I have a rust spot on the front edge of the rear wheel well, just above the rougher anti-chipping paint. Upon cleaning off the rusty paint before making repairs, I found that the body panel appeared to be thicker than plain steel and contained filler of some kind (soft and flexible, not hard like Bondo).

Cleaning it up has resulted in what looks like a crevice into this filler, below the level of paint and primer. The filler is about 1/8 of an inch thick, maybe a bit more

I've wirebrushed off all the loose stuff. My thought was to brush some rust converter into this area to get rid of any rust, then fill with Bondo and prime/paint. Does this sound like a plan? Has anyone else encountered this?

This is a small area to be fixed, probably only one inch by three inches. The rust has NOT penetrated all the way through the panel.

Comments appreciated.

--Graham

 

procedure:

grind down to fresh shiny steel

weld up either a new piece of metal depending on the size, or just spot weld the area

make sure you go overboard with the shape of the weld/metal

grind it down again into roughly the stock shape

THEN toss on a thin layer of bondo or any other substitute and sand sand sand until you're back to the proper shape

that fix will last a very very long time..

if you do it the more time consuming way now, you wont have to worry about it for a long long time.. rather than having to deal with it again next year when it becomes a mess again if you dont do it properly..

 

but that is for very rusty spots

if its just a small layer of surface rust, then sand away until you see the shiny metal, and then spread a little bondo or whatever and sand it again until its smoothed out..

 

No wonder you guys have so many problems with rust! Your half-assed shortcuts are killing you.

1. Remove loose rust with a wire brush.
2. Treat area with OSPHO or extend
3. Cover with Self-Etching Primer (I use PPG DP-40)
4. Perform any defect filling with the body filler
5. Sand
6. Primer-Surfacer to fill in sand scratches and allow for paint adhesion
7. Paint

I am also partial to using ZERO-RUST on the back sides of panels

 

All you have accomplished with this procedure is sealing the raw metal and moisture in under a fresh coat of paint. It will RUST again!!!!

 

YAY! My rust problems are solved!! You guys are my heroes!