Once rust starts to eat away at your car, there is no turning back. The rust spots start to plague your vehicle, leaving spots that cannot be eliminated and that never slow down. Caused when mild steel comes into contact with water, which is slightly acidic, the wetter the weather is, the more rust your car will have.
To prevent car rust from ruining your vehicle, check your car regularly for rust spots. Carefully look over the places around the wheel well and on the bottom edge next to the ground, as well as around your door locks where any possible chips could have been made. Often, tiny rust spots are caused by stones being thrown up from the road that chip off the top coat of paint on your car; car keys can knock against the paint to cause scratches. That leaves only bare metal exposed to water, wind, and dirt, which can set in motion an even larger section of rust.
However, if you don't catch a chipped spot before it starts to rust, you can fix it yourself. Treating a car’s rusty spot can be quite simple if it's small. It's the sizable sections that should be left to the professionals where patching may be required to repair the car rust. To treat a small rusted area, start by using a cloth dipped in alcohol to wipe down the rust spot on and about an inch around it, and then scrape off the loose paint. Next, rub the area down with coarse sandpaper until you reach an area of good paint and blow away the dust. Then, apply primer with a fine paint brush, going beyond the area just about a quarter-inch, and let it dry completely.
After this, you'll want to use an old knife to apply a thin layer of cellulose stopper. Don't leave any excess around the affected area. In the final step, use a medium-grade sandpaper to make the area smoothly flow into the area surrounding the old rust spot. To finish off the repair, use a can of touch up paint, applied quickly and smoothly, overlapping the paint into the car's existing paint job. Apply the second coat after 24 hours and you're done.
To find the exact color of paint to match your vehicle, look for the car's paint color or trim code on the identification plate underneath the hood or inside the doors. You can take this number to an auto accessory shop, dealership, or auto repair shop to get an exact shade of paint so you can make the car rust repair job look professional. You can also look for the color code inside the frame of the driver's side door near the door jamb.
To help protect your vehicle from being vulnerable to more rust spots a few hundred miles down the road, there are various rust prevention techniques that come in every form, like corrosion protection coating, corrosion control coating, rust prevention coatings, automotive undercoating, rust repair, and rust paint. There are a number of companies in the market that specialize in applying rust prevention and protection techniques that will provide free estimates and information to anyone who is interested in getting their car rust repaired.
Also using basic car care such as waxing the vehicle adds another protective coating that helps run off water and it adds an extra clear layer of protection on your car to prevent any need for future car rust repair.