Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I have a 2000 Toyota Avalon that I have had forever. Almost 300K on it and still looks very nice other that the small rust spot starting on the rear fender lip.
Tips and tools to repair this? I don't need to make it look beautiful, but just want to stop the rust from continuing and match up the paint a bit. I also want to do it right so it doesn't continue to rust.
Thanks.
Are you in rust country, where it snows and salt is used on the roads? If so, and the rust is coming from the inside, stick a fork in it, you're done. You are just seeing the "tip of the iceberg" so to speak. The car is now a "winter beater".
If you want to keep a good looking car for decades, you simply have to leave the rust belt, or at least store your "good" car over the winter (and storage brings a host of other potential problems)
If you are not in rust country, and what you have is a place where the paint has chipped and now the steel underneath is forming surface rust, you simply have to clean away all the paint and rust, finish with "metal prep", then prime and paint. Priming and painting can be done with touch-up bottles of paint, using a brush, if the area is small, say the size of a quarter. Bigger areas are better done with at least a spray can.
And the reason I care is because the car looks like the day I bought it 16 years ago. I'm meticulous, but this little spot managed to get going in just a few months.
Yeah. I'd use sander to get to as much metal as possible and as little spots left. Also, rough is good as Bondo and things of that nature stick to it better. Then de0-grease with denaturate, and do several Naval Jelly coats. Take time to let it cure. It WILL turn what's left of rust into basically primer. Then you sand with finer grit over it, maybe give another coat of NJ, sand again, and you know the rest.
Any parts store or paint store will mix you spray can of color match. Tell them to add clear coat into it.
Going to auto paint stores is a little bit more expensive.
Then you do your paint match. Primer, snad, primer, sand, primer, sand smooth, paint, dry, sand, paint with gentle transition onto the original paint, cure, sand, paint with transition, sand, paint one more time to blend fully, go to fine grit wet or dry, sand, rub, polish. It will get dirty soon and no one will notice as paint WILL be different some.
I read that vinegar and lemon juice are good natural rust removers.
The spots aren't bad, to be honest I just want to sloe the rust down sort of 'inhibit' it's growth…I'm not THAT interested in removing what's already there…again I just want to slow or stop it.
it's right around the edge of the black rubber? trim around the wheel well…and near the hinges inside the upper hatchback (you only see it IF the hatch is open) Neither spot is all that bad.
And suggestions for just sort of "cleaning the rust or keeping it at bay
The car is WHITE. I saw some rustoleum products but their all black. Not interested in that. Prefer something clear or white.
An old manager of mine said that rust on a vehicle is like a cancer. You can't just cover it up and hope it goes away. The only way to fix it is to replace.
That is true in of deep rust in a panel like a lower fender where dirt can accumulate from behind and cause the rust. That causes a car to rust from the inside-out.
But surface rust on the outer side is not much to worry about.
And the reason I care is because the car looks like the day I bought it 16 years ago. I'm meticulous, but this little spot managed to get going in just a few months.
NO!!!
Just daub some touch up over the bare metal with zero sanding and that'll seal it. If you sand the panel it'll look much worse than containing the area as I described above.
Besides, 150 grit may not be rough enough to get down into the deep pores of the rust.
LEAVE IT ALONE!!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
