The most affordable option: Lada Granta
We are talking about the first generation—the second has not yet been sufficiently studied. Although unflattering reviews began to appear about it from owners of “one-year-old” cars.
Granta's body quickly rents out in those places where it is covered with sound insulation. Unpainted elements under the hood and on the bottom are the weakest point of the car. Thresholds and lower parts of doors last for two to three years.
Main causes of corrosion
Lada Granta is a new AvtoVAZ car based on the Lada Kalina platform. The design of the car has been carefully worked out, the number of parts in different components of the car has been reduced, and the air intakes in the front bumper have been enlarged. The good quality, convenience and reliability of the car allow it to be used even in difficult weather conditions.
The condition of highways and the various preparations with which road services treat them cause corrosion of the car body in a short period of time, and the appearance of the car is also lost. Main causes of corrosion:
- improper care;
- poor quality factory coating;
- complex car design;
- operation in difficult conditions.
To increase the service life of cars, it is necessary to protect the body from adverse weather conditions, and it is not necessary to wait for obvious signs of corrosion to appear, but to do the coating earlier.
Budget class: Renault Logan/Sandero
The situation is similar to Granta: the “red rash” may come out in a couple of winters, or it may not come out in five. A sedan is more prone to corrosion than a hatchback. Rust appears on the welds of doors, doorways, doors from below, and in hidden cavities in thresholds. And also everywhere where the metal is not coated with a primer - primarily from the bottom.
Like Grante, Logan is recommended for additional anti-corrosion treatment. The same applies to the Nissan Almera, which is related in platform and close in price.
Sooner or later everything rusts!
Corrosion, or the destruction of metal by natural chemical and electrochemical means, threatens almost every vehicle. It is not terrible only for plastic and high-quality stainless steel, undamaged by heat treatment (for example, welding).
Aluminum does not provide reliable protection, as it oxidizes over time, and insufficient insulation from steel leads to the formation of a galvanic couple. Audi services are well aware of this. The second generation A8 trunk lid was actively corroded in the area of the lining above the registration plate.
Corrosion is a natural process, although some cars rust much more than others. For example, Skoda. Felicia of the second half of the 90s is “destroying” slowly, and the old Octavia is collapsing quickly. The decisive factors are both the quality of the source material and additional corrosion protection, as well as the design lines. Excessively complex profiles in risk areas, incorrect placement of drainage channels or even too high a welding current lead to the development of corrosion.
Inexpensive crossover: Skoda Yeti
Models from many brands are equally vying for the title of king of corrosion in this price category. Among them are Lifan X60, Renault Duster, Geely Emgrand X7, Mitsubishi ASX and even the best-selling crossover of recent years, Hyundai Creta.
Yeti became an anti-leader due to the risk of rapid corrosion - many claims were received during the warranty period.
Premium: Mercedes-Benz (2000–2005 model years)
Almost all modern premium models are hot-dip galvanized and can withstand 8–12 years without problems. Mercedes ended up on the red list because of the cars from the beginning of the century: the most popular bodies - C-, E- and S-class - quickly rusted. With the release of new generations, the problem disappeared.
The most painful place
Whatever car you choose, frequently inspect the traditional places where you can notice the first signs of corrosion: panel joints, bumpers, arches, hood trims, bottoms of doors, sills, A-pillars, roof edges front and rear. And, of course, the most painful place is under the rear license plate frame.
And still keep in mind: one day rust will get to any car with an iron body.
- Seven phrases to reduce the price of a used car, here.
- Are you faced with the problem of glass and brushes icing? Use BURNER heated brushes! To keep your side windows clean, purchase a windshield drain.
- A pragmatic way to improve the equipment of a car is roof rails. Our online store offers useful car accessories on the best terms.
Photo: manufacturing companies
It will rust behind them. Top 5 cars that rot quickly
Step-by-step instruction
I'll try to fix the problem this way:
- Clean off rust.
- Apply primer.
- Putty.
- Cleaning and polishing.
- Several layers of soil.
- Paint it.
But first I’ll remove the mudguard, the wheel, and also the plastic fender liner to take a look from the inside. This is probably a through hole.
Corrosion cleaning
I cleaned it as best I could and looked at the defect from the inside. In this place the wing is double: the upper layer has rotted, but the inner one still remains.
I cleaned it with a grinder using a flap wheel, then treated it with a rust converter. I'll apply a second layer and putty. Of course, this is a temporary measure; the rust will probably continue to develop. The inside surface is rusty.
Application of primer
The converter was dry and sanded around the edges with #600 sandpaper. I covered everything around this place with construction tape to protect it from scratches and damage. Also, to avoid spraying primer and paint onto other surfaces of the body.
Now I'll coat it with primer. I bought acrylic primer, it takes a long time to dry. But it's inexpensive. I'll wait until it dries, then I'll putty.
putty
I bought a universal putty. It is diluted at the rate of 100 parts of the main mass per 2% hardener (the size of a pea). But you can use a different type.
I’ll tell you how I did it, and you decide for yourself.
Both components need to be quickly mixed and putty begins. This will take no more than 5 minutes. Otherwise the mass will harden. It is convenient to apply the putty with a plastic card, but there are also special spatulas on sale.
It can be purchased at a specialized store that sells materials for body work. There are usually such points of sale in every city and town.
Many of you will now object to me, or think that I am talking nonsense. Take, for example, a remote village - what kind of specialized stores are there?! At least they sold bread, and that’s fine.
Cleaning and polishing
Now comes the most difficult and important stage - cleaning.
To do this, you need to use fine-grained skins No. 600-900 or even finer. It turned out something like this. I did the work right outside, the weather was good.
Primer
Now I will apply 2 layers of primer and paint.
After coating, poor-quality work is visible - a gap appears. It should have been polished better. You will have to do it again, sand it so that the surface becomes even. After much torment this is the result.
I added more putty and carefully sanded it with No. 140, 240, 400 and 600 sandpaper. The main thing is to take your time and do the work carefully. I tried to do it quickly, so I had to redo it. I applied the primer again, now it turned out much better, see for yourself.
Tip , it is better to re-glue the tape 2 mm further. This is necessary to reduce the visibility of coating steps on the surface.
Painting
I bought black paint, also alkyd (in an aerosol can). If you use a hair dryer for drying, it will dry quickly.
This is what happened in the end, don’t judge strictly, I’m not a professional. I just like to do something interesting, repair a car.
How to install a Lada Granta door sill seal
I think that for self-repair of a rusty wing this is quite a worthy result! If you think I'm wrong, write your opinion in the comments. How did you repair?
