Chevrolet Cruze Repair Manual: Anti-Corrosion Treatment and Repair (Base)

Warning: When applying sound deadeners, or anti-corrosion materials due care and preventative measures must be exercised to prevent any material from being sprayed into door and quarter panel mechanisms such as door locks, window run channels, window regulators and seat belt retractors, as well as any moving or rotating mechanical or suspension parts on the underbody, particularly the parking brake cable. After material application, be sure that all body drain holes are open. Improper application may increase chance of corrosion damage or limit the operation of moving parts, resulting in personal injury.

Any procedure that disturbs these special treatments, such as panel replacement or collision damage repair operations, may leave the metal unprotected and result in corrosion. Proper recoating of these surfaces with service-type anti-corrosion material is essential.

After repair and/or replacement parts are installed, all accessible bare metal surfaces must be treated with metal conditioner and reprimed.

Refer to the GM Approved Refinish Materials book which identifies the paint systems you may use.

The latest revision of the GM Approved Refinish Materials booklet is located on the Goodwrench website at www.gmgoodwrench.com.

Anti-corrosion compounds are light-bodied materials designed to penetrate between metal-to-metal surfaces, such as pinch-weld joints, hem flanges, and integral panel attaching points where metal surfaces are difficult to coat with conventional undercoating materials, and are inaccessible for painting. The materials that are suitable for interior and exterior are listed in the chart below. Conventional undercoating is recommended in order to coat large areas, such as replacement door and quarter outer panels, floor pan sections, lids, hoods, fenders, etc. During undercoating operations, care should be taken to prevent the material from being sprayed into door and quarter panel hardware mechanisms, such as door locks, window run channels, window regulators, and seat belt retractors. On the underbody, the material should not be applied to any moving or rotating part, energy absorbing bumper components, or shock absorbers.

After undercoating, ensure that all body drain holes are open.

Interior Protectant

The following products are available from GM Dealer Equipment. For technical information, call 187-Permatex (1-877-376-2839):

Exterior Protectants

The following product is available from *ECP, Inc. Contact them at 1-800-323-3521 or www.ecpinc.net.

The following products are available from your local *3M® distributor, or call 1-800-521-8180, ext. 779-5165.

The following product is available from *Transtar Autobody Technologies. Contact the company at 1-800-824-2843 or www.tat-co.com

*We believe these sources and their products to be reliable. There may be additional manufacturers of such material. General Motors does not endorse, indicate any preference for, or assume any responsibility for the products from these firms, or for any such items which may be available from other sources.

These sealers are intended to prevent water and dust from entering the vehicle and also are anti-corrosion barriers. Sealers are applied to such areas as rear compartment lid hem flanges, wheelhouse, quarter outer, floor, cowl, roof, and various other panel to panel attaching points. The originally sealed joints are obvious and any damage to these sealed locations should be corrected by resealing. Attaching points of new replacement panels should be resealed. Replacement lids and doors will also require sealing in the hem flange areas.

Flanged joints, overlap joints, and seams should be sealed using a quality sealer of medium-bodied consistency. The sealer used must retain its flexible characteristics after curing and be paintable.

Open joints which require bridging of the sealer in order to close a gap should be sealed using a heavy-bodied caulking material. Follow the label directions for the material selected.

Color application may be required in order to restore repaired areas such as hood, fenders, doors, quarters, lid, roof, engine compartment, underbody, and inner panels to original appearance. When this is necessary, conventional refinishing preparation, undercoat buildup, and color application techniques should be followed.

Deadener materials, spray-on type, are used on various metal panels in order to provide corrosion resistance and joint sealing. They control the general noise level inside the passenger area of the vehicle. When deadeners are disturbed because of damage, are removed during repair operations, or a new replacement panel is installed, the deadener material must be replaced by a service equivalent material.

The application pattern and location of deadener materials can be determined by observing the original production installation.

Cleaning of the interior and underbody panel surfaces is necessary when original galvanized or other anti-corrosion materials have been burned off during welding or heating operations. Removal of the residue from burning will require additional care in such areas as interior surfaces of box-type construction and when configurations of the metal panels limit access to interior surfaces.

Repair Procedure

1. Thoroughly wash the repair area with a GM approved Liquid Wash and Wax kit.
2. Environmental damage may be corrected. Refer to Environmental Fallout (Acid Rain) or Rail Dust Damage Repair.

Important: Follow all of the instructions from the manufacturer of the polishing material.

3. Use a paint gauge before, during, and after sanding and/or polishing, to avoid removing too much clearcoat. Refer to Paint Gauges.