How to treat wheel housing rust?

[Theshawty]

I own a '98 Ford Escort RS 1.8l (European model), I think it's the extra-trim LX model, to be precise. Anyways, it has some slight rust on the back wheel housing (the front is rust-free). How do I deal with this the best way economical-wise and labor-wise?

I could upload a pic or two of what it looks like, but I'm not around it currently.

 

[spaceman]

what u see from the front, if its rust throu figure several times that size behind
u need to get rid of a majority of it for a repair to hold long
grind/strip/wire wheel it away prolly easier with wheel off
treat with por/rust bullet/etc.or if u get rid of all,prime/bondo should suffice
most important part is getting rid of as much rusted metal as possible and sealingit

 

[Theshawty]

what u see from the front, if its rust throu figure several times that size behind
u need to get rid of a majority of it for a repair to hold long
grind/strip/wire wheel it away prolly easier with wheel off
treat with por/rust bullet/etc.or if u get rid of all,prime/bondo should suffice
most important part is getting rid of as much rusted metal as possible and sealingit

Well, I wouldn't exactly say it's rusted through. It's basically just on the surface. Maybe grinding away all the paint, and respray with primer + paint would work?

 

[JCH13]

Surfaces inside the wheel well are going to see lots of small impacts/dents/dings from road debris.

I would wire brush or sand as much loose rust off as possible (grinding will remove too much material for the sheet metal IMO). Then use a rust converter or rust sealer kit (like Rust Bullet or POR15), then use a rugged coating to finish it. Something like trunk/bed liner, chip guard, or a similar rubberized coating. This type of coating will be much more tolerant to dings and dents than normal paint will be.