Luke’s neglected Fabia Vrs

[Luke6n]

Hi all, 

 

been on this forum a while and finally decided to post. Long story short I bought my vrs on New Year’s Eve in 2016. It’s fair to say that I bought an absolute dog at the time, drove fine no bangs etc but since I think I’ve nearly replace every single thing on the underside of the car( should have seen the first MOT)
 

since owning I think I’ve now replaced.

 

discs and pads all round x2 

shocks all round. 

2 springs

consoles and bushes. 
3 callipers

drop links 

replaced the alloys as majority were buckled! 

3 wheel bearings.

probably more missing off this list! 
 

anyway for the last 3 years I’ve treated the poor thing as a workhorse and heavily neglected it while travelling for work. Now I’m not doing nearly all the miles I was I was tempted to sell it but I’ve had a change of heart and decided to tidy the thing up and fix all the little bits I’ve been wanting to do for ages! First up is the sills again after it ignoring the issue. Don’t have any photos of it when I bought it but here are a couple of the neglect. 
 

[john999boy]

Presumably there’s been a drought in Fife for the past 3.5 years? 😉

[Luke6n]

Having just bought my first house last year that was needing fixed up and took basicallt

all my time and money to boot. Fabia came in handy for the tip runs though. 

[Luke6n]

2 minutes ago, john999boy said:

Presumably there’s been a drought in Fife for the past 3.5 years? 😉

Haha no but there was a severe lack of Will to wash the thing! Got a first wash in about 14 months last weekend though 😧😂

[Luke6n]

Any the sills were slightly bubbling when I bought it and didn’t think much of it.  Neglected the car some more then was presented with this over a year ago when I bothered to check. Ahh not so good. 

[Luke6n]

A while back the fabia also developed a starting issue and it was basically a thought of, what can I possibly be bloody now with this thing. Wouldn’t start just nothing happening when I turned the key. The starter was always sticky so went about changing thag anyway. Alas still nothing then I found this.. 

 

anyway new cable and it’s back to running and starting normal. 

[Luke6n]

since euro car parts had mega sale I’ve also bagged all the gubbings to service the heap which is well overdue, but first after ignoring the above sills for a further year approximately I thought I best now sort these out.

 

i set about tryin to get rid of the rust as far as I could then once back to metal

i treated the areas with bilt hamber hydrate 80. 
some filler was required but not overly a lot. Next for the bare metal areas this was etched with the filler protected as this will just receive high build. Was going to finish prepping tonight but rain soon halted progress. 

Edited 12 May, 2020 by Luke6n

[Luke6n]

[Luke6n]

Not much more progress, I’m still fortunate to be working during the current circumstances so just a bit more fettling tonight and primer on. Couple bits that will require redoing before colour but will see how the wet sanding goes tomorrow. 

[seanders]

15 hours ago, Luke6n said:

Not much more progress, I’m still fortunate to be working during the current circumstances so just a bit more fettling tonight and primer on. Couple bits that will require redoing before colour but will see how the wet sanding goes tomorrow. 

 

Looks very good for a DIY job man, should clean up well once paint is on. Will have to do this to a few nasty rust spots on my Fabia as well but a bit scared to mess with paint 😞

[Luke6n]

5 hours ago, seanders said:

 

Looks very good for a DIY job man, should clean up well once paint is on. Will have to do this to a few nasty rust spots on my Fabia as well but a bit scared to mess with paint 😞

Thanks Seanders! It’s looking okay was planning on wet sanding tonight but not long in from work and I can’t be hopped now! Will get it done in around work tomorrow now. 
 

Happy to offer/ point you in correct way incase you fancy tackling it yourself may not be correct however we will see how it turns out 😂

[Luke6n]

I’m on the hunt for roof bars preferably Thule Aeros. Can anyone tell me the right configuration for fitting kits to what bars fit the fabia? If anyone is selling full setup I would also like to hear from you! 
 

also what foot pack and fitting kit etc? 
 

and lastly can any bars be mixed with fitting kit? Only asking as bars can be sourced relatively cheap, 

Edited 14 May, 2020 by Luke6n

[Luke6n]

well not much of an updated it has just continually rained in true Scottish fashion preventing me from finishing the colour but hoping to get it done mid week as it’s supposed to clear up hopefully! 

[Luke6n]

i Know no one really cares but there is some progress.. 

 

last night I wasn’t happy with a few spots and decided to wet sand the primer and reapply again which was much better application. As shown below. There was some further wet sanding today to feather edge the primer into the existing paint and couple bits of existing paint sanded with 1200 just to be lacquered. 

[Luke6n]

Then here comes the big finale! Since we finally have some sun here in Scotland tonight was the perfect day for it. Got some light coats of colour on, followed by a listing of lacquer and then ultimately a very thick coat as much as you dare without runs occurring as below. 

[Luke6n]

Also bagged these beauty’s for free the other night with the correct foot pack after missing out on some aero bars. All that is required is the 3003 fitting and new rubber feet which are on order 🤠. My upload capacity is absolutely tiny is there anyway to increase? 

[john999boy]

7 minutes ago, Luke6n said:

 🤠My upload capacity is absolutely tiny is there anyway to increase? 

Join Freedom and you get loads extra! 

[Luke6n]

8 minutes ago, john999boy said:

Join Freedom and you get loads extra! 

Done 😃 didn’t realise that was an option. 

[Robshaw]

Looks so much better!

Top work - Always like reading these threads!

[seanders]

15 hours ago, Luke6n said:

Then here comes the big finale! Since we finally have some sun here in Scotland tonight was the perfect day for it. Got some light coats of colour on, followed by a listing of lacquer and then ultimately a very thick coat as much as you dare without runs occurring as below. 

Ace job Luke, looks very well done

[Luke6n]

10 hours ago, Robshaw said:

Looks so much better!

Top work - Always like reading these threads!

That’s rob! Well get ready cause I’ve still the other sill to do and two spots on either quarter panel 🤦🏻‍♂️ This has given me confidence however pretty pleased how it’s came out. 

10 hours ago, seanders said:

Ace job Luke, looks very well done

Thanks seanders im fair pleased! Just goes to show it’s all in the prep 

[Luke6n]

Final photo of it back on 4 wheels, there were some hard edges from the masking of the lacquer so some 2000 and cutting compound here we are. 

[Guest BigJase88]

What a difference. Well done

[Titanium_Man]

Great job 👍 Both my sills have rust bubbles but have resisted trying to fix them in fear of it being too far gone and therefore needing a professional, and therefore much more expensive fix 🙈

[Luke6n]

2 hours ago, jars said:

Great job 👍 Both my sills have rust bubbles but have resisted trying to fix them in fear of it being too far gone and therefore needing a professional, and therefore much more expensive fix 🙈

If it is small patches it will be easier than that mess I had to sort out mate plus I’ve seen what else you’ve done on your build reckon you’ll manage no bother 💪🏻 Happy to offer my process if you did decide. 
 

 

time will tell how well mine holds up when they start putting salt back down 🥵 I also had to remove some of the factory stone chip to get to some rust spots and have only painted those areas fingers crossed it can cope if not will need to redo if stones break through the repair.