Rear Quarter Panel Repair [Merged 11-8]

[Schiwa_Yang]

is there any place cheaper

 

[TALONTRAX]

Here`s the Jnz part . . .

JNZ Tuning Online- OEM Mitsubishi Parts

 

[snowborder714]

My DD (Chevy Monte Carlo) has a growing rust hole in the rear drivers side quarter panel. When I got the car, it was painted over, but not perfect. There was something wrong with it to cause a bump in that area, but I'm not sure what. There was one previous owner and he takes very, very good care of his cars.

Just a few months ago I was washing it and noticed that if I pressed lightly on the area, it flexed. So my brother pushed on it, broke the touch-up paint, and found there was rust underneath. And ever since the hole has been growing slowly.

I took it to Maaco yesterday to get a quote. The guy told me there is some rubber seal/liner(?) under that area of the wheel well and this is a common issue. It retains moisture and rots the area. Since it's so close to the gas tank fill he would not feel comfortable welding a plate there. Instead he said he would grind it down, use filler and fiberglass, and then paint it. The quote came out to over $400!! This is NOT worth it to me. It is my DD and it does not have to be a great quality fix. However, I don't want the rust to spread and the hole to grow.

Those of you who have body work knowledge, do you have any suggestions on what to do? I have never done body work before. I do want it fixed, but anything more than $100 or so is too much for me to spend on the car. I might be willing to fix it myself, depending on what it involves. I'm not opposed to learning a new skill or two either.

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[spitefire1]

i personally what i do bc i work at collison body shop, is that i would take a grinder and cut out the rust and then weld in a piece of sheet emtal then grind the welds even. then i would bondo the car smooth and theh paint it. put this process is going to take time, expecially if you dont know what you are doing! good luck

 

[tec_41]

^^He hit it on the head, it's to the point where you need to cut/grind out that rust...But take your time and make sure you get it all! If you don't have access to a welder, there are Bondo kits for larger jobs. But welding will likely produce better results. Good luck!

 

[snowborder714]

My brother and I have started this project, but would like some more opinions on where to go next. We have the hole and the area around it cleaned out (not cleaned up yet, but we know what needs to be fixed). It has a metal layer underneath (which is what you see in the hole) but there was a rubber layer in between that we ripped out. Would everyone still thinking welding a plate over it to be the best idea? Keep in mind the gas cap area is right above the hole. We've looked into body filler as well as fiberglass, but neither seem to fit with our problem that well. Here's a picture of where it is now.

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[knochgoon24]

Stuff it with fiberglass matting then bondo over it? It produced a strong fix on my front bumper. I'm just not sure if it would work there.

 

[Jeff99GS]

I welded my Jeep right around the Fuel filler and it was fine. I even have a leaky tank haha...Just use a flame retardant blanket to lay over the car.


I like the News paper in the background that says "RAPPING DRUG DEALERS SENTENCED TO PRISON" hahahaha

Do you have a lot of Rapping Drug dealers down there? Isn't it bad enough that they are drug dealers...now they gotta go around rapping to people?!?

 

[crimsondragon]

If you're that worried about dying, empty the tank and blow some compressed air inside to vent the fumes. Other than that, weld away!

 

[snowborder714]

Well the other problem with welding is that I only have access to a gasless mig (which splatters like crazy) and a stick (which I read isn't good for sheet metal work). I cut out the back layer of metal so now we have a hole with the 2 layers of metal there. I think I'm going to try to lay fiberglass between the layers butting up against the front layer, then bondo over that. I'm also going to hammer the metal layers together after fiberglassing to hopefully hold it in place better. I put some Rust Remover between the layers tonight so hopefully that helps out too.

We actually read part of the drug dealer article, says something about these guys rapping on youtube about drug dealing

 

[Auto RS T]

You actually want to weld the plate in behind the hole. That way the fiberglass has somewhere to sit and you can sand it smooth. I don't see a problem with tacking it all around the hole and then using fiberglass to fill in the rest of the seam. Use the fiberglass for areas that need strength and use the bondo for finishing. When your done, you want to make sure no moisture can get back at the inside of the fix and paint as much of the area as possible to minimize the chance of it showing back up.

 

[turbosax2]

We really would've liked to weld in a filler plate but we decided it just wasn't feasible for this case. So this is what we ended up doing. We used Bondo brand fiberglass repair kit and body filler. First, 2 layers of fiberglass was placed between the layers of metal butting up against the front layer (forgot to hammer the metal layers together but it's solid anyway), then 3 applications of Bondo with sanding in between, feathered the edges after the last application, then primered. We sprayed some undercoating on the backside of the panel. We didn't have any paint on hand so that will be done next weekend.

