Yaris Rust Repair Questions

[GrayYaris]

Hi Guys-

My right rear fender is starting to rust and some of the paint is bubbling. Since I live in the "salt belt" (upstate ny), I wanted to address this before the winter. Let me know if any one with body repair experience has suggestions for fixing this.

My plans are to grind the rust away, revealing a clean surface, spraying with rust inhibitor, fill in with body filler, spray with primer, and then finally spray with a can of 1FB paint (my code).

I do not own a welder and have no experience welding so that method is out the question. I don't feel that the rust is horrible, I just want a repair that will last a while and prevent my fender from rotting.

My specific questions:
1) What is the best (and affordable tool) to use to clean off the rust and old paint with? (I own an electric angle grinder and a small air compressor if there is an accessory for those)

2) Any suggestions on where to buy the Toyota paint cans? How about the type of filler I should use?

3) Any special tips for the novice hack?

Thanks dudes!

[IllusionX]

there is nothing much else than sanding it down, putty and repaint.

[alanwagen]

You may be able to get by with a rust convertor and touch up paint. I would try that first but I am cheap. They sell the stuff at Home Depot, Lowes, etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rust_converter

[beaker]

Hi Guys-

My right rear fender is starting to rust and some of the paint is bubbling. Since I live in the "salt belt" (upstate ny), I wanted to address this before the winter. Let me know if any one with body repair experience has suggestions for fixing this.

My plans are to grind the rust away, revealing a clean surface, spraying with rust inhibitor, fill in with body filler, spray with primer, and then finally spray with a can of 1FB paint (my code).

I do not own a welder and have no experience welding so that method is out the question. I don't feel that the rust is horrible, I just want a repair that will last a while and prevent my fender from rotting.

My specific questions:
1) What is the best (and affordable tool) to use to clean off the rust and old paint with? (I own an electric angle grinder and a small air compressor if there is an accessory for those)

2) Any suggestions on where to buy the Toyota paint cans? How about the type of filler I should use?

3) Any special tips for the novice hack?

Thanks dudes!

1) Small angle grinder with a Roloc disc(3m product) attachment. There are many different types of abrasive roloc disc you can buy, from 36 grit grinding discs, surface prep discs, and on and on. here's a example of a die grinder like I'm talking about.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_75538-47120-SGY-AIR138_0__?productId=3309222&Ntt=

And the Roloc attachment and discs

http://www.shop3m.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=ROLOC+HOLDERS

Now just something to think about, a die grinder like this will consume a whole bunch of air, so depending on the type of compressor you have, it might not have the SCFM(air volume) to run it.

2) Not sure if you have an auto paint supply store in your area, but most can put your touch up paint in a pressurized aerosol can. Napa use to do it, not sure if they still do, but worth checking there as well.

3) To be honest, you can slow it down, but by doing what you are planning on doing, the rust is gonna come back. The only, I mean ONLY way to get rid of rust on a car, is to cut it out, and replace the affected metal with new, non rusted panels. So, know that this is only a temporary fix. A permanent fix would be to either to weld in and prep and paint the quarter panel, or a cut and weld in a patch panel. Rust sucks!

Other than that, just sand the metal until all the rust is gone, use a good quality etching primer to seal the bare metal from the elements, and paint.

Did I say Rust sucks?

[GrayYaris]

Rust does suck! My first and previous car was from NC for most its life and it never had a bit of rust on the body. It looked great until the day a donated it... damn Dodge Intrepids!.

Thanks for the quick replies guys!

beaker what are your thoughts on rust inhibitor to protect the bare body?

Not that I know anything about body work, but why would the rust come back if I have completely removed it from the body and then protected the bare metal?

Thanks again everyone

[Lux]

Hi Guys-

My right rear fender is starting to rust and some of the paint is bubbling. Since I live in the "salt belt" (upstate ny), I wanted to address this before the winter. Let me know if any one with body repair experience has suggestions for fixing this.

My plans are to grind the rust away, revealing a clean surface, spraying with rust inhibitor, fill in with body filler, spray with primer, and then finally spray with a can of 1FB paint (my code).

I do not own a welder and have no experience welding so that method is out the question. I don't feel that the rust is horrible, I just want a repair that will last a while and prevent my fender from rotting.

My specific questions:
1) What is the best (and affordable tool) to use to clean off the rust and old paint with? (I own an electric angle grinder and a small air compressor if there is an accessory for those)

2) Any suggestions on where to buy the Toyota paint cans? How about the type of filler I should use?

3) Any special tips for the novice hack?

Thanks dudes!
Send it out, mate. That paint is not "bubbling" anymore, and hasn't been for a while. You are far past that. The entire panel needs to be sanded from the inside out, washed, cleaned, and primed before attempting to paint it. The fact that the work needs to be done from the inside is the dealbreaker. Look inside your wheel well... Looks like part of your chassis is beginning to rust from beneath the car.

[GrayYaris]

Send it out, mate. That paint is not "bubbling" anymore, and hasn't been for a while. You are far past that. The entire panel needs to be sanded from the inside out, washed, cleaned, and primed before attempting to paint it. The fact that the work needs to be done from the inside is the dealbreaker. Look inside your wheel well... Looks like part of your chassis is beginning to rust from beneath the car.

The car just needs a good cleaning. That is a dirt and muck in the wheel well. The paint is bubbling outside where the rust is but it is not visible in the picture.

[CoryM]

To do a correct and "permanent" repair, that area needs to be stripped to bare metal, all rust removed, and sealed with an epoxy primer or similar to prevent it from rusting again. I will let someone with more experience (check youtube etc) tell the details.

I just wanted to point out that that main cause of that rust is the junk that's left under your wheel arch and in that pocket in front of tire. Mud holds salt and moisture which just constantly eats away at the metal. Keep that area, and the lip clean and you will have no/less rust issues. Little late for you now, but hopefully help the next guy.

[beaker]

Rust does suck! My first and previous car was from NC for most its life and it never had a bit of rust on the body. It looked great until the day a donated it... damn Dodge Intrepids!.

Thanks for the quick replies guys!

beaker what are your thoughts on rust inhibitor to protect the bare body?

Not that I know anything about body work, but why would the rust come back if I have completely removed it from the body and then protected the bare metal?

Thanks again everyone

I've used a rust inhibitor before, but it was on a frame. I seemed to work well, but I also live in the south, so we don't have the corrosion problems that northern cars experience. it was something like this:

http://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-rust-converter.html

Once rust gets into metal, it's always there, that's why a lot of products you will read about are "encapsulators" or "sealers." The product isn't getting rid of the rust, but rather "protecting it" from exposure to rust causing elements. If any moisture penetrates the coating you put over a previously infected area, it will just come back. Especially, with where it is on your car, the wheel well, which gets pounded daily with corrosive stuff like salt from what they put on the roads up there.

Again, to totally get rid of it, the infected area needs to be cut out and replaced. I guess it really depends on how long you are planning on keeping the car. If it's just a few more years, do the quick repair. If it's longer than that, get it fixed professionally.

Just my 2cents.