What do I do now?

[greenmeanie]

The first thing I would do is hit all that rust with a wire wheel on a grinder and get all the flaky loose stuff off so you have a better understanding of where the good metal starts.

If you can weld the repair is quite manageable.

For the footwells out hosts sell replacement panels. I never figured out why they galvanized a footwell panel that gets welded in place though. Watch out for the galvy flue.

Have a good look at that mounting foot and see if you can get away with plating it.

Paint it with your favourite rust proofing coatings and you're done until you get that irresistable urge to galvanize everything.

Ike has a great description here:
Linky

[brucejohn]

Thanks for the thoughts and link. Wow Ike has it figured out.

I have poked and hammered on both feet a bit and they appear solid. I am hoping cleaning them up, plating and painting will do until I 'get that irresistable urge'.

[jac04]

Here is what I would do:
Start tearing everything apart and get completely crazy & off-track from the original plan. When people ask about the 'refurbishment', immediately turn defensive and go into denial mode about the actual restoration taking place. Oh wait, that's what I would do, but maybe you shouldn't do the same.

But, seriously, here is my suggestion:
1) Get rid of all the loose rust you can via wire wheel or 3M rust removal disc (or a sandblaster if you have one).
2) Treat rusty metal with Eastwood Rust Convereter and then coat with Rust Encapsulator. Buy the Encapsulator by the quart and brush it on thick.
3) Buy some sheet metal (a thickness that you can work with) and make patch panels that are bigger than your rusted-out areas so they can be riveted in place. Drill all your rivet holes, but don't install the panels quite yet.
4) When installing the patch panels, I would "bed them in" with a good epoxy or automotive seam sealer. Then rivet them in place with closed-end rivets.
5) When the epoxy or seam sealer is dry, clean everything & coat everything with a few coats of Rust Encapsulator, then a few coats of brush-on Rust-Oleum for good measure.
6) Spray rubberized undercoating on the areas prone to impact.

It sounds like more work than it really is. It may not be the prettiest repair, but it can last a very long time if executed properly. Chemicals are your friend.

[brucejohn]

Hmmm.... door number 1: denial, defensive, detour or door number 2? I'll take door number 2 Bob.

Thanks, for the suggestion Jac04, that actually sounds really good too. One of the great things here, lots of good suggestions. I have been wondering do you own stock in Eastwood? I ordered a gallon of the converter, though I did not order the encapsulator. I got the impression it wasn't much different than Rustoleum. Did I make a mistake?

Actually, after running the angle grinder a little today I am leaning toward a modified Ike, GreenMeanie, Jac04 approach.

Thanks for the help, I need all I can get.

[brucejohn]

Well, repairing the foot wells has been interesting and enlightening.

I decided to use a modified greenmeanie/jac04 approach. Using patches and welding. This being my first welding project I will be withholding the photos. As I am a noob, I cut too little out of the old steel creating the need for many smaller patches to 'repair' the metal running away from my welding. On the flip side I know exactly what not to do next time.

I am getting my money out of the 4-1/2" angle grinder I bought though

Let's just say though ugly I am confident that the patches will more than last until I am ready to rebuild bulkhead in 3-5 years and the floor mats made from stall mats will be look great in comparison for the time being.