Help: corrosion near chassis tag

Dear all, I have always had some corrosion on the door opening panel, adjacent to the manufacturer’s plate, shown in the photo. I am hoping the corrosion is not from behind the panel and that I will not have to remove the riveted plate. I will try to address the corrosion and then paint the panel in situ.

Can I just unscrew the screw in the photo and after painting screw it back in?

Advice much appreciated.

Regards,

Andy
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Yes, this and any of the four trim screws are removeable without issue but the major attach points are the four 6mm countersunk machine screws that attach the striker block.

The trim panel sits above the door jamb structure so any minor surface rust you see likely is limited exposure.

BTW, I don't see a problem with removing the rivets on the panel so you could respray the whole door jamb trim panel, then rivet it back in after?


PS - Nice, another Dino with original Pan Head slot screws on the trim panel, a trend!

On the back of this trim panel is your Scaglietti body number, perhaps get some snaps
http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/138937471-post14.html

 

The VIN plate looks brand new. Is it the original one? I don't see a problem with removing it and riveting it back on if necessary. I would make a point of using the correct type of rivets when you put it back.

 

Thanks, Scott, Eric. The manufacturer's plate is still the original one.

Where do I buy those rivets? They are quite neat looking.

Andy

 

What about first trying to just take the panel off, carefully protect the data plate and carefully neutralize the small amount of corrosion then carefully airbrush or brush touch the repaired area to retain as much originality as possible? If you're not satisfied with the result you could always then try taking the data panel off etc.

Freeman

 

Good idea, Freeman. I will try that first.

(It's good to know the Scaglietti number is behind, Scott.)

Andy

 

If you've decided on preserving as much of the original paint as possible, then you may also want to have the fasteners replated. I'll bet your four trim panels in the door jambs are attached with a total of 14 silver Zinc plated pan head screws which is a good start for a plating lot.

 

There is obvious corrosion under the data plate. The trim panel and data plate should come off to do it right. I would remove the data plate without risk of damage by grinding off the pop rivets from the back side. That way there's no danger of drilling from the front side.
Spot spray paint the area after removing the rust, and you can keep the majority of your original paint.
If you really wanted to go nuts, you could even keep your original rivets in their original location and just glue the plate back on after the repair.
I would use new rivets personally.

 

I removed the screw next to the plate and then carefully scraped the paint off the bubbling area. I was surprised to find no evidence of rust, even if the metal below – which was bright and clean – already began to show. Quite strange. I know the car or at least some sections were reprayed decades ago, but I am not sure they resprayed the inner panels.

Andy
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Most rear door jamb panels I have seen are aluminum.
Take a magnet to it.

Perhaps the flex of door shutting has loosened the paint.
Also, it is more difficult to paint aluminum than steel and what you'ree seeing looks like the affects of prep difficulty in painting aluminum.

 

Yes, it's aluminum, Scott. Now I've learned something. That white residue could be aluminum corrosion. It could de too that the dissimilar metal screw triggered the corrosion.

Thanks, Scott.

Andy

 

I reread an email sent to me in 2006 by the second owner of my car. He posts here once in a while. He said there was a hint of corrosion by the rivet on the plate when he had it. That was in the mid-1980s! The good thing is that the corrosion didn’t seem to have progressed much. I live in a very humid country, but try to control the humidity in the garage. That has helped.

I have noted the advice here and will do a proper job one day. I should have the screws plated, but in the meantime will polish each one and lubricate the threads to avoid dissimilar metal corrosion with the panel. I have not found a rivet head identical to the factory one.

As a temporary measure, I had the paint matched and then brushed on several layers to fill the area I scraped off. I really should have used an air-brush as suggested above, but wasn’t sure of the match. I then sanded this down with #1000 sandpaper on a small rubber block. The match was close but the outline visible. I stuck on a tire-pressure label I had elsewhere, so this is a band-aid job until I decide to take the panel off. I hope I don’t get too lazy and decide to leave that label on.

Again, many thanks for the advice.

Andres
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