We were limited by time so it's not as perfect as we would've liked, but I think we did a decent job for the first time trying it. Thanks for all the advice guys

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[tec_41]

Looks good! Post a picture of the finished product, because this is always where I fudge up ha ha. Can never get the paint to blend...

 

[Jeff99GS]

Looks great!!! Especially for your first time patching a rust hole. I still would have welded it, but this will hold ya over for a year or two. The problem with rust is it's like cancer. It will just keep coming back.

The only way to fully eliminate Rust is to media blast the area down to bare metal, Cut out the Rust, Then Weld in new metal to patch the rust spots, Grind the welds smooth. Lay a thin coat of filler, sand it then paint the area IMMEADIATELY.

The longer that spot sits without paint on it the MORE chance you have of rust coming back sooner.
Oxygen is one of the components of RUST. Rust is just another name for Oxidation. When you paint a car you are sealing OUT the oxygen and stopping it from getting to the metal. Paint is basically just a SEALER for the metal.


That is why there is a team of guys painting the Golden Gate Bridge at all times. This way salt water and oxygen can't get to the metal and rust out the old bridge.

Anyhow my point in all of this rambling is to PAINT the spot before you drive it anywhere. Even if its just cheap ass rustoleum for now. You can sand it off later.

 

[snowborder714]

And here's the finished product after painting and waxing. This was painted with a rattle can filled with matched-color paint.

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[PIMking]

can you explain were you got color matched rattle can spray paint? I have a hole that I am going to patch right under the vent on my 91.

it doesnt look horrible, better than the rust but you could of done a better job with sanding on the bondo.

It takes some time but hell unless you really look at it most people wont know that it's there.

 

[turbosax2]

can you explain were you got color matched rattle can spray paint? I have a hole that I am going to patch right under the vent on my 91.

We got it from a local shop that specializes in auto refinishing supplies. Cost about $13 for the can.

it doesnt look horrible, better than the rust but you could of done a better job with sanding on the bondo.

It takes some time but hell unless you really look at it most people wont know that it's there.

Agreed. We wanted to apply at least another layer or 2 of Bondo with sanding to get it better but we ran out of time last Sunday. We can only work on weekends so it's kind of tough.

 

[crimsondragon]

I give it an A for first try.

 

[Jeff99GS]

Damn Man looks better than half the body shops do . All you needed was a lil more block sanding and it would be perfect...But Hey it looks great! Thats all that matters. Better than a Rusty Blow Hole.

 

[DSMunknown]

Brian, I told you I would post up, so here they are. These are as of April '09.


Here are a few shots of my driver's side quarter panel. The cancer has been progressively growing for at least 3 years now.

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And here are a few of my trunk lid. IDK WTF I'm going to do here.

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[chico904]

^^Wow. The hatch pictures look exactly like mine. Usually when I lift the hatch up by the lip, I have rust pieces in my hand.

 

[housegsx]

Brian, I told you I would post up, so here they are. These are as of April '09.


Here are a few shots of my driver's side quarter panel. The cancer has been progressively growing for at least 3 years now.

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My daily driver Talon has some rust in this area, but it's all behind the side moulding for now. If you decide to tackle that project let me know how you go about it. I'm about ready to splurge on a gas mig and go to town.

 

[vanilla gorilla]

^^^ WOW.
Thats sickening. I did not know these cars were that bad for rust. I thought the only problem area was the strut towers. Yeah theres a good bit of metal work to be done there. Please dont try and do it yourself, take it to a PRO.
You might make it look decent for now, but it'll come back in a year. The first car I ever painted was my 95 civic. There was one rust spot on the rear quarter. I ground it all the way down, making sure to get all the rust out. I then fixed it, and painted the car. Could never tell it was there. Lol, then I found out I didnt get all the rust so, a year later its bubbling up under my paint.

 

[Itsok]

I have some bad rust under the quarter panel, I need to find a replacement quarter panel but I can't find any.

Anybody know where to purchase one?

Alternative Ideas?

Thanks ahead =]

 

[IROCavenger]

Where exactly is the rot? maybe take a picture? It it the outer skin or part of the inner structures that meet the 1/4. I have 2 rust free parts cars I can cut sections from.