An afternoon getting showered in hot rocks...

[spartacus]

No, unfortunately not half as interesting as it might be. I've been repairing my Talbot Express camper, it's not a bad old bus but they rust like there's no tomorrow. I've had to let a significant section into the sill, as pictured. As you can also see, the wheel arch is also in need of some serious work. Time is limited and I have to work outside and clear up each time. My plan is to paint everything below the crease on the side in white Por15 or similar. Then cut back the old arch and weld the inner to the outer. Having done that I plan to pop rivet a complete repair section over the entire rear quarter, they cover all the way up to the higher swage line.

So, bearing in mind that my plan, understandably, is not to everyone's taste, can anybody think of a better way or see any flaws.

Finally, what's the hot tip for grinding welds back, a power file or flap disc in the grinder?

[Faker]

Nice to see it's still a van, and not one of those fancy chassis cab things!

[spartacus]

Yeah, I like it because it's a little easier to park and drive through small towns in France. The vans got some character, it's proper AS, but they rust fast and the steel is really thin, it's like welding a fucking Kit Kat wrapper!

[Dead_E23]

I've cleaned up welds with a grinding disc in the grinder before, but that was on a chassis.  Not tried using a flap wheel for it - they're great for preparation, but I suspect they'd wear out in a flash if I tried attacking my blobby pigeon shit welding with one.

[Squire_Dawson]

I have found with POR 15 that it's very good for applying to pitted rust itself, but on smooth rust-free metal it literally peels off.

[spartacus]

Yeah, they do say on the tin that it should be on rusty metal. Bizarrely I was going to go over everything I want to paint with a knot brush and leave it a couple of days to oxidise. It does seem a bit extreme and counter intuitive though.

I'm going to check out Vactan and see what the score is with that.