Rust

[plee4139]

I have a rather nasty rust spot on the bottom of the front fender. I can't tell if it's just surface rust or all the way through. I don't want to touch it for fear I'll make things worse. I'm also afraid if I bring it to my body shop that they'll claim that they "couldn't match the paint" and will wind up painting the entire lower half of my car for $$$$ like they did last time. Suggestions, please.

[Kurt]

If you had a good picture, that would be helpful. I would guess, that it is all the way through. If it is bubbled. Is that a word? It is likely coming thru the back side of the panel. Find someone local who local who is a “car guy” to help with the assessment. It doesn’t have to be a bodyshop at this point.

[my2R5]

Another option is find out who your adjuster is for your classic car insurance. It's not an insurance claim but ask who he would recommend for doing body work on a classic car. Your adjuster has a list of names of body guys/gals that he would recommend should you have an actual claim. When I had a claim a few years ago my adjuster gave me the names of three body shops that he recommended would do good work. These were small shops that I had never heard of. These were actual old body guys that would work the damaged metal to get it back into shape rather than cut and weld. They matched the paint perfectly. Now I have the names of three shops I can use in the future if I need any small body fixes carried out.

[Noxnabaker]

If you can, maby with a mirror, look from back/inside & see if the rust is there too then it's penetrated for sure, but if it aint any on the back/inside it's because of moist staying on the surface when they painted & then it might be possible to sand it down, warm it up & paint again... (It MIGHT, but I doubt it.)

[rbisacca]

Any rust will only get worse. My guess is it's coming from the back. The quicker it's repaired the better. For a lasting repair ALL the rust must be removed.

[345 DeSoto]

I believe what you have is rot starting...from the inside...

[swvalcon]

If you want to see if it's rust though or just a paint blister take the end of your key and push hard on a blister. If it's solid may be a blister in not you will have a hole the size of your key.

[Jeffry Cassel]

All's you can do is cut out the rust (I use a cut-off saw from Harbor Freight --$20 or so) Clean up metal really well. Use panel adhesive to install a patch panel and if you are careful you won't need much Bondo at all. Your parts store should be able to fix you up with matching enamel. Don't put laquer over enamel. Wait a while and buff out paint line. Adhesive won't warp metal like a welder can. Ditto for cut off saw.

[Dwain G.]

Look closely at the rear edge of the fender. It should be as flat as the door panel behind it. If it seems to be slightly bowed out vertically for the last couple inches that means the narrow pocket inside the fender is full of gunk that is growing. Rust bubbles will be an on-going problem.