Fixing paint and rust

[Savij]

Early in the summer car got hit in a parking lot and I was told I should fix at least one (harder to see) section to protect against rust. Since then I've found a section on the bottom of the passenger side door that was apparently poorly patched up by the previous owner. The paint is starting to peel away and there is some rust underneath it.

I'm thinking about going the cheaper do-it-yourself route for this winter/fall and getting fixed up in the spring after the salt and gravel is off the roads. What's the best cheap way to protect it from the salt and slush of a new england winter? Or is this a dumb idea and I should just get everything repaired now?

I doubt it matters but it's an 04 acura rsx in desert silver metallic. Think metallic tan.

 

[MiataNC]

The proper way to fix it is to cut/grind away the rusted sections, weld new sheet metal into place, then protect and primer it before applying paint.

If you are going to put off the repair, then you want to clean and cover (paint/primer/sealer) the affected areas as much as possible to prevent exposure to moisture and oxygen.

 

[Squisher]

http://www.por15.com/

You'll also need a topcoat.



I bought my truck about a year ago and got a great deal on it because it had some issues. One of them was rust on the inside of the bottom of the doors. I just used the sample kit of the POR15 stuff and then topcoated with stuff from paintscratch.com

 

[radioouman]

If the area is easy to get to with a sander, sand down the rusted area until you just have bare metal, then prime it and paint it.

 

[JasonSix78]

Rust Converter

We used to use a rust converter from the link above in a body shop I worked at. What MiataNC posted is the permanent way to get rid of the rust but if you need a temporary fix then I would use the rust converter and cover it with some touch-up paint.

 

[mooseracing]

Originally posted by: MiataNC
The proper way to fix it is to cut/grind away the rusted sections, weld new sheet metal into place, then protect and primer it before applying paint.

If you are going to put off the repair, then you want to clean and cover (paint/primer/sealer) the affected areas as much as possible to prevent exposure to moisture and oxygen.

Too bad welding in a new panel will cause alot of bare metal to be exposed that you can't paint.



If you have to deal with winter, salt, wet roads and the repair is somewhere that people don't generally see I use roofing tar. It stops rust adheres to anything. After a short time it will dry so don't worry about it being sticky all the time.

 

[FeuerFrei]

Originally posted by: mooseracing

Too bad welding in a new panel will cause alot of bare metal to be exposed that you can't paint.

? Explain.

Originally posted by: mooseracing
If you have to deal with winter, salt, wet roads and the repair is somewhere that people don't generally see I use roofing tar. It stops rust adheres to anything. After a short time it will dry so don't worry about it being sticky all the time.

Is roofing tar available in anything other than 5 gallon buckets?

 

[mrblotto]

I've used something called 'Rust Reformer'. Same thing as Rust Converter mentioned above. Pretty much just dab it on there. It turns black tho. An ugly, but effective, way to stop rust until you can repair it permanently.

 

[Itchrelief]

Originally posted by: FeuerFrei

Originally posted by: mooseracing

Too bad welding in a new panel will cause alot of bare metal to be exposed that you can't paint.

? Explain.

I'm no expert, but I'd guess it's the back side of the weld on the interior side of the car.

I have no idea if enough stuff gets inside to those areas to cause rust, but if it does, I would guess that the heat of welding probably would do some damage to whatever rust proofing/galvanizing was on and around the weld itself, causing that area to be subject to rust.

 

[FeuerFrei]

Originally posted by: Itchrelief

Originally posted by: FeuerFrei

Originally posted by: mooseracing

Too bad welding in a new panel will cause alot of bare metal to be exposed that you can't paint.

? Explain.

I'm no expert, but I'd guess it's the back side of the weld on the interior side of the car.

I have no idea if enough stuff gets inside to those areas to cause rust, but if it does, I would guess that the heat of welding probably would do some damage to whatever rust proofing/galvanizing was on and around the weld itself, causing that area to be subject to rust.

So it's not that paint won't adhere, it's just inaccessible unprotected metal. Makes more sense.

I myself plan to get some rocker panel rust replaced by grafting in a pristine section cut from a donor car. But haven't discussed feasibility with the body shop yet.

 

[AMCRambler]

Anywhere you've got uncoated steel exposed to air, it's going to rust. Even if it's on the inside of your doors and completely isolated from the elements. it will still rust. The only difference is how quickly it rusts. Exposed to water and salt it's going to corrode faster than if it's not obviously.