Quote Me on a Rust Repair Job

[Connor280ZX]

Have had these two rust bubble/blister spots on my car that i noticed about eight months ago. The rust is spreading, and i want to get it taken care of before it continues to rot my car any further.

 

Front left fender:

 

Below right taillight:

 

What do you think? How much did your rust spot repair cost? Did you repair it yourself, or could you have?

Being that i live about 100 yards from the ocean, i would assume more spots would appear over the years. Any reccomendations on how i could prevent more spots like this?

[seattlejester]

Hmm depends as most repairs. Quality, location, workmanship, time etc.

 

The top one could just be a bubble, if lucky the metal is intact.

Sand paint

Treat metal with rust inhibitor

Body fill to flat

Primer

Blend paint to match other panel

Clear coat

 

That would be probably a 150-300 dollar repair, you could definitely sand the paint down yourself and possibly treat it, but if the panel was rotten you would need a welder to come put in a patch, so depends on how confident you are. Depending on your paint, one may need to blend the panel in to match the paint, and that can be an art form in and of itself. 

 

The rear is a bit more serious, if you are lucky the crack that is showing is a bondo crack, but that looks to be rusty.

Sand down

Cut out all traces of rust

Fabricate a replacement piece

Body fill to flat

Primer

Blend in new paint

Clear coat

 

That would probably be a 300-500 dollar repair. Granted if you brought the car in, they may charge less since they would be doing two areas and would require the same tools pretty much. This would definitely be a job for someone with welding skills and the ability to smoothly fab and put in a piece.

 

Unfortunately to your proximity to the ocean, and a likely sea breeze, it may be very difficult to inhibit completely. The fact it is under the paint means it is either rusting from the inside out, or the PO or whoever painted it did not do a very good job treating/sealing the panel. If you are lucky, those are the only spots, and as long as the paint is maintained and the undercoat does not chip, you should be fine as long as rust is not hiding elsewhere.

 

Short of removing everything and getting it professionally sealed it would be hard to stop completely. There are some items on the market that claim they stem the progress of rust, though I am unsure as to their effectiveness. The best you could do is make sure any scratches are touched up quickly and any edges are carefully maintained. Make sure your seals are good and water does not stay anywhere it does not have to be. Maybe wash your car a little more frequently to get all the salt off once in a while.