Surface Rust Cannot Fix Right Now - Temporary Protective Measures?

[OK-944]

Yes - I know...I should just drop everything else and fix this pronto, but I simply will not have the time for about another month or so.

The issue is a bit of surface rust on the bottom rear of the passenger side front quarter panel.

My question: is there something I could be doing to protect this area temporarily prior to doing the actual fix? Something that wouldn't jeopardize the final results? Maybe spray with WD-40 every few days? Something else? Thanks!

[Eskozki]

I wouldn't worry too much on surface rust if you dont drive the car in the bottom of an ocean. It should not progress very much. I usually just quickly remove all loose rust and use a zinc spray to try and stop it. My car is white and the paintjob isn't very good anyway so thats that

[Monkey Wrench]

not sure about that location but its common that cars arent; painted well in certain areas and then the rust issue may be on the backside, then bubbling through, so then what you see can be the tip of the iceberg.

what Ive done in the past if bought prep kits bondo made some and rust check makes some products. thing is if you spray a bunch of rust preventative and then go in there welding you might be burning a lot of crap off and wish it wasn;t there.

the bondo kits I had came with little plugs so you could drill holes with a step drill and then plug the holes after. it had a spray of some sort of non hardening stuff, maybe similar to beeswax , a rust protective coating.

for minor spots what I do is use a rust check rust amalgamator, I apply with a little brush and go back a few times as Im around it working , the stuff converts the rust to a black substance, you wash it good wiht water and can apint after so you could do that and some touch up paint.

there are other brands, rust mort is one.

to actually remove rust you cna look into naval gelly, its an acid in a gelly form, you brush it on and it eats up the rust. dont expect miracles you also need ot remova any loose flakey stuff. and then after it will be exposed and need some rust protection.

you can cut out and mig weld in panels and do patchwork. if desired. with certain enclosed areas you can find that you just opened a larger can of worms than expected..

fiberglass can work and if properly prepped it can last a long time, It frowned upon by some who want their car to be free of such prodiucts, if its a localized area heating it up with a torch will burn paint but also destroy and fiberglass materials.

in the past without all the fancy tools Ive sometimes made cardboard forms and cut metal out then fitted it in some cases putting a layer of tar like undercoat between to stop capillary action. Its quicker and "dirtier" than meticulously welding in new metal, I have an 88 ford van that developed a hole i the floor water soaked under the carpet and into the cloth like sound deading stuff and sat there rusting the floor, for that I prepped with an angle grinder and flap discs , used rust inhibitor, then used epoxy and fiberglass.
most fiberglass like in making boats or deck coverings uses a polyester resin, epoxy is more flexible and acts better as a glue , so for that I use epoxy not polyester resin.

fiberglass maybe easier for some who don't have the bodywork skills and tools to make and install patch panels and such. Id decide upon the value of the car and if this is a repair to make the car make another 10 years or is it a part of a more meticulous and thorough classic car restoration.

sometimes people do repair work to rocker panels and rather than making things absolutely perfect they apply a product like rocker guard, it helps sptop paint chips and leaves a textured surface, the texture helps hide minor defects as it is then not a perfect and smooth surface.

I thin kbefore you begin anythign major it may be good to at least consult with a bodyman and get some tips even if you do the work yourself.

for minor chips Id remove loose rust and then treat with a rust inhibitor, wash well apply primer and then a topcoat, Id try not to make the repair any larger than the damaged area and Id use masking tape to stop myself from expanding the size of the repair area. if its small use small brushes and tools.

bodyshops have a metal etch they can use for example if you go at it with an angle grinder and flap disk I may wash with acetone and maybe use a good primer, por 15 is good for rusted or rust prone areas like battery boxes, epoxy paint like imron is tougher than acrylic enamal or the newer basecoat topcoat products. with epoxy it has a hardener and hardens by a chemical reaction a lot of paints harden by offgassing solvents and leavingthe paint behind.

for stuff I can pull off the car and are not large I like to put them in a plastic tub, rubbermaid dtote, stick in a bunch of steel ars, whatever iron scrap is around.. add water and washing soda. connect the piece to a car battery and put the battery oin a charger. the part you are cleaning should bubble, if you have it reversed the electrodes will bubble.. leave it a day or two and pull it out then wash with baking soda anbd water it will form a black residue..
the electrodes will get covered in a heavy layer of rust you cna clean them or replace, some use rebar.

