Gasportsj7

I have got some body damage that I need to fix. there are two spots on the bed of the truck that are about 2 inches thick and a foot long that are rusted all the way through. I dont have much money so was wonderin if ya'll had any suggestions on how I could fix it or get it done for cheap. thanks in advance

ksti

Do you mean 2" wide and a foot long? You have any pic's? Sounds like without seeing it you may need to cut out cancer (rusted area) and re fab new pieces.

Teuf

PICTURES would help.....

Gasportsj7

Yea I know I just dont have any pictures right now. Ill post them later. but yes two inches wide and a foot long.

ksti

You have to cut out the rust if you want to fix it properly. Rust never dies.

nothingbetter

if you have rust holes, you CAN NOT "fix it". If you cut out the rust and weld in a patch panel, it will last for a while, but chances are you missed some and it will start all over again right away. You can't grind rust off...it is always there. The only way to "fix" rust is to replace the whole panel.

Other "prolonging" options include:

Welding in a patch panel

Cut away the really bad spots, use waxed paper as backing and fill the holes with a fiberglass filler or allmetal filler. Then sand, prime, sand and paint.

Leave it and call them "aerodynamic speed ports"

Or any combination of the above

GuitarMike

To buy time, you can cut out what you can, grind back to 'real metal' enough to get some fiberglass or a suitable patch material on there (sheet metal + pop rivets, bond on top....). Paint the remainder of cancer on the inside of the panel with POR-15. Wire wheel the rest on the outer surface.
Clean with acetone. Apply bondo. Sand. Prime, paint.

It will buy time until you can buy a new panel, because, as was stated....it will always come back!!

Pop rivets are awesome. Make sure you use "UNGALVANIZED" sheet metal!!! You can ungalvy it yourself with an HCL/water mix, but that's beyond what we're talking about here. The zinc oxide won't stick to bondo, and if you heat it it releases toxins that WILL mess you up.

yota864x4

You can cut out the big stuff and then sandblast the surrounding area until its all bare. Then put your patch in and fill it and paint

Gasportsj7

I appreciate the advice! So do yall think I should fix it and paint it? or will it just rust away again too soon? should I just replace the panel if Im going to get a new paint job on it?

Teuf

OK this is what I did...... rust covered

Gasportsj7

so you just screwed those plates in over the rust?

Gasportsj7

this is the rusted out area

Teuf

I cut it out, por 15'd it and covered it. Done.....

Gasportsj7

dang that looks pretty good too

Teuf

I am pleased. My truck grew up in the salt and horror of NE. Thing is there is no rust on the drivers side. I added that plat to make it look uniform.

Gasportsj7

this is her

crazypaint

ok here is what i do i live in salt country to like everyone says cut it out. i use 2 part epoxy some guys love it (like me) some guys hate it. now the way i do it is cut out the rust clean the back side of the panel and the outside. grind up ur filler metal patch but make sure it is bigger because ur gonna glue it to the backside i use self taping screws to hold it together tight. before the screws tho spread the epoxy on the outsid eedges of the patch piece place in the hole(it make a hell of a mess wear gloves) after its in place use the self tapers to hold it tight. why i use epoxy because then i dont have to weld. advantages i see are no welding no heat no warping the thin body panels also the glue on the back sidee will cover all the bare steal so no chance of that rusting unlike the welding also u filling the area is alot easier now just my .02 i use a product called plio-grip not a fan of fusor

Gasportsj7

I appreciate that man. that sounds great. so do you put a thick layer of epoxy to make it level with the rest of the body of the truck? or will there just be a little bit of an indention where you put the metal on the inside over the hole?

crazypaint

ur gonna have a indentation because its not a flush mount like ud get from welding. after the epoxy dries u gotta grind the excess of the epoxy off the area around the edges then tape the edges in so u dont have a sharp edge next use duraglass first then use bondo. doing it this way ur building up the duraglass and bondo to match the original surface so blending it in is easy