Hi all,

Title is bit misleading but I'm starting to get rust in the 'common area' caused by the tailgate washer pipe. It looks like it's just started to come through so the sooner I get it sorted the better, to avoid it from becoming damaged beyond repair.

The car is ex Hertz and is still within 3 years warranty, so what are the chances of it getting repaired under warranty?

I bought the car about 5 months ago from a dealer whom I'm going to send pictures to in the meantime.

unless youve had the regular paint checks then it may be unlikely they will fix it its an easy repair youreself using some hammerite rust cure and a touch up kit then applying with silicone after all is dry a small rubber pad

Like most Focus drivers, I wasn't even aware of this issue. However, I stumbled across a thread on this website where it seemed everyone had rust there. When I checked my car I found this:

I considered speaking to Ford about it, but I assumed they would bodyswerve fixing it and my car was booked in for other paint work anyway. The guy who painted my car did a local repair and I asked him to stick on a strip of armafend. Armafend is usually fitted to body work on high end cars to stop road rash. This is what it looks like now. You can just see the rectangular strip:

There's different ways of tackling the issue, but most would agree that something has to be fitted to stop the same thing happening again.

I may as well give the dealer a try first, but if push comes to shove then I'll either get a local repair guy to do it or use one of those Hammerite kits. This looks like it would do the trick?

I asked Ford about the rust around the boot handle on my Mk1 Focus. They had a look and told me that they wouldn't do it because it had been caused by stone chips, not manufacturing defects.

Yes, that's right, I drive backwards everywhere! :/

The point was reinforced later on when I removed the handle to repair it myself, and found extensive corrosion behind both the boot handle and the number plate. Suppose that was all stone chips as well!

This was lurking behind my plastic boot handle just above the registration plate:

Like you say BigD, you just get fobbed off. If I'd left the boot like this it would have eaten itself.

helicopter film from ebay does the same job and is clear vw use it on there cars on high wear areas such as the arches etc got that on mine had no issues with rust so far

Alright I spoke to my neighbour who is a warranty admin for Ford, he said it won't be covered under warranty but suggested using T-Cut to get rid of the rust and then put a large sheet of film over it to prevent it from happening again.

I have attached photos to show the affected area.

Yeah, looks like the same size of patch I had on my car.

I've put some lacquer over it for now, and have ordered some helicopter tape off eBay. I was hoping to find some adhesive vinyl but never mind... :-\

Alright, I'm never buying off of eBay again. I too ordered helicopter film from eBay, it arrived today, opened the packaging and they've sent me a ruddy VHS of Airwolf!

Alright, I'm never buying off of eBay again. I too ordered helicopter film from eBay, it arrived today, opened the packaging and they've sent me a ruddy VHS of Airwolf!

I had this issue on my 2008 ST. Managed to get mind done under warranty from Ford as luckily it has had the paint checks stamped in the book. Now has the protective film over it to stop it happening again.

Good one BigD!

My sister works for Audi and knows someone who will be able to carry out a repair on said rusted area. £35 to get it done, which seems a bit low, but price doesn't always dictate quality! :)

Alright bit of an update, I got it done for £50 off the same guy a couple of days ago, however when I tried to remove and reposition some 3M helicopter tape I ended up taking the repair off with the tape! Goddamit!! I have asked him if he can carry out the repair again (if it costs another £50 then so be it) but I'll ask him to fit the tape too instead of me wrecking the paintwork. :(

Alright here's the full extent of my failure... Upon closer inspection of this photo I've realised I've been a complete and utter plank, I tried to apply helicopter tape across the entire area (including where the crease is) where it wasn't needed. The resultant crease in the bodywork caused air bubbles in the tape which is why I tried to remove it and re-apply, however when doing so, well, picture speaks for itself...

With a paint repair, you really don't want to be faffing with it for at least two weeks - gives the lacquer time to fully harden.

Obviously it's a bit late to be telling you that now...

Well lesson learnt I guess :)

Simply use hammerite kurust on it then the ford touch up kit when dry warm the area with a hair dryer apply the helicopter tape voila clear duct tape does just as well