Rust on ls 400
 

Ok i have bought a ls 400 that i now love, there were some rust but the price was good, 1500 EURO

If we look at the first picture you can see a big rust hole, i am wondering if it would be a good ideal to use fiberglass to fill and repaint.

And where would i grind, cause there is a white stripe that goes like a line past the hole do i grind that to or can i just paint it later?

Same thing near the windows on pic 2 the color is faint and a tiny rust spot on top, how does this happen?

My way= grind necessary area, primer, fiberglass paste (fiberglass mat?), sandpaper it down , and lastly touch-up paint or clear-coat what is the difference?

and the antenna is broken with rust bubbles appearing could i fill the hole with fiberglass so it would look like nothing was there?,cause i don't use the radio anyway.

use body filler (Bondo) like the pros do for small areas like this


yes

The only way to properly repair that would be to patch it by welding new metal into it. Any reputable body guy uses as little Bondo as possible.

Like dc893 said, the only way to do that right would be to cut that section out and replace with new metal. A hole like that if filled will most likely crack if filled with glass. You COULD fill it with bondo, but because there is nothing behind it's just a matter of time before it cracks. IMO, the best choice would be to find a car at a salvage yard and cut that section out to replace it with.

HA! I just read the quote in your sig block. NICE!

Welcome to Club Lexus.

The recommended choice is to cut the rusted metal out and weld in fresh. Pull the lower rocker covers off behind the front wheels and inspect there as well. You'll also have an idea by checking the water drain holes on each door.

There are various fiberglass adhesives so finding the proper one may yield acceptable results. For the given work, metal would be preferred.

Keep us posted. :thumbup:

I didn't mention the metal route 'cause hey, it's a 1500 Euro car! :p

Yikes. I'd just get a new quarter panel from the local junkyard.

Don't know the availability of Celsiors/LS400's in Sweden so a wrecking yard may be tough. OTOH, plenty of competent fabricators can do this for you and I've seen some very nice videos of modded cars there. Can be expensive to fix rusty spots but if this is a project car...:thumbup:

Yes, this car is very hard to find in Sweden, even the biggest auction-site only have like 10 of them.:egads:

My question is if the hole is even big enough to consider start welding.

I'm not an expert in body work, but I've done a few patches on rust holes and such. I've always been taught that metal is the way to go. I understand that some people might not be able to do it themselves or can afford to have it done. But if you can, metal is the way to go for sure. IMO I would repair even the smallest of holes with metal. I shaved my badges off the trunk of my LS, and filled the holes with weld. I did think about just filling it with bondo, but I didnt want to risk it cracking and looking like crap later down the road.