The Dreaded Factory Wing Mirror Rust

[kidafa]

Well it gets spoken of very often but no one has really dived in and suggested what they have done at home to help prevent the rust that our cars get under the wing mirrors. For sure its obvious if you have the coin go to a crash shop get it cut out re-filled and re painted..... Unfortunately I don't have this coin to throw around :-(

Firstly you need to pull the mirrors off to see whats going on back their. Even if you DONT have signs of rust I will almost bet it is their as the mirrors hide the first inch or so where it starts rusting.

To pull the mirrors off you need to remove the door skins/cards and then remove the small triangular piece on the inside of the doorcard adjacent to the mirror. Mine (S1 RS4V) was simply a clip set up and pulls off.

Then you have 3 10mm bolts remove those. Put the window down and then remove the mirror from the car.

You will know be able to see the damage thats already been done As well as the STUPID bits of foam behind the mirrors that are the cause of the issue, RIP THAT SHIT OUT!

What im going to do is remove as much of the flakey rust as possible and give it all a good coat of rust converter, ensuring to not let drips or runs get on other paintwork. As well as remove the foam from inside the mirrors as I cant see the purpose its their except for maybe stop them rattling around a tiny bit maybe? But I think it will do the car better with them out.

Please excuse the phone camera ;-) Any one got anything to add?

Chris

[910trx]

i did just as you described

after i applying the rust converter i chipped and sanded the surface back again and applied more rust converter

i then used touchup paint to cover the infected areas.

touchup paint was ok enough because the "repair" is only visible in one spot where the door is open

i didn't know what to replace the foam with so i picked all the rust out - dipped it in rust converter and let it dry, then bolted it back on.

so far so good, that spot looks as though its holding up so i am happy, and choose to be blisfully unaware how the rest is doing

but why you have the converter in your hands - take off the rear rubber seal round your boot and clean it with soapy water, give it a good smear of rust converter and touch up again, apply seal

i was supprised at how much rust was forming in there - not flaky like the mirrors but stained in the welds and pressed steel. gues a stitch in time saves 9 right?

[lachlanw]

thank you forf putting up a pic of it . i went dearching for the rust and couldnt really find it .

all i could find was 3 2mm bubbles in about the position of the lower orange smudge in the top photo

[dirtyRS4]

Well it gets spoken of very often but no one has really dived in and suggested what they have done at home to help prevent the rust that our cars get under the wing mirrors. For sure its obvious if you have the coin go to a crash shop get it cut out re-filled and re painted..... Unfortunately I don't have this coin to throw around :-(

Firstly you need to pull the mirrors off to see whats going on back their. Even if you DONT have signs of rust I will almost bet it is their as the mirrors hide the first inch or so where it starts rusting.

To pull the mirrors off you need to remove the door skins/cards and then remove the small triangular piece on the inside of the doorcard adjacent to the mirror. Mine (S1 RS4V) was simply a clip set up and pulls off.

Then you have 3 10mm bolts remove those. Put the window down and then remove the mirror from the car.

You will know be able to see the damage thats already been done As well as the STUPID bits of foam behind the mirrors that are the cause of the issue, RIP THAT SHIT OUT!

What im going to do is remove as much of the flakey rust as possible and give it all a good coat of rust converter, ensuring to not let drips or runs get on other paintwork. As well as remove the foam from inside the mirrors as I cant see the purpose its their except for maybe stop them rattling around a tiny bit maybe? But I think it will do the car better with them out.

Please excuse the phone camera ;-) Any one got anything to add?

Chris

Good stuff champ. Hopefully it doesnt spread more.

Should probably be promoted into the stagea DIY section as it is a trademark of all stageas due to water welling up and a design fault from the beloved nissan factory. I am getn panel and paint sorted next week and am cutting it out and treating the back tailgate aswell.

Didnt have time to investigate but sourcing a door and tailgate in the same color could have been cheaper.

Edited January 25, 2010 by dirtyRS4

[southern_tango]

Well done ,I tryed to do mine but couldn't find a product called Rust bullet (I think it's better than normal rustconverter)but there are no more distribuitors in Australia,as much as i heard it treats deeper the rust.

or you can do like this bloke in Japan...

