Do I scrap it or fix it? K11 2001 Activ

JoshGriggs

JoshGriggs

Ok,

I've given up making endless threads to try and find parts I'm never going to find so I'll just have to keep an eye open for them around local scrappies (front bumper and drivers front quarter)

Anyway, in the meantime I have a few aesthetic problems I want to fix up.. I seen a thread where someone made their micra sporty and it actually looked really nice. Perhaps then I won't duck when I see my friends ahaha

Anyway, here are my problems.. Yes I know it's probably ready for the scrappy but the engine is fully services and never broken down on me (touch wood) and to be Honest I do love it quite a bit.

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Seeing this one makes me want to cry ^
And for the record it was not me but an awful previous owner who appeared to service it and then go through walls on the way home.

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So what do you think? Scrap it and get a new one? Or try and save it.. It's perfect inside it's such a shame.. No advisories on the MOT or anything.. Anybody nearby? I'm in Westbury Wiltshire.. Help would be appreciated I just want it looking good again

Thanks for reading.



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Why scrap it over a bit of rust and a dented wing and bumper. You're going to have to spend some money. If you scrap it, you'll still need to buy a new car. I'd get some gear together and fix that wheel arch rust. Its a great car to practice on. You can get another wing from the scrappies or ebay. They only bolt on/off. Get a heat gun on those grey bumper bits at the rear and they'll look new again.
You've got aircon, power steering, central locking, electric windows. How good is that.
Welcome to the joys of motoring.
 
Not at all frank, if i was selling it i wouldnt be pointing out all of the flaws and asking how to fix them would i, silly ;)

You are right Agent i just didnt know whether the rust etc could be fixed and so asked you guys if it could, and ideas on how to patch that rust? grind down obviously but then what? im new to this i am sorry. :)
 
Well first you need to sand off all that flaky paint and see if its not gone right through. If not and its not too deep the pitting then you can put a rust killer on it and spray it with filler primer. If it's too deep or got a hole in, then you're going to need to get some body filler. That's a nice weekend project if you take your time.
 
Its really not that bad ..... As said the front arches just unbolt so look to the scrappies for a cheap replacement ..... its a 30 minute job ...
Rear wheel arch .... grind off all the rust ..... it has to be ALL of the rust ..... if you leave some it will come back ..... .... if its holed its no biggie .... treat with kurust or simular .. if holed get some glass fibre matting and resin/hardener and lay it behind to support any filler .....
Filler takes a number of goes to get flat and shaped .... fill ..... sand down ... refill ...building up until its right ... do not try to get it all right in one go.... it wont work ... takes stages and patience ... sand down .. until its right ..... use finer grades of paper to get a good flat finish .... wet n dry .... then mask and clean/tack rag ........then primer ...sand down .... apply little more filler when primer shows up more faults ...... sand with finer ..... more primer ....colour coats 3-5 ..... clear laquer...... dry ..... polish ....... if it goes wrong ... sand down and start again ... no biggie .....
My Daughters bloke lives in Shepton ... he`s a panel beater by trade and does airbrushing ...... sure he would give you some pointers if your stuck ... BUT best way to learn is to get stuck in ...... OR .... take it to a little back street spray shop ...... there will be one on the West Wilts trading estate i am sure ... get a price .... get a few prices actually ..... cant see it costing much to repair .....
Looks like a nice little car ... if the sills and underbody are all rot free its likely worth spending some money on :)
 
Ok so the plan is to get the front bumper and arches sorted out, hopefully with the help of @Mark:) who I owe a huge huge amount to if he can help me.. Then the front of the car will be looking good and I can sort the rear arch out.. Once this is all done and back to the stock look I can do the usual front mods like spray the grills colour code handles etc and take the indicator plates out and orange bulbs in, hopefully I can find a rear spoiler but no such luck as of yet (at least not in my price range)

So yeah, it should be all good!

Now, who wants to give me a loan?


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IMHO do the rear arch first ... the sooner its done the less it will cost ....
I know the front is the bit thats bugging you .... but bumpers and wings can be taken off/replaced ... rear arches cannot ... make that the priority....... ;)
 
Ok @TonySLX I've checked the arch and it's not all the way through.. The metal is solid as the rest of the car so what would be best to do? Filler primer or fibreglass?


