Seeking advice for fixing small rust areas


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Old 02-10-16, 10:45 AM
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Seeking advice for fixing small rust areas

My car has a few small rust areas.

I bought a tube of touch-up paint from a dealer, but have realized the areas are too big for this kind of touch-up paint. Could anyone offer some advice on the best approach to deal with these small rust areas?

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Old 02-10-16, 11:42 AM
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Honestly, as long as you're in an area where cars rust, I wouldn't bother - it's just going to come back in short order.
 
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Old 02-10-16, 12:13 PM
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I do not mind those small rust areas, but I am afraid they would expand quickly if I do nothing.
 
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Old 02-10-16, 12:58 PM
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To do any good you really need to sand that area down to bare shiny metal. At that point primer and paint will help postpone the inevitable. It isn't uncommon to wind up with minor holes once the rust is removed You can buy spray cans of primer and finish. Getting the new paint to blend with the old isn't always an easy task.
 
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Old 02-10-16, 01:27 PM
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Yes, the spots will expand but not quickly.

Rust is inevitable where road salt is applied and my personal opinion is it's not worth the effort to fix it.
 
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Old 02-10-16, 01:28 PM
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Thank you. I will pick one spot and give it a shot.
 
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Old 02-10-16, 04:40 PM
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How good do you want this to look?
How old is the truck?
Wasted your money on touch paint.
There's paint pitting all over that picture.
Any real body shop would strip the whole door, sand blast the low spots to get off the rust, fill in the low areas, sand smooth, prime and repaint.
If it really worth it?
 
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Old 02-11-16, 09:32 AM
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This is what will happen.
You start sanding it and it will keep expanding and expanding. Paint has nasty habit of masking rust underneath it and sanding will only reveal it.
Suddenly, you end up in large areas that have to be re-painted.
So you either do nothing or sand it down to metal, apply Naval jelly over it as inhibitor, prime with rust proof primer and repaint. But THEN a touch paint won't make it.
Btw, you can buy any matching paint from regular parts store in spray can foe less than dealer.
 
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Old 05-16-17, 02:10 PM
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I just want to thank you all for the advices. I did not not get notifications because I did not subscribe to this thread (I do now).
The car has 71K miles on it (It had only about 65K when I posted the question), and it has not had any problem for over 3 years (November 2013 was the last time I sent the car to a garage, and it was for alignment and tire replacement). I hate to see a reliable car’s life ended by rust.
 
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Old 05-16-17, 02:13 PM
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That rust shouldn't affect the life of the vehicle, just the looks. Rust only becomes a detrimental problem when the frame, sub frame or unibody is compromised. Rust can always be dealt with. The more extensive the repair, the longer it will be before the rust returns.
 
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Old 05-16-17, 02:36 PM
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Thank you for the encouraging advice. The owner of a local reputable body shop kindly advised me last year that the rust areas are incurable cancers, which is consistent with the advice here. The weather in the northeast is nice now, and I will pick a small area and give it a shot by sanding, applying primer, paint and clear coat since the body shop does not want to deal with this cancer understandably.
I still do not get notifications even though I have subscribed to this thread now.
 
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Old 05-16-17, 02:58 PM
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Not sure why you aren't getting the notifications although sometimes it can be a little slow.

IF all the rust is removed, it won't return for a long time if properly primed/painted. The biggest issue is rust that might be in the seam behind what you see ... and that can be hard to rectify. Personally I wouldn't spend money for a body shop to fix it, especially if it isn't a classic type vehicle. It shouldn't cost much to diy and even if you don't get a perfect job, you'll likely improve the looks and postpone the body's demise.
 
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Old 05-16-17, 03:30 PM
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Thank you for the encouragement. Postponing or slowing the rusting process is what I want to achieve primarily. I assume the sanding shown in the following picture is not good enough. I am wondering if should use some chemicals to remove rusts in some pits after doing more removal with a metal wire wheel.
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Make/year/model/mileage of vehicle
 
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Old 05-16-17, 04:26 PM
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Chrysler/2008/Sebring/71K
 
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Old 05-17-17, 03:01 AM
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It's always best to get down to shiny metal [all rust removed] although there are rust convertors that can be applied to those areas.
 
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Old 05-17-17, 03:24 AM
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doesn't look that bad would try to sand more or try one of the convertors might also suggest that you should get some decent epoxy primer/sealer to really prevent the rust from coming back.
 
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Old 05-17-17, 05:30 AM
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"I hate to see a reliable car’s life ended by rust."

Trying to save a 10yr old Sebring from rusting away in the North-East is a losing battle.
Once you accept that life will get easier.

An oil spray yearly will slow the advance of rust at a structural level but cosmetically the car will continue to deteriorate.
Accept that fact and drive it in it's imperfect condition.
 
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Old 05-17-17, 06:46 AM
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Originally Posted by 2grands
An oil spray yearly will slow the advance of rust at a structural level...
A few years back I had a 1970 Mustang Mach 1 that from everything I could tell was all original, with all original sheetmetal. The undercarriage was also rust-free (in Michigan!) and shiny like it was coated in oil.
I searched far & wide on the internet but could find no info on oiling an undercarriage to preserve it. An old man at a car show told me about an old-timey process of spraying linseed oil on the undercarriage, but had no details. I know from my woodworking that boiled linseed oil dries on the surface and stays put--but doesn't seem likely to last on the road.