[RBPOWA-(TJ)]

or just go to a shop and get it fixed for like 400 a door. more if you have pearl paint and need to match the panels!

[kidafa]

its obvious if you have the coin go to a crash shop get it cut out re-filled and re painted..... Unfortunately I don't have this coin to throw around :-(

or just go to a shop and get it fixed for like 400 a door. more if you have pearl paint and need to match the panels!

[-RBD2-]

i can fix all stagea door rust for less than a dollar

[-RBD2-]

may i also add,that you chris have lovely hands

[kidafa]

i can fix all stagea door rust for less than a dollar

Included rub and tug? If so we have a deal!

On a more important note;

I removed all the foam and the mirrors didnt rattle or flap around at all included a quick test at 120km/h (private road)

[-RBD2-]

private road my ass

[kidafa]

,,!,, {*_*} ,,!,,

[FR33K]

may i also add,that you chris have lovely hands

yeah definite signs of moisturising...

[260tech]

or just go to a shop and get it fixed for like 400 a door. more if you have pearl paint and need to match the panels!

Pulled my mirrors off last August. I used a Dremel with sanding tubes to remove flaking paint & rust. Treated affected arrears with Fertan rust convertor, (chemtech product from coventrys) primed with .....um......metal primer, then a enamel top coat, then coated the ridge part that had got eaten away, with Sikaflex to build up the missing/corroded original metal. I figgered that there was a need for some kind of wall under the mirrors minus foam else water was going to flow under mirror & get down into the door. I used glad wrap to form the Sikaflex then removed wrap once the black stuff had cured.

I fitted Ganador mirrors, had them for a while. The thing with them is that they have a wider footprint, droop lower down the door & cover small excursions of Dremel, rust & paintbrush. Very beneficial, saves possible door respray if the corrosion has not gone too far. The rust on my car was not visible with the original mirrors fitted but it sure was when I removed them. See pics. (hope they come through)

Cheers GW

[cefiro]

Hey I got to get mine out, do I need to remove the whole door skin to get the mirrors off???? Also what dremel piece did you use??????

[kidafa]

yes need to remove door skin as i said

[stageaharts]

Top job Chris, very handy!

[260tech]

Hey I got to get mine out, do I need to remove the whole door skin to get the mirrors off???? Also what dremel piece did you use??????

This exact one, just like on the front of the box in the pic, (if it comes out), you need the correct mandrill (a Dremel product) for these slip-on cardboard tubes, sacrificial, emery coated, get into close spaces, good tool control, worked fine.

Some other thing(s) I did was get a flat piece of emery strip & rub off as much loose stuff as I could on the inside of the panel the mirror attaches too. Without stuffing my windows.

Once I removed all the loose stuff, got some foam sticks, (paint brush handles with a block of foam rubber on the end instead of the usual bristles ~ Bunnings El cheapo) & treated the inside with the same chemical steps as the outside. The foam pads can be formed to fit the inside contours of the door with your finger, messy on fingers but effective on inner unreachable door skin.

Last thing I did was get into the bottom of the doors & brush out/vacuum all the loose crap out that had shed from the mirror area over time & with my activities. There was quite a bit to suck out. Rust flakes, lots.

Gave the bottom gutter of doors a squirt with inhibitor while I was at it, CRC Soft Seal, product code 3013. Don't be too gay as it will penetrate & stick like the proverbial to whatever it touches.

Cheers GW

[kidafa]

Hi All,

Just thought I'd bump this thread up again as we have a shit load of new members since this issue was spoken of.

I stress that if you cant see rust under your mirrors this doesnt mean this is irrelevant to you! Pull the mirrors of and remove the foam behind them and treat the rust that you cant see (their will be some!) before it gets to late...

[RubyRS4]

For sure its obvious if you have the coin go to a crash shop get it cut out re-filled and re painted..... Unfortunately I don't have this coin to throw around :-(

Don't have $200? I've seen many stag owners have this kind of coin to throw around. All Type Crash told me today they can easily cut up and reweld a plate in place of any rust infection around the stagea mirrors. Or get another door from JIS for $200-$250.

Just picked up my Stagea from ATC today and no more cancer of the passenger door. Repairs to my sideswipe damage looks top notch too.