Rust.

[diericksetim]

What is the best way to repair rust? I know of adding adhesive pads and bondoing it and stuff, but this is a little more difficult. It`s the rim of a rear fender. Any ideas?

I looked at buying a new half fender or something of the sort. But couldn`t find a single thing.

Thanks,
Tim

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[rottenII]

Only way to do it right is to cut out the infected area and put in new metal. Any kind of coating/rust paint/bondo etc is only a temp fix and before you know it, the rust is right back.

[diericksetim]

How would you put in new metal when it`s bent around the edge towards the centre? And do I wield it?

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[Swanicyouth]

Honestly, I`ve been through this and it can be a highly skilled job. If you want it to look good - you`ll have to pay a body shop. It`s mostly labor if they are fabricating, and it`s a lot of labor.

In my case - they had to fabricate and weld in pieces of the rear quarter panel.

Total cost of the work below was over $3k. And, that was cheap at a mom and pop shop.

Front was repaired, repainted, and blended.





Before rear:

The rust you see is minor:





The hidden rust is worse:







After:

[diericksetim]

How much did it cost you?

I plan to repaint the whole car once it`s repaired. But don`t really wanna pay a body shop a crap ton.

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[Swanicyouth]

How much did it cost you?

I plan to repaint the whole car once it`s repaired. But don`t really wanna pay a body shop a crap ton.

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A little over $3k all together.

[diericksetim]

Ouch. Totally not worth. I can buy a brand new Mazda. Chop it. And still save money after wielding it.

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[RDKC]

Ouch. Totally not worth. I can buy a brand new Mazda. Chop it. And still save money after wielding it.

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I would love to say it`s that easy.... but it`s not.

Welding sheet metal can actually be very labor intensive. Too make it short, you can burn through, warp it, it can warp in the future if not done correctly, and - in the case of automotive - if you leave the backside of the panel uncoated (and it will be even if you don`t touch it) you`re just going to create an even worse rust problem down the road. Welding isn`t as simple of a process as everybody seems to think and when you get into certain things - like automotive - there are a lot of other factors to complicate things further.

If you can replace the entire panel, that could (depending on the make/model/year of the car) be very easy.

Just so you know, my input about welding isn`t from watching YouTube videos or Monster Garage. I can do it all. Can`t read a diagram any more though... been a few years and that I have forgotten.

EDIT: I was just thinking about what I put here and realized that my final lines could come across extremely cocky. Not the intention. Just saying I can and have welded successfully with all four of the common welding processes. It was my job at one point (MIG still is sometimes, but to a much lesser degree). I don`t know how many times I`ve heard the "you can" or "you can`t" do this/that, I saw it on YouTube.

[diericksetim]

I have a buddy that has done body work for majority of his life. I wasnt going to wield it myself, but per say was still the process. I can`t replace the panel due to it being the frame.



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[Accumulator]

Swanicyouth- How long ago did you have that repair done? How`s it holding up?

[RDKC]

I have a buddy that has done body work for majority of his life. I wasnt going to wield it myself, but per say was still the process. I can`t replace the panel due to it being the frame.

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You may be able to replace. It`s more of a pain to do than a normal fender, hood, etc. but some will sell those panels. However, they don`t normally sell them for long and they`re not normally cheap. I know the one for my Escape was over $1,000 and they no longer manufacture it.

It all depends on how deep the rust is too. If, and that`s a big if, the rust is on the surface and can be removed you don`t need replacement. But in order to keep it from coming back you have to completely remove and/or neutralize what is there.

That being said, if you have a friend that`s been doing body work for a long time - get his advice. We can tell you anything and everything but he can put hands on and see how bad it really is.

[Swanicyouth]

Swanicyouth- How long ago did you have that repair done? How`s it holding up?

The quarters were done over a year ago and the fender was a few mos ago. So far - so good.

[Accumulator]

Swanicyouth- Ah, OK, glad to hear it`s holding up. Keep the salt rinsed off in the winter