do not allow the parts to touch if you short the car battery it can get really hot or explode so I;d put something like plastic between I like to use a tray for vegetables to keep the parts from touching the expendable iron electrodes.

dont use stainless for the electrodes, it can give off nasty fumes that may be carcenogenic.

the benefit of electrolysis is it attacks the rust noit the base metal, acid will also remove rust but acid will also get intot ehpores of base metal and it is eating the base metal.

to neutralize acid use baking soda, Ill soak a washcloth in baking soda and water , place it to dry and set it under my battery, any acid that migrates from the battery gets neutralized rather than collecting and causing rust. if you brush down a battery with that it will keep it clean so if you pick it up you arent wrecking your clothes do not get it inside the cells.

for a temporary measire as you suggest Id use rust inhibitor it may stain surrounding paint but that helps and as you apply it with cleaning it preps for paint.

WD 40 does nothing much, it wont stick around loong, sure while it is there it inhibits riust but also it contains oil and you may not want oil in and around an area you are soon to be painting , you can always wash with acetone or something anyway. It wont hurt much to do that.

If i have parts that are dirty and stuck I'll sometimes use oil mized with solvent as a wash thats pretty much like wd 40.. you cna throw pliers and things in there and it might help prevent rust at lest somewhat for a while , it tends to get into the crevaces drawing some lube in, for example a chain like a motorcycle or other chain I'll wash with that. maybe door hinges but lube them wiht grease after. domnt forget the hatch pins and hood hinges you don't want them seizing because you never lubed them. you know how often old cars have doors that seem to drop as you unlatch them and open them slightly, thats because the owner neglected to clean and re grease the hinge pins. if you do that wont happen to begin with. Ive seen hoods break right off as the hinges seized and got stuck and with tll that leverage next the hinge is broken off, then you cant; even drive the car because you can't close the hood. thats completely avoidable with 5 minutes and a grease gun once a year. basic maintenance.


a really quick and dirty way to hide rust take some good quality air duct metal tape, it is alunimum, some you can get it thicker and has better glue, if you paint some the color of your car you can stick it over and hide sins, dont expect miracles but it can take your eye off the tip of the iceberg.

Id try to think about the end use and your objective you can do proper antique restoration with the aim of ending up with stuff that doesn't show any signs of the original damage or you can do makeshift repairs for short term. I dotn feel every situation deserves the time and energy that a person who enters their car into a judging contest may favor. I see nothing wrong with keeping a beater alive and somewhat presentable from 20 feet away . let your overall expectations guide your methods to keep it practical..

there is something called the "point of diminishing results", you spend energy and time doing repairs the time and energy and cost can reach a point of diminishing results , this can happen if you try to take the concepts of true restoration and apply them ot a 100 dollar beater. your energy and time and cost can become less practical than if its a museum piece that you perhaps benifit from doing "just right"

what can happen and often does is people have the best of intentions and they dig into issues and then become exhausted, ending up with a bigger mess than they started with. Id say try to keep the efforts practical for your own intent and abilities and consider cost and time of doing a better job and using more thorough practices .

the chemicals, even sandpaper all add up if you are buying a product in tiny bottles you are paying a lot more than a bodysshop may if ordering it in barrels. You can two-bit yourself into a major expense pattern by surrounding youreslf in little tiny bottles of all sorts of different products.

[944 Ecology]

Originally Posted by OK-944

Yes - I know...I should just drop everything else and fix this pronto, but I simply will not have the time for about another month or so.

The issue is a bit of surface rust on the bottom rear of the passenger side front quarter panel.

My question: is there something I could be doing to protect this area temporarily prior to doing the actual fix? Something that wouldn't jeopardize the final results? Maybe spray with WD-40 every few days? Something else? Thanks!

I would apply this:

https://www.amazon.com/Ospho-605-Metal-Treatment/dp/B000C02CDG

Using a brush. Prepare the surface following the instructions.
Do a proper repair at your earliest convenience.

[Monkey Wrench]

I guess there are rust inhibitors , rust proof paints and rust removers. and various brands.
Ive lused and liked iked these two

https://rustcheck.com/product/rust-check-rust-converter/

https://www.johnsonautobodysupply.com/media/pdf/SEM-69508-TDS-rust-mort.pdf

these are not paints so you can wash , primer and then topcoat in your body color afterwards.


the difference may be that with the chemicals, they will stop or slow the rust and youc an do more applications, One that is paint based may be more noticible if it sits before continuing.. it may be visually less like an unfinished repair area. also a layer of paint prebvents more applications.

