. The body geometry of the Matiz is quite simple, but it also has bends and other details. Before proceeding with such repairs, it is worth counting to weigh everything. Perhaps the degree of damage is so high that it will be easier to replace the damaged door. Fortunately, there are enough body parts on the market for the same Matiz.

Now in more detail about how to stop corrosion, how protection is applied to Matiz and how to prevent this process to the maximum in the future.

Preparing your door for corrosion

Before doing anything, it is necessary to assess the degree of damage and how to prepare the door for repair work. If there is rust only on the outside of the Matiz door, then all the work comes down to removing it to bare metal. This process can be carried out with special brushes for a drill or grinder. You will also need sandpaper of various grits.

If corrosion spreads from below or from the inside, then the door will also have to be disassembled. To do this, the entire trim and door controls are removed.

Removing corrosion from the inside looks similar to the above option. The only thing to consider is the protection of the interior from dust and sparks that will fly there during the rust removal process. When all the centers of corrosion are removed, you can proceed to the next stage - the restoration of geometry. The two methods for restoring the door geometry are briefly described below.

Metal inserts on damaged areas of the door

The hardest part about inserting pieces of metal is to keep the shape of those areas that have not been corroded. Very often, inexperienced welders can pull the metal with their efforts, as a result of which the overall shape of the door is violated. And this negatively affects both the appearance of the part and its functionality.

Equally important in the process of inserting metal patches is the correct selection of the restorative material. It is best to cut pieces of metal from a similar part of another car.

Ideally, from the same Matiz model, which can no longer be restored. This will make it possible to choose the metal not only in terms of thickness and composition, but will also help to restore the shape of the door more accurately.

Applying putty to repaired areas

If the repair did without metal inserts, then the geometry will have to be restored with automotive putty. Here, too, some skills are needed, since it is rather difficult to accurately repeat the surface that was originally. After inserting metal, you can’t do without work with putty, because in any case there will be minor defects that will have to be corrected at this stage.

After applying the putty, wait until it dries properly, and after setting, you need to start grinding. At this stage, you need to gradually adjust the surface to the ideal one. This can sometimes be very difficult to achieve, especially outside the door, where appearance plays a very important role. After aligning the geometry, you can proceed to priming.

Priming of damaged areas

If the repair was local and small pockets of corrosion were removed, then priming should not be extended to a large area. Sometimes it is enough to apply a layer of primer with a brush and sand it a little with fine sandpaper. From the bottom of the door and from the inside, this is also more acceptable, especially if there is no spray gun.

When priming is carried out with an airbrush, you should first protect the remaining parts of the car that will not be painted. A simpler option would be to give Matiz to specialists, because specialized stations have everything you need for such a procedure, from equipment to experienced staff.

Painting

The same applies to painting work - if there is not enough experience in this matter, then it is better to entrust the work to professionals. It will be a lot cheaper than the inept painting that will have to be redone.

When painting, you should be guided by the same basic rules as when priming. An important point is the selection of paint and its proper preparation. No less significant is the quality equipment and the experience of the master.

Prevention of corrosion of car doors

A very important process, in addition to restorative repairs, is the prevention of Matiz corrosion. No matter how well the body repair is done, subsequent protection is an important factor that affects the long service life of both doors and other parts of the car. Preventive work includes surface treatment with special means, which in our time are quite common and have an extensive range of varieties. This is both traditional autochemistry - Movil or pushsalo, and relatively new.

New types include various aerosols and means zincating by the method of electrolytic reaction. What exactly to use, it is impossible to give a definite answer. Each manufacturer praises its tool, and each user speaks differently about a particular tool.

Speaking of prevention. Protective agents need to be applied not only when corrosion has already done its job, and it was necessary to carry out repairs. When buying a new car or equipment in good condition from your hands, you should immediately pay attention to surface treatment. This will help for many years to delay such body work, which is associated with the restoration of the results of the negative activity of corrosion.