Drilling the holes might be a good idea. But did you remember to get a coat of Rust Bullet "inside" the holes that you drilled? If not, then that's just that much more "bare" metal that will eventually start to rust.
Thanks for the tip 178, I may do some drilling on mine too.

 

make sure you seal the holes you drilled and it help if you took the trim panels off and coatedthe seam on the inside some water does get into the doors

 

Yes I coated the inside of the holes drilled, the drilled holes in the rail do not go thru the door itself just the rail that only supports the weather stripping(weep holes are a better wording) you"ll see and understand once the weather stripping is removed on your crossfires. Good luck and check your door bottoms.

178

 

Andrew-

Did you do any sanding during your initial repair process?

Thanks for this great post!

Steve

 

I'm curious as to who has the best price for por15 ? Is there any other products out there that do similar rust prevention?

 

~ nope... you apply the supplied liquid chemical cleaner first... rinse... dry and apply por15 paint like product. that simple.

 

i would look into a google search for the best links & pricing...

rust bullet & por15 are the major providers.

 

I treated my new Crossfire SRT-6 roadster this weekend. The passenger side was OK but there was rust in the driver's side door. Both sides were damp to the touch. I've had this car a little over a month and it only has 406 miles on it. I used POR-15 as recommended by Andrew. I used the black POR-15 Super Starter Kit. It was $17.25 and, with shipping, the final cost was an even $24.

Here are the steps I followed:

1. Grab the rubber trim and peel it downwards. That seemed to pop it out easier than pulling straight back on it.
2. Mix 1 part Marine Clean with 5 parts water. You don't need much.
3. Using a small sponge, scrub the groove in the door.
4. Place a drip tray on the ground where the door meets the body of the car to catch the runoff. These chemicals are nasty so don't let them run everywhere.
4. Using a spray bottle filled with tap water, rinse the cleaner out of the groove.
5. Take a small dowel, wrap a microfiber towel around it, and dry the groove as best you can.
6. Blow the rest of the water out with a shop vac, air compressor, whatever.
7. Tightly fold a piece of 400 grit sandpaper and lightly scuff the painted surface in the groove. You won't be able to scuff it all because it's a tight space but do what you can. Rinse out the grit you scuff off with water, dry with a towel, and blow out the remaining water.
8. With the supplied paint brush (not the spongy foam brush), brush on the Metal Ready. Again, make sure your drip pan is there to catch the runoff.
9. The instructions say to keep it wet with Metal Ready for 15-20 minutes. I split the difference and set a timer for 17 minutes. Once every 5 minutes, give it another coat until the timer goes off.
10. Rinse with water, dry with a towel, and blow out the remaining water.
11. Clean the brush with water (the Metal Ready will stain it blue but do the best you can).
12. Mask off the groove with blue painter's tape.
13. Using the brush, paint on the POR-15. You can use the sponge brush but I found the regular brush works best.
14. The instructions say it will dry in 2-5 hours. I waited 3 hours and applied another coat. The instructions don't expressly say it but they seem to imply that you want to apply the second coat when the first is tacky but not completely dry. Also, use a clean brush if you can. I reused the brush I used for the first coat but the POR-15 had hardened the bristles. It was still usable but a new one would have worked better.
15. Wait a full 5 hours for the second coat to dry.
16. Remove the masking tape. If some of the POR-15 wicked under the tape, you may be able to scratch it off with a fingernail. If a large amount wicked under the tape, forget it. If you try to remove it, it will take the paint with it.
17. To reinstall the rubber trim, lie on your back looking up at the bottom of the open door. Put the bottom of the rubber trim into the groove in the door. With some effort, it will snap in. When you've done the whole door, sit up and push the top half of the trim into the groove. You'll see three grooves in the top of the trim piece. All three should be inside the door. Unfortunately, even after a whole lot of pushing, I was only able to get at most two grooves into the door.

Issues and things I learned:

1. POR-15 will wick under the tape if you're not careful. I was able to get most of it off but a noticeable amount of it wicked through the U-shaped drain port where the bottom of the door curves upward. It's not visible unless you're lying under the open door and it doesn't interfere with the operation of the door (i.e. it doesn't hit the body of the car when the door closes). It's not a big deal but it's untidy. I'd be curious to know how others avoided this problem.