I did a trailer it was the box of an old ford/mazda pickup, and the metal then was not very pure so they reusted out like all the datsun 510 did. same era.

I pressure washed, only used a small bottle of the stuff and a brush to hit the rust spots then washed dried and painted with a good paint, it leasted really well without the rust resurfacing.

being a traler this was not restoration but a quick fix and it helped it last.

I would normally use a rag wet with acetone or a wet brush and give a surface a good degrease prior to paint. if the paint is stuck good I'd leave well enough alone. nothing sticks to dirt, grease oil etc.

when cleaning I like to use water as well as a solvent based cleaner, because some types of accumulation dissolve in solvents, acetone as an example , other substances are water soluble and may not be dissolvable by petro chemicals.
, by alternating I try to attack both"flavors" of gunk.

some solvents are water misible, thye mix with water, maybe thats a one step option. id use a detergent like simple green for water and also acetone is my go to. as a pre paint prep. bidyshops may use an acid based metal etch.

acid etching metal or sandblasing may leave some "hook" for paint to adhere to rather than a slick surface. the hook helps the piaint bond.

"tremclad" is ok for a gate but I wouldnt use it on a car, not very hard so it can scratch epoxy is a lot more impervious.

when you look at primers some are one stage some are a mixed A+B and some are build primers for surfacing. a good two part epoxy promer is likely helpful. the high build and a spot putty are helpful to get a paint ready smoth and perfect looking prepped surface.
I couldnt count the number of times Ive got to what I figured was a paint stage only to lay down the color and see a lot of sins in my bodywork. and then to correct them with more coats.

the old school acrylic enamal had a heavier build so I could give more coats and sand out, some of this new basecoat clearcoat well it maybe more successful if you get teh prep just right first. If there are imperfections they tend to telegrap through so good prep is very important for a nice finish. high build sanable primer helps give you material to sand to get it more perfect.before laying down colours.

us weekend warriers haveot work a lot harder than true bodymen do, there is a lot to know in order to achieve perfection without it being super laborous. for me it usually means a bunch more work than originally expected.




anythign Ive cleaned well and applied an epoxy primer seemed to fare well epoxy is pretty impervious to most chemicals.

Id use a flap disk on an angle grinder for a quick rough rust removal , to break though any rusty pebbles bubbles etc. the chemicals wont penetrate thick rust.

I spoke to a guy that did a whole porsche race car. he put it on a rotissary and used a process involving a sand injector with a wand that mixes sand into the water stream, of a gas ppowered pressure washer, mine is 6000 PSI
then used a product like this washed dried and then paint.
he claimed that he was able to collect the runoff with tarps and absorbant pads, and a regular sand only sandblaster probably makes clouds that drift, its a filthy process.

also he noted, by incorporating water it cools the metal whereas sandblastng may heat the metal and change the metallurgy, he didnt want to harden the metal of his race car. so that was his theory.

I found offshore made cheap setups, they draw from a straw in a pail of sand, the wand can clog.

better ones seemed in the 200 or 300 dollar range but there were really cheap onses too. I have not tried usoing one. thoiught it might work great on steel rims and such. hard to clean steel rims with a wire wheel or sanding disk due to the shape.

i found garnet sand for our sandblast cabinets at work , about a buck a pound or so. cabinets recollect the sand, if its an open area you can't recollect it easily. the sand is a consumable.

the sand and paint mixed that flies off is an enviro hazard. I would never park a good car anywhere near an open sandblast operation.. it's a filthy gritty cloud of stuff you don't want involved with moving parts. sandblasting is very fast and efficient.

dry ice and walnut shell blasting are other options.

acids cn remove rust and like with sandblasting they leave the metal so clean that rust starts up immediately some of the body shop preps might have something in them to give you a bit more time beofre you see a flashcoat of rust.

sometimes if I water wash stuff Il grab a propane torch , heat it a little and drive the water out a heat gun may work well for that. or an hour in the sun.

i dont like ot paint if metal is cold, I dont think it helps the paint stick. I want the metal to be not cold.