Big rust spot with small dents repair help

[ehc14]

I've got a large patch right behind the driver door where it is down to the metal and is getting rusty. This is how the car was when I purchased it and am looking to repair it before paint. There are also small dents (I doubt you can see in the pictures) that I don't think are more than 1/8" deep. Any suggestions on how to fix this? I'm sanding the rust off today but am I safe to use bondo or something for the areas that need it? It's a large area that needs to be fixed so I'm just a bit curious. Also paint is not an issue.

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[dsmgst1996]

im not a fan of fillers but on small dent its ok . I would get that rust off the metal and get some kinda of epoxy of sealant on the metal to keep it form rusting.

 

[SmoochDarling]

Pony up $600 and take it to a body shop, they will do it right and you will be happier in the end.

 

[ehc14]

Gotcha, thanks. Do they fix the paint as well? If not no worries.

 

[pitbull419]

If your not confident in your body work skills take it to a shop. If you still want to attemt it pm me and I will talk you through it.

 

[EvilTsi95]

It will definitely save you money to do it yourself.. But if it was me, since im not good with body work, Id take it to a bodyshop.. but thats just me

 

[freshbboy]

Rust can be a pain in the butt. I have some rust issues as well but i plan on doing most of it myself because body shops are crazy expensive. but they do have lots of stuff out there now a days to help stop rust but you got to do your best to get rid of it all so it wont come back. Rust is like cancer its hard to get rid of.

 

[2GbTalonGuy]

The best thing to do would be replace the quarter panel. That way you get rid of all the damage at once. Who knows what the previous owner was doing or trying to fix by grinding the paint off. Some may think replacing the whole thing is a bit extreme, but i don't like to have to redo body work.

 

[Breezio69]

Just a warning to yourself... if you find yourself in the bondo section of the store, get a short piece of rope and find a tree as well. I've been doing some light bondo work on my car to repaint this summer. Small dings like yours, plus what looked like a fist dent in the hood (I'm pretty sure it was) and I am going crazy trying to get them perfect...

Its worse than doing drywall in my opinion

 

[96awd16g]

explain the rope and a tree please? Last time I checked we did not "hang" things anymore

I really cant believe that was what you ment. I thought you had some super secret rope method I could laugh at, but either way.

 

[Breezio69]

I just figured go get yourself a bullet and revolver wouldn't be appropriate with the world we live in today... but that's whole different conversation

Good luck with the project!

By the way, why was it even taken down to bare metal to begin with?

 

[90gsxdakilla]

You need to sand blast or sand with some 80 grit and a da sander so you can find out if its surface rust or cancer. if its eating through the metal its cancer. You need to cut that out and replace it. If you put body filler over that rust it won't do anything but make it worse. Also with the dents pull them or get to them from the back and hammer and dolly them as straight as you can then lightly skim it with body filler. Like these guys said though if you don't have the proper tools and experience take it to a shop. It will be much less headaches for you later.

 

[marcuskent1987]

"You need to sand blast or sand with some 80 grit and a da sander so you can find out if its surface rust or cancer. if its eating through the metal its cancer. You need to cut that out and replace it. If you put body filler over that rust it won't do anything but make it worse. Also with the dents pull them or get to them from the back and hammer and dolly them as straight as you can then lightly skim it with body filler. Like these guys said though if you don't have the proper tools and experience take it to a shop." Quoted

This is sound advice though if I may add a little on the tools, as far as finishing the shaping using the Bondo method, I would recommend an old style cheese shredder for basic shaping then move along sand paper grit size as applicable. This method was taught to me by Tim Tombes, at his body shop. Works rest for me every time.

 

[90gsxdakilla]

^Yup that's the way its done once you get the body filler on there, but before all that you really need to get rid of that rust before you even think of body filler. It isn't a hard process just time consuming. Get rid of the rust then take your time and get the panel straight, prime, and paint you will be happy with the results if you pay attention to all the little details.

 

[Nicklepage1010]

Sand all of that rust off with 320 Grit, Fill the holes with body filler, sand the filler smooth with a sanding block, smooth out with 400 Grit, spray with self etching primer.
Its just starting to brown with surface rust. Try not to use a really low grit so to not gouge the metal really bad.

 

[ehc14]

I ended up sanding it off with 320 and it was just surface rust. Now just to try and repair the dents! I will see if I can get the quarter panel off of an old talon at a junkyard but if not, it's on to my attempt at bondo. I'll post pics with the process as I go through it!