Re-Did Rocker Panels

Well, this was my first attempt at body work. The rust spots in front of the rear tires on the rocker panels had been getting realllllly nasty, and I finally found time to re-do them. I cut away a ton of rust and then made my best efforts at bending and welding in new sheetmetal, 18 gauge if i recall right. Then a lot of grinding, a little bondo (not too much ), a TON of sanding, and finally a few coats of some truck bed-liner. I'll probably end up re-doing it someday, but it was a great start and a great hands-on learning experience. I also plugged up those ugly holes in the sides of the rocker panels. I guess I'm not quite sure why they are there, but if I did screw up in patching them, I can always re-drill them. Anyways... here are some pictures of the process step-by-step. Enjoy! And don't hesitate to give me some feedback!!!

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2237262/4

 

[ExplorerDMB]

Not bad at all. Hopefully people reading this will be the ones that think bondo is always the way to go. Thanks for sharing

-Drew

 

[MONMIX]

One thing for the next time is to use a zinc " weld through primer " on all the back areas. The areas behind the welded metal.
Weld through primer is heat actavated and will not burn up when you weld the metal.
Note also, it is only with in one inch of the weld area will the weld through kick.

Other than that job well done.

 

[TravisC]

Good job. I'm getting ready to try this on a 92 Sport. Any suggestions? How did you cut out the rocker panel? I'm new to body work but want to try and do it myself. Any help would be apprecaited.

Thanks

 

[Dre]

nice job... and you didn't even use dealer repair panels.

I was thinking about replacing the rocker on my 91 with an oval pipe... rocker protection for the trail. Will see... you did inspire me...

 

[410Fortune]

Hey looks good, however it appears as if you left rusty metal under the new patchwork?
this cancer will continue to grow, quickly!
You could have removed the rest of it until you got down to bare metal, and then treated the edges, or you could haev used a product like POR-15 to kill the rust dead where it sits, before welding on the new patch pieces.

Regardless it looks better now!! Rust is a PITA

 

[TravisC]

Good job. I'm getting ready to try this on a 92 Sport. Any suggestions? How did you cut out the rocker panel? I'm new to body work but want to try and do it myself. Any help would be apprecaited.

Thanks

Anyone have any helpful hints or suggestions? I know it's a lot different on a sport due to the shape of the dogleg.

What's the best way to cut out the rocker and make to get all of the rust?

 

[410Fortune]

cut out the rust until you have bare metal, sanded like 1" from the edge.
cut the repair panel to fit, spot weld it on, body filler, done.

Treat any rust prone areas underneath with POR-15.

Its a pita but nothing most do it yourselfers cant handle, they sell the replacement parts you need to cut to fit.......

 

[Dre]

You don't have to craft new panels like he did... buy replacement panels and just cut to fit... spot weld, bondo and you're done. Some people just use bedliner spray afterwords so perfect it doesn't have to be...

 

[TravisC]

You don't have to craft new panels like he did... buy replacement panels and just cut to fit

I cannot find any replacements for Sports, only 4-doors. If you know where I can find rocker panels/doglegs for a Sport, please let me know.

 

[whoathere]

I have found that the battle with rust is almost never ending. I used a rust eliminating spray paint or whatever you want to call it, and it didn't last too long. The rust was back after like a year, which maybe is good. But I suppose it could be the fact that we didn't do something right, but still.

 

[Dre]

The best way to cope with rust is to cut the effected cancer areas out or sand blast it. Even painting with POR-15 might not help. I have seen pictures of a floor in a Porsche painted with POR-15 - cancer was still growing under the paint untill the whole floorboard fell apart. Sometimes what you can't see can kill you... right?