rust prevention

[Dave145]

Hey guys I've got an obscure question. I have a rust patch on my left front fender of my 76 dart. It has created a small hole and I'm looking to keep the rust from spreading. I'm really not looking to cut/grind it out and fill it, as I'm not really planning to restore this car right now. For right now I'm hoping to preserve the car exactly as it sits and keep it all original. Any thoughts on what I could do? The car is garaged and only driven when the weather is permitting (it's only been caught in the rain a few times). I have this one patch on my fender and also my left rear quarter panel is kinda rotten as well. I was thinking just POR15 it, clear coat it, and undercoat the backside.of the spots...anyone see an issue with that? Thanks in advance.

 

[moparlover]

take the fender off.

grind it all down around the spot

find someone to weld a piece in for you.

when done, get the inside mostly flat. degrease it. apply the por 15 metal prep. apply por 15. then undercoating.

on the outside get it smooth. epoxy sandable primer. re smooth. re prime. re sand.

have someone shoot some paint on it.

fix it one time. done.

if you are going to all that trouble, with just treating... you might as well fix it right. in order to just treat it properly you have to take the fender off anyway...

really undercoating dont do crap por15 on the back with undercoat over it. but that requires getting the back ready for por15 and you need the fender off.

 

[FISHBREATH]

The rust will likely continue to spread if you do no grinding, cutting, welding, treating, and painting. That's just the reality. It is spreading beneath your paint. Just treating visible rust will have no effect on the rust you cannot see.

 

[1967 'cuda]

I'm a firm believer in the POR-15. By encapsulating the rust-pitted areas it's supposed to prevent it from coming back. But I know that they want you to remove all of the scale that you can. I'm not sure that you could get by with using it without addressing it better first. If it was me, I'd try to do a cut and patch (with a lot of cleanup) before applying the POR-15. I can tell you that we've had great luck with it when we followed the instructions but had adhesion problems when we didn't.

 

[cheeky]

Once you get the fender off those little. rust holes you see .... there are two sides to every piece of metal.. you will be shocked at what a little hole becomes once you dig around then the cowl area where you can't see because of the fender... just hope you don't have more floor sweepings than car sitting there take pictures... order a 110 mig welder and start getting familiar with metal work... amd has a llot of panels..or hire it out... practice on old junk get used to thin rusty painted metal weld overhead get used to burns and cramps... once young an weld your way ahead of the old car game