This picture is from the inside of the rear wheel arch of my 2004 roadster.
The darker brownish bits are rust...
Fortunately, its not too serious as it's been spotted early.
Ground it down to the bare metal and put plenty of rust inhibiting paint on.
Both sides were in the same state, and best viewed with the wheels removed.

 

Woo, that's pretty nasty. Good catch, and I hope your fix works.

Believe it or not, I installed a heavy-duty EDPM rubber trim-strip around the exact same part of my car just a few weeks ago!! It should protect against all the crap that could theoretically cause the paint/galvanizing to be worn through.

 

Didn't appear to be any galvanising to be honest...
Pretty thin top coat and undercoat in an area that should really be rubberised then top coated over.
As i say, didn't appear to be galvanised, but definately should be...poor finishing, and not what i would have expected.

 

Make sure you always keep the areas clean. Dirt hold in the moisture which causes the rust.

 

Hey I would not do this - you are going to trap dirt and dampness and could cause more hidden rust. The best way to protect the wheel arch area is to keep it clean by running the hose inside the wheel arch lip to prevent any build up of road dirt in there, and do this every time you wash the car. You can also spray inside the lip with waxoil or some other protective coating.
Cheers Steve

 

you mean "WE" have to wash these cars,

 

would that be covered under warranty ?

 

Dirt voids your warranty.

 

Dirt promotes rust. Keep it clean and waxed. That's not a good sign of things to come. Good you caught it early.

 

Just a little point about galvenised pannels; this process is very good at protecting from rust; but; at the areas where spot welds are done, the galvenised finish is destroyed by the heat, so rust spots can appear in the seams where panels are joined, especially in areas like inside wheel arches and inner wing areas. etc. Its good to get that pressure washer into those tight inaccessable places to blast out the dirt,
Steve

 

I also suggest using an powerful air compressor to blow all the dirt out as well!

 

~ i am a huge advocate of the diy quarter carwashes to maintain my cars underside & wheel wells ... it's all about a flexible wand, good pressure and some hot/warm water... a must have for quality end results and really helps fight the dirt build-up.

i can't tell you how many people clean & polish the heck out of cars the paint... but... completely forget the dirt in the wheel wells and underside... and when driving behind a crossfire the underpinnings are very apparent imo... bend down and check your crossfire today... clean um' already!





IMG_4199.jpg

IMG_4192.jpg

... and yes it was driven in the snow & rain. pics were taken at 40k.

 

Andrew you're a machine. Outstanding job...

 

That is amazing.

And I thought I had the obsessive-compulsive problem....

 

For the record...Andrew has probably driven more miles "BEHIND" my white Crossfire than any other. I've been "outed".

 

Man, Andrew you could have of eatten off of the underside of your old XF-at least when the photos were taken. I'd venture to guess it's not that clean any more

 

There's only one thing worse than rust on a car, and thats the holes where rust used to be.
Fight rust now and not when it's too late and you have lost already.

 

My 2006 SE Roadster has no rust and never will. All exposed steel, including stud threads and fittings corrosion free. This is under car, engine bay, boot and doors. This is the world of Waxoyl. Re applied annually during oil change. Using it for 25 years. My MGA, Mini, Sunbeam Tiger, lathways and drill press decks. All rust free. Google "WAXOYL". Regards, Gary