Hi there
The passenger side door on my 2005 NBFL has a weird rust spot where it rusted from the inside out through the door skin. I suspect the door was hit in the past which led to the door frame and the skin separating, breaking any seam sealer that might have been there. Behind the rust spot/hole is where the lower hinge attaches.
I’m now looking for a new door that I will have to have painted since I can’t find any Chili Orange doors.
I have found a door for sale somewhat local that looks in pretty good shape but there is some rust on the bottom seam:
My question: In your experience, do these bottom door seams typically rust from the inside out or is this usually surface rust on the outside? Surface rust would be fine since it needs to be repainted anyway.
I think I’d be inclined to get a quote on fixing that rust spot on your door first. If it’s the only problem (nothing anywhere else) then it’s got to be a better proposition than fixing that other door you’ve found. It looks like the seam or fold in the door has blown causing rust to appear.
Body shops can work miracles fixing small patches of damage/rust obviously costs involved determine how far you want to go.
Either way that chilli orange paint may need to be blown in to the wings if a resprays required on the full door, probably even if they repair and patch your current door, who knows.
I can recommend a body shop near me, had some work recently done, I’m near Derby.
You know the history of your door and the condition of the rest of it so it may be unwise to start investing in something unknown.
Get a quote for a ‘proper’ job and work from there. A new door will cost just as much to paint and blend so the only extra cost is in removing the rust.
I have just re read what I have written and have convinced my self that you should get your existing door repaired.
I don’t know the history of my door. I bought the car like this. I expect to find filler where the damage was repaired. Who knows where it will rust next.
The bottom seam of my orange door is rusty as well. Worse than the silver one
The rust hole in the highlighted area is in a part of the door you can’t reach from the back or from the inside making it quite difficult to repair and assess how much rust there even is
Most/all(?) doors I found on ebay that actually show the bottom seam seem to have some degree of rust in that area. Since this seems to be a common area for rust (at least judging by the admittedly small sampling size of some ebay items) I was hoping someone has experience with that area.
We Have the Same Vehicle me Thinks …2005 1.8 Icon in Orange
I concur with MickAP and Mad_Malc in their advice
I’ve owned Bullit since 2007 and she’s lived in sight of North Sea in Whitby and to my shame a car park in Market Drayton that had weeds growing in it
So she’s been welded and undersealed and garaged since 2019
BUT has surface rust popping up in a few places like your door
A few years ago a garage ‘drove her off the ramp’ too quick and damaged a rear wing. Needless to say they paid for the repair BUT COULDN’T MATCH THE EXACT ORANGE PAINTWORK POST 2005 so I can tell it’s a slightly different shade
So…how fussy are you ?
Personally I’m saving for a full respray and the surface rust being sorted at the same time
Whatever you decide from one 2005 Orange Icon owner to another
If it helps I’ve previously looked into replacing doors/panels and respraying them individually on Bullit to control the rust and eventually rejected this ‘piecemeal’ [spelling ?] approach
BUT ‘Horses for Courses’ as I’ve had Bullit as second owner from when she was only 18 months old and we’ve been through a lot together so for me it’s just a question of how soon I can save the pennies to deal with her surface rust and respray
It’s not an easy decision for you as newish owner ‘renovate & restore’
from one 2005 Orange Icon owner to another