2. If you get POR-15 somewhere you don't want it, it wipes off easily as long as it's still wet. Once it's dry, you're hosed.

3. I'd really like to know how to get the rubber weather stripping fully reinstalled. I pushed and pushed until my fingers ached and it's in there well enough that it's not coming out but it's not in there as tightly as the sections installed by the factory. There must be some special tool or technique for this. I can't believe guys in auto body shops actually spend two hours like I did, grunting and pushing this stuff with their fingers. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

Radmanly, thanks for the "play by play" description on your POR-15 repair job. I've never used it before, but I've heard stories that it can get rather "involved". It just goes to show that with a little preparation the job can go a lot smoother.

Maybe if you try using one of those thin hard rubber/plastic squeegee's that body shops use to spread body filler with on your weather stripping, you might be able to get it pushed back in. I believe that's what Andrew said he used.
Mine pulled out rather easily, and just popped right back in place, but I only pulled out a small section at a time. I may have the very same problem as you when I pull the entire strip off to make the actual repair when the weather gets warmer.
What I first thought to be dried up adhesive behind my weather strip, was more accurately diagnosed as "soap residue" by Bazzle in Australia. So there really isn't anything holding the weather strip in place except it being squeezed in.

 

radmanly,

I treated my doors with Rust Bullet two weeks ago and just installed the weather stripping last Friday. I totally removed my trim since I want the Rust Bullet to fully cure, so I know what you mean. If you notice that side of the weather stripping that goes toward the outside of the channel has square edge and the side that goes toward the door has ridges. What I did to install the weather stripping was place the square edge in the channel so it would lock against the outer edge of the channel and then roll the weather stripping in to place toward the door. I also used a Popsicle stick to help seat the weather stripping against the door. To do both doors took about 30 minutes.

 

My problem is with the ridges. I got the square side snapped in but I can only get at most two of the ridges into the door. What technique did you use with the popsicle stick to get the trim the rest of the way in?

 

A credit card will do the trick but it is a tedious job.

 

How do body shops do it? There must be some kind of tool, right?

 

Not sure, they probably just use some kind of plastic wedges that they use to take apart door panels with. Maybe its in the service manual somewhere.

 

I haven't had time to fix my rust so I went ahead and cut the lower weather strip out, so that no more water moisture could settle and cause further damage. This might be a good idea after the por15, I'm not sure how good a seal that stuff makes.

The weather strip is the real problem, get rid of it. I have no issues with water entering the car or wind noise.

 

bump...


~ product used: por15

here are pics of my repair:

used metal ready (applied with a hobby brush) to treat/clean the metal & rusted area:
IMG_4550.jpg

used blue painters tape to mask & keep the area treated confined under existing rubber strip:
IMG_4568.jpg

applied 2 coats of por15 (with hobby brush) to the rust and seam area for protection & elimination of existing rust:
IMG_4575.jpg

IMG_4573.jpg

con't...

 

removed tape after allowing product to dry over night (also treated drip holes... front & rear):
IMG_4583.jpg

weather strip re-adhered & showing final results (as factory):
IMG_4643.jpg

~ see product link: http://www.por15.com/s.nl/it.A/id.1404/.f

 

in order to re-attach the existing rubber weather stripping after the repair... i used an old credit card to assist with the tight fit in securing the rubber trim.
it requires the combo of the credit card & working the trim with your fingers while fitting it back in to the grove.

patience is a virtue.

a bondo application squeegee is a tad too large.

 

radmanly,

Basically, I used the Popsicle stick like andrew did with the credit card. However, the wood grips the rubber weather stripping better then plastic and give you more area to compress the rubber toward the outside channel so you can roll the edge with the ridges down into the channel. I hope this helps. Once you get the technique down it is quite easy it getting the technique down that is hard.

 

I did this mod with Rust Bullet last week. I also thought the biggest pain was the stripping. I actually used a nail and put some electrical tape around the end. I had a lot more leverage than using a credit card.