I have some rust on the bottom of the front doors and im just wondering how you got it fixed and how much it cost you.

Their.

The e34net writeup on how to fix it sounds fairly easy to do, as well as cheap. I've had rust there since buying the car, and it seems to spread very slowly if at all.

Hmmm. Where is the rust info located on e34.net?

Here. (http://bmwe34.net/e34main/maintenance/Body/door_trims.htm)

I don't have any rust yet.. What do your think is causing it? Blocked up drain holes or just road salt? Personally I would just have a spot repair done at a good body shop unless you plan on painting the whole car. If it's just the lower part of the door you'll barely notice the job if it's done right.

Mine actually started creeping out of the door corners. It's visible on both the passenger and driver's side front doors. :mad I think I read somewhere that the door bottoms were a pain in the a$$ to get on and off. Anyone here actually done this?

Heres my rust and it extends above the trim. I guess i could apply rust proof liquid then fill with some body filler and cover with some touch up paint.

http://img75.imageshack.us/img75/5320/rustnp0.jpg

Mine actually started creeping out of the door corners. It's visible on both the passenger and driver's side front doors. :mad I think I read somewhere that the door bottoms were a pain in the a$$ to get on and off. Anyone here actually done this?

I just did mine - probably the easiest fix ever done. Ordered the new ones from Bav Auto, grabbed the old ones and stuck a plastic pry-bar in between the bottom of the door and the old seal, and -pop-. Off it came... Pushed, pulled and grunted the new ones on in about 5 minutes per side.

I just did mine - probably the easiest fix ever done. Ordered the new ones from Bav Auto, grabbed the old ones and stuck a plastic pry-bar in between the bottom of the door and the old seal, and -pop-. Off it came... Pushed, pulled and grunted the new ones on in about 5 minutes per side.

Wow, really?

I've talked to a few guys (who are very mechanically inclined) and they said it was a MAJOR PITA.

Mine doesn't have any visible, being a Southern car.

Those things are notorious for trapping moisture, creating rust.

I took mine off, grinded the bottoms, sprayed em with primer and put on the new ones. It was a pita-- about 20 mins per door, but worth it.

And you could deal with it not being painted?

My door bottoms are white. One is actually cracked. Are the ones from Bav Auto the same as the ones that came on the 540? If so, can they be painted?

they can be painted, and they come in black.

If those pieces you guys are talking about are replaced every so often then the doors won't rust out. The only reason those doors rust out is because there are drain holes that get clogged up in the bottom of the door. Dust and water comes into the door through the window sill and ends up sitting in the door like mud and rusting the door out. Im swapping a set of doors on my car with a set from another car from texas. If you want to fix it, you could have someone reskin the door from the trim down. Its the only way to fix it right. If you cut out the rusted area and and patch it only, it will just rust at a different spot.

I have some rust along the same places, and a few others like the top of the wheel well on the fenders. I'll be doing the rust work soon, and I'll grind it off with a wire wheel, then sandblast it, and then prime it. Shouldn't take too long, except the touch up paint is going to look much better than the faded paint, but I'll polish it all.

EDIT: For rust paints, I have heard some good things about Must For Rust,which you can get at places like Home Depot, etc. But I'll go with POR15, never heard anything negative about it.

I have some rust along the same places, and a few others like the top of the wheel well on the fenders. I'll be doing the rust work soon, and I'll grind it off with a wire wheel, then sandblast it, and then prime it. Shouldn't take too long, except the touch up paint is going to look much better than the faded paint, but I'll polish it all.

EDIT: For rust paints, I have heard some good things about Must For Rust,which you can get at places like Home Depot, etc. But I'll go with POR15, never heard anything negative about it.

hate to burst your bubble, but if you do that, the paint will fall off and you'll have rust in a matter of a couple months. you have to cut all of the possilble infected metal out and replace it with new stuff and use some good corrosion protection on the backside.

here is more rust ... not a pretty thing to look at

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-8/1207535/2bimmerrust.JPG


http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-8/1207535/4bimmerrust.JPG

hate to burst your bubble, but if you do that, the paint will fall off and you'll have rust in a matter of a couple months.

Not with POR15. All you need to do is scrape off the rust and wire-brush it, then put on the paint. It's a special paint (mucho bucks) that converts the leftover rust into a non-rust state. Great stuff...Used it extensively in all of my restoration projects and it works as advertised.

Not with POR15. All you need to do is scrape off the rust and wire-brush it, then put on the paint. It's a special paint (mucho bucks) that converts the leftover rust into a non-rust state. Great stuff...Used it extensively in all of my restoration projects and it works as advertised.

Ok.. so it will last maybe a year instead of a couple months. Nothing will stop rust esp if its already in the panel such as e34 doors get. I promise you it will only come back. Been there and have seen what happens.

cut it out and patch it up. thats the only way your going fix that problem.

Ok.. so it will last maybe a year instead of a couple months. Nothing will stop rust esp if its already in the panel such as e34 doors get. I promise you it will only come back. Been there and have seen what happens.

Nope - sorry, you're misinformed. There are a few products out there that will kill-off rust and if the metal has been properly sealed and coated after the application of the treatment, it will be fine for many years. Ospho is one chemical. POR is another. I worked in a steel shop for years and we always used Ospho on our metal to kill off any rust and keep it from coming back. If the source of the rust is on the outside of the doors, and that source is eliminated and the metal treated - it will NOT come back. However, if water is getting in the door from the window and it is rotting from the inside-out, thats another story. The key is eliminating the cause.

Nope - sorry, you're misinformed. There are a few products out there that will kill-off rust and if the metal has been properly sealed and coated after the application of the treatment, it will be fine for many years. Ospho is one chemical. POR is another. I worked in a steel shop for years and we always used Ospho on our metal to kill off any rust and keep it from coming back. If the source of the rust is on the outside of the doors, and that source is eliminated and the metal treated - it will NOT come back. However, if water is getting in the door from the window and it is rotting from the inside-out, thats another story. The key is eliminating the cause.

Which is why using it on the doors would be useless correct? or any other part of your car really.. If your working with a garage queen, yea it will last quite a while, but on a car thats driven.... You'll be counting the days. I grew up putting quarters on Impala's and making new cowl panels out of sheet metal.. You say POR, all I see if some crap that should probobly be used over your new metal to help preserve it. The only other problem I see with it, is in 20 years it will come off and you have worse problems because the water gets trapped between.

Wow, really?

I've talked to a few guys (who are very mechanically inclined) and they said it was a MAJOR PITA.

Mine doesn't have any visible, being a Southern car.

Those things are notorious for trapping moisture, creating rust.

'95's are different. We have the plastic lower, paintable and sticks out to match the side skirt. The 89-94 cars had rubber seals at the bottom of the door. Those come off pretty easily, pressure fit. Not sure how the 95's are attached, but considering they're not just replaceable rubber, it's not as easy as ripping the old one off and putting a new one on.

after working on my '94 and putting the '95 side skirts/door trim on repairing rust etc....
The next time I would be a clean door from down south somewhere for a permanent repair.
both the door edge designs '95 and pre-'95 trap water in them, don't believe me? wash your car then open the doors and watch the water run out those door trim pieces.
If you can see rust visibly above the door edge piece, then there will be a ton of rust underneath that door edge piece.
that's my opinion FWIW