Crew cab 720 rust repair under battery tray

[jreddy 15]

Hi guys ,just going to address some small rust issues on my sd22 720 ,I have recently got my steel wheels powder coated white and new tyres,(must post some pics) ,anyhow ,There is a patch of rust under the battery tray (on the wing),you can see it in the wheel well it is only 35/40mm diameter (no hole but bubbling ) but is there any good way to repair that doesn't involve removing the 20 or so spot welds on the battery tray and taking out the tray ,haven't done  any body repair before ,so im happy to chance some hidden work but even to remove the tray is daunting for me ,any hints or tricks would be great .Thanks 

[MikeRL411 3,440]

Naval Jelly.  Preferably with a mat to prevent leakage and severe paint runs.  Rinse well later and apply good primer and matching paint.  

 

Slainte and Caed Mille Failte/

[jreddy 15]

Go raibh maith agat a Mike,   I didnt go prodding area with screwdriver as i drive it regularly ,but i think its a cut out and weld in metal patch ,ill have to grind off paint and investigate I had never heard of Naval jelly I taught you were joking..,are you Irish??? regards John

[MikeRL411 3,440]

On 4/30/2021 at 8:01 AM, jreddy said:

Go raibh maith agat a Mike,   I didnt go prodding area with screwdriver as i drive it regularly ,but i think its a cut out and weld in metal patch ,ill have to grind off paint and investigate I had never heard of Naval jelly I taught you were joking..,are you Irish??? regards John

 

Naval jelly is a thick goop that disolves iron rust.  Very caustic

Both my parents were from Ireland, Cavan and Monaghan.  My maternal Grandmother was raised Gaelic speaking.  No English was allowed in her home town.

[Lockleaf 5,049]

You can look for products advertised as "rust encapsulators".  They are often sprays, and are used to trap rust where it is so it can't go any further.  If you have access to Eastwood.com products in Ireland, then they sell one that gets decent reviews.

 

regarding actually removing the tray to fix the rust, what tools to you have available?  On the simplest side, a drill, some bits, and a couple wire wheels could do the job.  Drill out all the spot welds, wire wheel clean, then prime and paint.  They make spot weld cutter bits and also spot weld drilling bits that are meant for you to only go through one of the two pieces spot welded together so that that you aren't left with a bunch of holes in the body.  Then you could drill just a couple holes all the way through, and bolt the tray back in place.

 

If you have access to a welder, you can plug weld the tray back in place after the repair is complete.

 

If you really want to see some metal work on a 720 crew cab, I am building one out of two trucks since we never got the 4 door here at all.  The thread is called Tiny Havok.

[Charlie69 6,128]

Naval Jelly is good stuff.  Great paint remover also.  Be careful using it it will eat you skin.  Dress up like you are entering a Covid ward in a hospital before using it.