Fixing Rust

[marcre]

Hello all,

I got a few questions about getting rid of some body rust.

This first spot is on the tailgate, below the window. It's small, but getting bigget. It has been bubling since i got it, but I am sure the rust will pop out before the end of winter.





It may be tough to see what I am talking about here, but hopefully these pics will give an idea. Now, I am not looking to get this fixed professionally, just fixed to stop the rust from comming.

I've never done anything along these lines, so I was wondering if my way of fixing this will work.

Here's what I would do:
1. remove rust
2. sand down to metal
3. prime
4. use touch up paint

Is this correct?


Another issue.

This is something I'd like to fix, as long as new one's are not expensive.



How do I remove these things and where do I get new ones? What are they called?


Other than these spots, I am rust free and I want to keep the Rodeo looking good.

Thanks for the help,
Marc

[amigo-2k]

Man! you must of dip that thing in a salt bath!

I have do just what you have said befor. Sand, prime and touch up paint. I would still have to do this yearly.

I have also done sand, bondo, sand, spray paint primer (taped off), wet sand the primer line, re tape a bit past the primer line and then spray out with color. Then wet sand the tape line and then mist a little pain to bend it into the other paint. Again I had to due this yearly ....

you may want to try something like Rust Bullet (google for it). The only for sure way is to cut out the bad and weld in the new....

rust stinks.

I'm sure I'm 5 years away from rust on my 2000.

[directory]

you could just sand down the affected area, prime , then spray a rhino bed liner like stuff over the area. then it would be tough as nails and would look cool also.

i plan on doing this to the panels under the doors

[directory]

the rhino liner stuff comes in all kinds of colors. no more dings....

[Gizmo42]

Rust sucks. You can do it the way you said but add filler because you will have holes after sanding/grinding it down. I prefer dura-glass over bondo. Its fiberglass instead of plastic, harder to sand smooth though. Problem is it will come back. Even if you cut the part out and weld in a new panel, it will rust were the weld is. There's a reason body shops wont guarentee rust repairs, it will always come back.



PS. I took auto body shop all 3 yrs of highschool, did autobody work for a while after highschool and had an uncle that also did body work, so I have some experience.

[marcre]

Thanks for the responses.

My rust spot isn't bad and I'm not too worried how it will look when it is "fixed".

I like the bed liner idea for lower parts of a vehicle, but this is up near the top of the tail gate. I think I will sand it and see where I'm at. I am going to wait until at least the end of April to do this. The rest of the vehicle still looks great.

Anybody have any idea about that third picture? How to remove and replace those things?

Thanks again,
Marc

[rodeo02]

The signature sign of the Western NY salt belt . Atleast it's confined to the tailgate door. You could eventually replace the door pretty easily. Is that button thing on the glass where the liftgate strut attaches too? Those usually detatch from the inside w/ a nut. Sorry to see the rust sneaking up on you already Marc! I can't say I've ever seen a 1998+ w/ rust!

G/luck
Joel

[marcre]

Thanks for the tip Joel, looks like I'll have to look closely at it. I'd say the bubling is a 3"x3" area. I can't really complain. I think something happened to it in that area before I owned it. 99.9% of the door is fine so hopefully I can stop this from getting bad. I should have done something about this in the past. I'll probably revive this thread in a few months with some more questions.

Thanks again,
Marc

[marcre]

BTW...that is a picture of where the strut bars attach to. Both of mine are rusty. I would like to replace them if they are not too much $$$.

[Ramblin Fever]

That's weird, to have rust already.

Bet whomever owned that before never waxed it.

Fix that spot up and keep that baby waxed minimum 3 times a year.

I wax mine 4 times a year, thanks to it's burgundy color and Colorado sun, and magnesium chloride winters. No rust yet in 9yrs, knocking on wood.

[wb4lbg]

If you'll call Merlin at St. Charles Isuzu, you can describe those window pegs to him and he will fix you up with some replacements. I just have one that is rusted up on the outside; both are rusted on the inside. I decided to try and replace the uglier one first and only bought one. I don't recall what the part cost but it seemed a little pricey (of course, every part I've ever bought for my Rodeo has been pricey in my opinion).

I haven't replaced this window peg yet because I'm not sure how to get the rusted one off. The inside part is hex shaped but there's nothing to grab on the outside. I thought I might hold the outside with a vice grip but I don't want to scratch up the window.

If you make the repair, let us know how you did it.

Oh, and BTW, tough luck on the '99 rusting through so soon. I bet the color of the truck has something to do with it. I seem to see more rust on the teal blue cars and trucks around here. Even though the resin in the paint is basically the same regardless of the color, different pigments do have different corrosion properties. I suspect it has something to do with whether the metal in the pigment is already oxidized or not.

Good Luck!

[marcre]

Thanks for all the tips. The color of the Rodeo is Dark green. Six years of Buffalo winters, I am not too shocked at the rust. Actually, the rust isn't comming through, yet. Soon though. Like I said, it's only a tiny spot, but I fear if I let it go, it will be large in no time.

I will probably fix it in the spring, maybe sooner. I like to keep her waxed 3-4 times a year as well. I just washed her yesterday, of course it's raining out today.

marc

[directory]

don't cut out the idea of the rhino liner just yet. you could do a 3" strip across the top of the whole tail gate. then when (if) you haul boards, etc. out he back--it woun't hurt anything. then also you don't have to worry about a smooth finish before painting.

when my truck finally shows signs of rust, that is what i am going to do--depending on where it is at of course.

[marcre]

directory, you make a good case for it. I'll definately keep it in mind. I'ce got time to decide. I'm weird like that, I hate rust. Less than 1% of my truck has a bad spot and i feel it makes the rest look bad. I really hate the way the caps for the window struts look. I hope they're not too much.

Marc

[directory]

at least rhino liner the caps for me ....

hehe