marshm4ll0w

arite im kinda new to rust repair but i do know that rust isnt good and needs to be fixed before getting worse.


iv got a question about some rust spots on my 90 4runner. now these spots are just chips and only on driver side. most are the the size of a pea. they appear to be surface chips from maybe rocks hitting from cars driving by. iv got quite a few and some are getting bigger. the question i have is what can i do to stop them from getting bigger? cause one day i may decide to fix the rest of the runner but i dont want more rust than i have to fix. these if i could seal up or prevent form getting deeper and bigger would be nice.


what i thought to do for the spots would be sand them down to baremetal and paint them with something. iv never done auto body paint but to me it would be the same as painting anythign else. do i just spray the bare metal or would i have to put some cheap primer down first? cheap isnt the word i guess but a primer form spray can or something.



the other question i have is what is that dogleg for, on the front of the rear wheel well. i believe thats what its called. i read somewhere that it just causes dirt to get behind it and holds mosisture causeing it to rot. does it just cover a seam where the sheet metal comes together? cause i plan on fixing it eventually with more sheet metal possibly or even fiberglass, although id prefer metal. if i could get away from having it at all it may help. im a little worried about removing them cause mine are quite rusty underneath, and i dont know if ill be able to put it back on later if i do need it.

the other thing iv noticed, (which i dont have a picture of) the rear doors on the bottom rear corner have a patch on them. its the size of like a baseball you cant miss it if you look. my question is why. my moms got a 2000 4runner and has them as well and i was wondering if anyone new why added them.


any help or suggestions would be apreciated thanks.

cormel

Well to start with peas... You could take a dremel tool with a bit that is sort of rounded and grind out the dings. Make sure to get all the rust, and if you see any 'pitting in the metal when done grinding, get that out as well, because that will start the rust back again. Then if you want to just leave it as is (you mentioned that some day you would want to do the entire truck) you could just put some special primer used for rust - there are many different brands of this and they usually take a long time to dry - over night for sure. If you want to smooth out the dings you could sand around it 3 to 4 inches, then fill it will a body filler and then sand down smooth - then use the rust primer and then paint to match.

Now to fix those area around your doors - these I believe you will have to cut out all the rust affected areas and sand/grind down and replace with new metal. I just did this on my truck this past fall, can be time consuming. Just a matter of cutting it out then using paper templates to see what you need to cut out in the new metal. Then after all is done prime with rust inhibitor primer then paint.

marshm4ll0w

okay thats a good suggestion. what if i take a mini grinder with a buffer wheel and buff the litle peas out and then primer them, you think that would work. seeing as i have the tools to do it haha. from what i read if you primer things itll rust through wont that happen if i do that.

im aluminum fabricator so cutting rust and welding shouldnt be so bad. metal is easier to work with than aluminum too. its more foregiving. iv done tons of finishing here which is buffing and sanding before we powder coat it. so iv learned to feel bumps and things in aluminum and i know what will show up in paint. so i think i may be able to do the body work myself. although im unsure of things like bondo and body filler and paint and primers, cause iv never done a lot with any of it.

the other thing is did you take those little doglegs off? im curious to know whats under them but im afirad to take mine off

cormel

If you make sure that you get all the pits taken out out those 'peas' then use the rust inhibiting primer, it should last a long time. I had a pathfinder that has some issues over the rear quarter panel (hole rusted the size of a quarter) and all I did was grind it down very well, made sure to take out all the 'pits' then i primed it with the rust inhibiting primer, then smoothed it out with bondo and filler then painted it. Well I had the truck 3 years and still no sign of rust in that area. I think that primer really works pretty well. I cannot for the life of me remember what type I used, but when I find out I will post it.

cormel

I think this is what I used "Rust Check" Primer - http://www.rustcheck.ca/pictures/180...st%20check.jpg

marshm4ll0w

thanks. i tried a different spot with primer it didnt say anything about rust inhibitor though. then i painted it too for top coat and im waiting for it dry. so i dont know if it will rust again. well see i guess. i didnt use bondo but o well. its rough but the fender is screwed. i also noticed someone elses bondo was ther elike a 1/4inch thick

Matt16

Hate to break it to you, but rust is a real B#(Y(&@^ to deal with. You really have to get at both sides of the panel and treat both sides or else it will just come back. Spraying rust primer on the backside of the panel doesn't cut either, as you need to wash the backside of the panel, prep it and paint it. I tried really hard, used rust mort, zinc-based primer ("etching" primer that's supposed to inhibit rust), then bondo (didn't let it get wet either) and then paint. No ditch, the rust is bubbling up already only maybe 6 months after I "fixed" it. The only success I've had with rust is replacing entire panels (doors).

At some point, I realized I just wasn't going to beat the body rust with the time and resources I was prepared to dedicate to it. Now it doesn't bother me so much. I realized that I bought the old truck to use for camping, fishing, exploring and 4 wheeling, not as a shiny macdaddy SUV.

Take inspiration from this, replace bomb, with rust:

Justinvd

Well said^^

cormel

I agree it is hard to stop rust once it is there, and if is is all the way through, yes you will have to treat both sides, no doubt about that. I did however have great success with the rust check primer I posted, I did however get rid of all the 'pits' like I mentioned before. Yes, I too bought this truck for "utility" and that is what it will be used for, it's not perfect and some rust e does not bother me at all. It could really consume you if you wanted to fix it with most of the products out there that claim to stop rust.

annoyingrob

When you're finished with your truck, I have a small rust hole to fix too:

marshm4ll0w

haha nice. well when i closemy eyes your rust goes away. i was more concerned about removing the surface rust on the pea size paint chips. then maybe one day if i so decide to cut and replace the rear quarters properly. but im worried if i leave the pea size rust spots theyll get bigger and only cause more problems. so i just wanna remove the surface ones for now so they dont get worse. i dont care so much how they look. like if i primer it and then paint and it doesnt match oh well.

oh and matt iv noticed everywhere i look your always around haha. always posting of posted. i should come to you with my problems hahah

gary96360

gah toyota should had made the sheetmetal a bit thicker. it would had been way better if it was thicker. i had some rust on the wheelwells. today i used a palm sander and it created a hole. time to clean it up and put bunch of rust paint on then stick on fender flares which i hate. when it gets warmer im going to take off the fenders and go underneath the truck and spray tons of rust paint over the frame and body after i clean the mud and stuff off.

marshm4ll0w

thats kinda a bummer. i dont care for flares either. kinda look funny. well sometimes they dont but some do. my dad owns a 2003 taco and it has the black flares on all the wheels i dont like it.

well does anyone know whats behind the dogleg? is it just a seem where two piecse of sheet metal come together?
and what about that little patch on the doors id still like to know why its there.

gary96360

like the truck has no rust on the body except on that damn front fender.

marshm4ll0w

why not try and replace the one fender then. if its the front fender thats not so bad

gary96360

it probably will cost much as fender flares. i just dont want the fender to look another colour. i tried out the toyota black paint on my valance, doesnt even look close to the color. ill probably get an autobody place to fix it, i know some people in the business.

GVOLCRunner

RUST. My runner, a 1990 also was eaten up with it. My is rest in peace. I just got a new to me 99 Tacoma RUST free. So nice to look at. As for fixing rust.. no matter how hard I tried it always came back. I think you really just just learn to love it. hahaha

gary96360

yeah im one of the lucky guys. only have minimal rust

mclellan86

the rear of my 90 4runner is pretty rusty where my bumber mounts go behind the wheels.. do i need them for putting on an after market bumper?

im thinking about just cutting it, just dont know where the tube style bumber mounts to.

any help.