Hi all, have just recently become a new WRX STi owner, but have notice a small rust spot right in the center of the roof , its a tad bit smaller than a 5p. I find this a really strange place to get a rust spot, and espeically as the car is only 6 years old, and the car is in excellent condition so has been look after!. I have looked in the service manual and sadly neither of the last 2 owners have bothers to get the stamps for the 'Body service' so am i right in thinking im bang out of luck getting this sorted through warranty? How serious is rust in this area, and what sort of damange would i be looking at getting this fixed?

 

I have exactly the same on an 03 STi, but a bit toward the rear. It's been there for at least 5 years! I keep an eye on it but doesn't seem to get any worse.

JohnD

 

Me too i used a kurust touch up on mine then put the blue on top so far so good.

 

So seems to be quiet common then? Bugeyejohn, did you actually sanded yours down then applied kurust and sprayed it all yourself?

 

I sanded mine with a small piece of 200 grade wet/dry paper wrapped round a thin piece of dowling about 5mm across.Then touched it in with the kurust and touch up paint like you would a stone chip.

 

Just tried to take a pic of the area, its getting dark here now so not the greatest...as ive said its just a tad bit smaller than a 5p.



I know its nothing massive, but you know what its like when you have something new, and wil surely only get worse if left untreated??

 

I would sand and treat it then see how much a chips away type place would charge to blow it in, on my old wrx I had a scratch on the rear quarter panel body shop wanted to spray the whole side at over £800, got a local mobile touch up person to just blow in effected area and cost about £80 superb job and as only the small damage painted was never noticeable should be able to get that blown in and a small area of roof lacquered and polished in, he only used a small airbrush and mixed paint on site was well impressed

 

Cheers for the info, i actaully have a friend who is a sprayer, so ill go and see him hopefully ill supply the kurust and throw him £50 and he'll sort it. Is Kurust considered to be the best rust treatment??

 

If it is along the windscreen edge then it would probably be from a screen replacement. Is yours the original screen?

If the sreen remover is not careful enough he/she will damage the protection and rust will follow. Quite common I believe.

 

Nah the effected area is more or less smack bang in the middle of the roof, would bird crap cause such problem if left on the paintwork??

 

i have a very similar problem with mine a 2002sti. mines been there since i got the car in 2003 and has never got any worse. I just keep an eye on it.

 

Funnily enough I have bird **** damage just to the right of the scoop on the bonnet courtsey of the last owner. It ate through the paint to the white undercoat in places and so looks like permanant bird poo. I guess that yes it could be the cause.

 

I'm afraid it's a sign of the times, even the birds are partial to the occasional curry!

JohnD

 

So whats the correct process for treating this

1. Sand down the effect area (and a tiny bit more) removing all visable rust and bubbles.
2. Wash area with water
3. Dry area
4. Apply Kurust with a brush.
5. Wait an hour to see if the area turns black/blue....if it does theres still rust present so go back to step 1, if doesnt turn black/blue re-apply Kurust.
6. After 3 hours Prime and spray effect area with the matching paint

Is that about right? any other tips?

 

Had a similar problem on mine, seemed to be lots of small stone chips in my case.

Bit the bullett and pedsti on this forum of prestige body in cockenzie painted it for me and made a smashing job

If anybody is up visiting Andy Forrest's place the bodyshop is literally 2 minutes drive along the road.

So far, he has painted wing ( I had a tiny rust spot due to last winter), preventative measures on rear arches, bonnet scoop (was faded) + complete roof due to stone chips. He was also able to polish out some car park scratches.

Not the cheapest, but good quality service (imho)

 

After doing a bit more research it appear if using Kurust you have to actually apply it to the rust directly, but noticed a lot of reports that because Kurust doesnt have a sealer in it, rust can get under the kurust and re-appear again. It would appear that Jenolite is supossed to be better as it actually seals.

Has anyone used the Jenolite before?

 

I have this issue on MY2000. I plan on treating it with Kurust then carbon wrapping the roof

 

Thing with doing that is you run a really good chance when the time comes to take the wrap off (5-8 years life on these wraps) that it will peel the paint of around the treated area, and also you wont be able to see whats happening underneith the warp to see if the rust has come back or not.

I have just got back from seeing my mate at the bodyshop, said ideally the whole roof would need to be spray otherwise you'll get overspray all over the place. Said he'd do it for £200, usually be in the region of £400 . I know its not the cheapest but at least this way its going to be done right

 

Best way. I never try home repairs, always take mine to local bodyshop called Littleknocks.
Later this year the car is going there for a full front end re-spray to cure lots of stone chips and that damn bird poop!