Maybe in Canada this is a little more common? I'd like to know more since it sure seemed to work.
 
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Old 05-17-17, 03:57 PM
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and shiny like it was coated in oil.

Had some neighbors that came from Canada who told me similar tale. They had companies coat an oil/grease like coating to their cars, different from the Z-bart materials, said the car would drip for months afterward and wondered why we didn't do similar down here?
 
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Old 05-17-17, 09:11 PM
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The navel jelly type stuff removes paint. ( You dont want that IMO. Your best off with the loctite stuff thats paintable with a brush ( They have aerosol too but I like the brush)

It neutralizes the rust and leaves a paintable surface.

I touched up my trucks inner door bottom lips that were rusting.

Just wire brushed and applied. Turns black.

Dry 24 hours then I bought matching paint and clear coat in one a sprayed it. My paint matched perfect. I also am going to touch up a cab corner when I get around to it.....

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Osi-Seala...&wl13=&veh=sem
 

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Old 05-18-17, 08:18 AM
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Pitting

With the rust having pitted the metal like that, regardless of the surface prep and coating it will probably bleed new rust from behind. The Krown rust proofer or equivalent in a can sprayed into the inner panel in a small hole behind the repair area will be essential for long term success.

You could also paint over with a black urethane chassis paint designed to go over rust. Being a bit strategic in how you do the black, it can look ok, kind of like a trim accent, and be touched up easily afterwards.

The Loctite rust converter does work, but some spray paint is not compatible and will blister the finish. Will also not prevent the rusting from behind. So once you finish in any of the techniques, get some rust proofing into that panel.
 
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Old 05-18-17, 09:48 AM
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Thank you for all the tips.
By now, I have sanded, primed (three thin layers), painted (only one layer) a small area to experiment. I thought I would report by posting a few pictures here, but I have realized that I grabbed wrong paint - Aluminum Metallic. I need Silver Steel Metallic that needs to be ordered online. I have zero experience with any paint e-tailers. Could anyone offer some recommendation?

I have subscribed to this thread, but I have not received a single notification so far. I have to come here to refresh the page to see new posts. I don't know why.
 
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Old 05-18-17, 04:05 PM
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Paint

Manufacturer of Automotive Paint and Body Repair Products - RobertsPaintCare.com

I have had great supply experience with perfect colour match from the link attached, they have your colour code noted. A couple of other e-places I have used over the years did not match, although silvers are pretty easy to get close enough without noticing even if off a bit.

I mentioned them on another thread and they have excellent do it yourself instructions as well on their site. I am a big believer in their blending solvent used for blending the smaller repairs into the larger panels.
 
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Old 05-18-17, 04:16 PM
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As to the notifications and all, they are currently working on many aspects of the code for the site. Everything from staying logged in to notifications are having issues as they try to work all the bugs out. Best I can say is what we've been told, they are working on it....
 
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Old 05-18-17, 07:31 PM
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Thank you for the link. Unfortunately, I was so eager to get the paint that I ordered one from eBay. I have recorded the link for future reference.
It is good to know that the notification issue is not specific to my account.
 
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Old 05-31-17, 03:57 PM
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I just want to report my first amateur paint job with a few photos. I know all of you may laugh at the prominent tape lines, but I am not too concerned about them because the primary purpose is slowing down the rusting process. I hope this will achieve it.

I used CLR for the rust after sanding the area simply because I happen to have it. I am wondering if it is a bad idea.

Sanding > CLR > Primer > Two thin layers of paint > clear coat.
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Old 06-01-17, 12:26 PM
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Clr

Looks good! The CLR used to be fine when it contained phosphoric acid, but it no longer does. It does leave a residue that would be best to have cleaned off before painting. But probably ok if you just wiped it down with a cloth before the prime/paint.

You can "feather" the repair area after letting it cure with a 1500 grit wet sand, and then use a very mild polishing compound like Mothers scratch remover and blend it a bit if you wanted to make it look less visible.

Try to spray some rustproofing into the inner panel such that you keep moisture out of the back of the repair area, that will help prevent new rust from bleeding through.
 
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Old 06-01-17, 01:49 PM
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I had a paint and body man tell me 40+ yrs ago that a cheap rust proofing method was to spray burnt motor oil into the door panels.

If I was to do anymore to that repair, I'd wet sand with 400 and then spray a coat of better matching paint minus the tape.
 
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Old 06-01-17, 04:04 PM
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Thanks a lot for all the great tips!

Actually, there are two more small areas to deal with. As I said before, all of them are on the passenger side. The driver side looks perfect. The only explanation that I can come up is that there is more salt on the passenger side because of how the snow is plowed and salt is spread in the winter.

I bought a bottle of paintable Loctite Extend Rust Neutralizer from TrueValue today before working on the other two small areas. TrueValue does not have any sand papers with grit higher than 400, so I have just ordered some 1200 and 1500 sand papers online. I will definitely do something to the inner panel and a a quick clean of the passenger side after a snow. It seems there has been less and less snow around here (less than I wish because I enjoy local X-C skiing), so it is not a big deal at all to remove the salt in the winter.

I will try to follow the tips to smooth them all after I deal with the other two small areas.
 
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Old 06-09-17, 06:19 PM
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I'd like to use two pictures to show what I described before: all of rusts are on the passenger side. The driver side looks perfect. I cannot find a single rust on the driver side.
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