small rust hole repair - Auto Body Repair and Refinishing


	Auto Repair Home	SEARCH POSTS	WHO'S ONLINE	LOG IN

Automotive Repair

Car Troubleshooting Topics
  Car Troubleshooting
  Engine Troubleshooting
  Engine Fault Codes
  Electrical and Wiring
  Transmission Problems

Car Repair Topics
  Car Making Noises
  Car Stereo Repair
  Heating or AC Issues
  Motorcycles and ATVs
  Tricks of the Trade
  Truck Repair Advice

Site Options:
  Login
  Sign up here!

Latest Forum Post

2011 Dodge Nitro OBD scanner seems to drain battery in 10-20 minutes

When I bought this car in summer 2023, a...

Grounding Cable, 2017 Jeep Renegade Trailhawk

The Cable that connects my negative batt...

Rough Idle (Found new thing)

Hi everyone. First of all sorry for bad ...

equipment

hey yall. im a first year engineering st...

HELP

I have a 1956 1/2 ton panel truck, 69 35...

Howdy

    Just wanted to s...

ABS/Tractiob/Brake Lights on But No DTCs

Hello all, Recently while driving m...

Chevy strut replacement

I'm trying to get a sensor of some kind ...

2020 suburban new transmission and issues after install

recently had the transmission fail at 11...

Caliper piston post cleaning won't screw in

Hello, 2013 Hyundai Elantra limited (ma...

small rust hole repair

Sign up here!

Email This Post

Auto Repair Home>> Automotive Repair>> Auto Body Repair and Refinishing

dwe9434
New User

Aug 26, 2014, 6:11 PM

Post #1 of 3 (4046 views)

small rust hole repair	Sign In

I have a 2004 Dodge 1500 pickup, and all of a sudden the rear right panel started to rust in an area about 1/2 inch by 3 inch. I sanded it down and in one spot it was rusted through about the size of a quarter. I sanded all the rust I could but I know that there was a little I couldn't get. I bondo ed and panted but within three days I can already see the rust coming through. How do I cut all of this out and fix, cause I don't see just bondo alone fixing this hole?

Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Tom Greenleaf profile image

Aug 27, 2014, 3:14 AM

Post #2 of 3 (4032 views)

Re: small rust hole repair	Sign In

Welcome to my world with rust. Hope that yours was from some prior work/damage and limited to one spot. The fix is to cut all rusted metal out totally back to un-rusted metal and replace with new metal up to the whole panel or a part of one.

What you see from outside isn't usually the source but rather behind there one dot of rust could be quite far spread so still "alive" and only killing it lasts well or removal totally.

How far do you want to go for a fix? The "Bondo" way is just a cover up and won't last. There are rust killing products that you apply to bare metal with even small pits left that help before the fix and paint.

Back - Check with an auto body place or look for yourself as possible all around this truck as the problem unless just that spot is involved is serious trouble and doesn't go away and frequently ends of the demise of a vehicle. Costs are outrageous, fixes frequently don't last near as well as if not rusted to begin with.

General to slow it for whole vehicles is to garage them and at least park it on a paved surface. Dirt, gravel just make underside damp and feed the rust war faster.

Try to know what your problem really is and decided on the approach. DIY longer term fixes are quite difficult to impossible like you just experienced,

T

Tombstonebilly
New User

Oct 12, 2014, 7:19 AM

Post #3 of 3 (2181 views)

Re: small rust hole repair	Sign In

Like Tom said you might have alot of hidden rust, take a maget and check to see if any repairs have been made to the area, when you sand it make sure you sand it three times the size of rust damage and use fiberglass not bondo. Just take your time, and have it lay flat so less sanding then if you need to put a lite coat of filler paint. its a paint that fills in very little spots and use a good primer and sand with 1500 grit sand paper after each coat, about three coats shoud do a good job on it .Good Luck

Email This Post

Search for (options) Privacy Sitemap