they seam clean enough

While I have been cleaning the front wings by blasting the smaller rear lower valances have been sitting in a bath of B&Q metal cleaner diluted about 30:1 with water.

The areas being cleaned will mostly be cut away and repaired with new metal so it might seem like a pointless exercise but the repair task seems less daunting once all the rust has disappeared and leaves you with a better idea of how the original part was constructed as there is quite a complex bracket welded to it with captive nuts that hold the panel onto the car.

It was also a test to see how much rust this stuff can shift. I'm impressed as it can actually break down thick rust scale trapped between spot welded seams. The rust almost turns soft like dirt or mud and can be scraped out.

The process also involves no work and is very cheap as the stuff is only £5 for 5 litres.








RHS rear lower valance has some of mounting flange remaining to act as guide for repairs





severe rust as area is a mud trap. rust eating fluid gradually cleaning out thick rust between spotwelded flanges