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JoshGriggs said:
Ok @TonySLX I've checked the arch and it's not all the way through.. The metal is solid as the rest of the car so what would be best to do? Filler primer or fibreglass?


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Click to expand...

You need to sand down and get rid of the rust ..you can sand this down by hand but it will take time and effort .... ideally a power sander will make the job easier .......... ideally orbital ..... ... this needs to be done on a dry day........... any pitted areas need all the rust gone.....you may need to use a grinder if its deeper than it looks ......start with a coarse paper ... 60/80grit if the rust is very bad and a grinder if its badly pitted .... ... you might go through the metal if its deeply pitted ... try not to .....but if you do here and there thats okay .... once the rust is eradicated you want to treat with a rust treatment just in case theres a few tiny bits you have missed.....and then fill ...... then prime (you only need to use glass if its a big hole)...... .... i would also clean the inner arch out (and the other side at some point) with water and get it nice and clean inside the entire arch .... treat with rust treatment .. prime paint if you see any bare metal ... an then treat with waxoyl .... then the arches will not rot.
Once primed and filled all smooth .... you can use the car as the primer will protect the car but obviously you want to paint top coats asap ....and the big reminder ... the better you prepare and smooth the filler to a perfect finish the better the job will look at the end so spending time and patience is the biggie on this job ..... ... but i would advise getting a price on what a garage would charge and then tot up what it might cost you in paint sandpaper filler rust treatment, top coat, laquer, polishing mop, rubbing compound, tack rags etc because you may find a body shop doesnt look as expensive when you add all the things you will need up !
The other thing with a body shop is they may cut out the rust .. weld in a patch ... then fill .... ensuring no rust is missed ..... but definately get a price because the stuff required to do it well is not cheap and if you skimp ... it will show in the finish :)
 
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Yeah that's true, thanks a lot I have considered getting a body shop down trading estate to do it when it goes in for its service so I may just do that :) thanks a lot for your help! Appreciate it.


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looks like a hell of a job to me, i would need to get all of those tools as well.. ill ask the local body shops what they would do it for because as you say once thats done i can worry about the front. Thanks a lot.
 
Just put a few pennies in wont take much there's parts go on eBay all the time or like you say scrappy. Don't scrap over abit TLC matey.
I would fill the rust for now and replace bumper. ( That bumper is well bad BTW what did you do to her lol )
 
I didn't do anything to her lol, the car was given to me for free from a friend of my mums so I wasn't going to say no ;p God knows what he did to it though ahaha


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You could fix this up no problem mate, great car and perfect for practicing some car repairing skills.

You should be able to get a new front bumper and wing no problem from the scrap yard, always micras being broken

as the for the rust, sand it it all back, if theres a hole fill it with body filler, then primer, spray paint and lacquer. good as new ;)

Also a lot cheaper than scrapping it and getting a new car.

Is it a 1.4? whats the mileage?
 
It's a 1.4 yeah 110k on it not a problem in sight :) thanks for the advice mate I need to get to it just got a good paying job so can afford to fix it now :)


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Any tips on what sanding paper to use? I'll do it by hand it'll be worth the effort I'm sure :) then filler primer and my BW3 colour code paint yeah and clear coat because its metallic? Sorry new to this.


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get some varying grades of wet and dry from a local hardware shop, dirt cheap, start off rough to get rid of the worst of it and work down untill its smooth

if its surface rust then just primer over it, use really fine grit paper to sand the primer completely smooth before spraying over with paint and same again, then lacquer yea

the colour code is whatever it says on the plate in the engine bay.

If you want a good finish then you need to be really patient, fine coats of spray so you dont get runs and just build it up untill you have a few layers, and make sure you let each layer harden completely before the next one, dont rush it or you will be unhappy with the results and have to do it again
 
Sand and get rid of all rust you can find. Throw some vinegar on it for and hour or two. Clean with alcohol. Fill with bodyfiller prime light grade sand and paint
 
Yeah I'm gonna get some speakers for the doors, I've got a 10" subwoofer in the boot but I might make some holes for parcel shelf speakers as my 5 door only has the front speakers. Thanks for the tips on getting rid of the rust.. Aim to start on the weekend after the 25th (payday)


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Definitely keeping her, caught the micra bug hard through this forum! Are any members near Wiltshire?


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