Corrosion on rear door guiderails

[jonnybaz]

Any one tested refurbishing the upper and lower guide rails on the multispace MK2? On my car they are getting really corroded and the top film/paint for the wheels is gone. The doors still works but they don't sound nice closing. Any tip regarding what paint to use after grinding of the corrosion?

[Ol'Jeffers]

All you'll need is a wire brush and some wet or dry paper. A grinding disc
sounds like overkill to me! The best thing to refinish the rails may be powder coating.
I think it may also be prudent to take a look at the condition of the wheels.
I've never heard of anyone here having this problem.

[Coco]

Mine are like this - the coating has peeled and if not cleaned frequently they are noisy to operate.

I haven't looked into any remedial work yet, just much washing and much WD40

[addo]

Are they a die cast item, or pressed steel?

If they're cast, then the corrosion is pretty much impossible to banish without a level of work which would be uneconomical. You could stall the deterioration with thorough prepping and one of the "engineered" coatings (eg, Rust Bullet, POR-15, Epoxy-Mastic etc etc) that bonds decently to a clean substrate. Coatings like Hammerite are not even close to viable.

A pressed steel track could be readily blasted and zinc passivated, then etch primed/painted if desired.

Cheers, Adam.

[blob]

Having just replaced a rail, I'd say that the problem is probably caused by the wheel on the door getting seized and then dragging which destroys the coating on the track.

[ojelun]

Where to find spares for rails and/ or wheels?

[pk7478]

Where to find spares for rails and/ or wheels?

Breakers and dealers can help you.