Kiroshu

I just bought an 88 4runner and its in goodition but has some rust areas that do require some serious attention. Does anyone know of some fix it yourself at home rust repair or anyways to remov rust at home.
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88 Toyota 4runner 3.0 V6 5-Speed 282,000 Miles

thook

Any holes, yet?

Surface rust....and any other really....you can use rust converter.

It's nice because you can leave metal if it still has decent integrity and in low stress areas, brush off the loose stuff leaving enough rust for the convertor to adhere, clean it, and convert. Then, paint.

There's good converters online. Just don't get the cheap stuff. Not necessary for the most expensive, either....though, it is really good.

Kiroshu

Its mainly alot of deep kida surface rust but there is like 1 hole and one starting hole. But there small. I know sanding and repair is good but like the rust i have it in the back fender wells theres kinda a few big bubbles big not bad. Theres a deep surface rust spot behind the back wheel before the bumper its flakey but there. One big about 2-3 diameter deep surface rust spot above tail light. Some small surface rust around winshield. I'll prolly put pics up.

thook

Prolly a good idea....

bigt

some elbow grease,sand paper bonbo and paint.. and if any holes chicken wire lol

thook

TORTIS

iTrader: (1)

you are doomed. rust in the rear quarter panels is common. the rust is going to be a lot worse on the inside. have you looked inside the rear quarter panel? dirt and stuff collects at the seam, and the rust forms from there. those little pin hole will probably be the size of a dime by the time you get to good metal, if not a quarter. rust is cancer, get it all, or it will come back. i had to do a good bit of cutting out and fab up small replacement panels that i welded in.

in your case i hope it is not so bad.

Yopar

iTrader: (2)

Get to the inside of the panels as best as you can. Clean it all up with wire brushes, scrapers etc. Spray it with Ospho and let that dry for 24 hrs. Then spray it with Mar-Hyde rust converter and let that dry. Patch the holes with a fibre strand body filler and prime the outside. Then spray the inside again with rubberized undercoating. All bare metal needs to be etched and treated with Ospho, make sure that you use it, and always let it dry before proceeding with top coats, filler, sealers, etc. Rust needs to be treated and then sealed up so no oxygen is allowed back in to the cancer. Funny, as human cancer cells cannot live with pure oxygen present, and rust can't live without it.

thook

So, Mar-Hyde is good stuff, eh?

Had a guy school me on the converter stuff. He works on amusement parks on the west coat where the rides and other metal structures get a lot of exposure to saltly water and air. Rust converter is what they use and it works. He just couldn't recall what brand they used. He also stress leaving enough rust for the converter TO work. Said don't sand/brush too much. But, what he didn't mention was the etcher. What does this do? Clean it?

InternetRoadkill

If there is surface rust around the windshield, you may have bigger problems.

Yopar

iTrader: (2)

I like the Mar-Hyde, it seals up the rust nicely. There are a ton of other products that are considered "rust converters"... Boating stores sell zinc-chromate primer that works well as a sealer, although this isn't a converter, it's for use after the metal is prepped. "Ospho" (phosphoric acid) neutralizes the microscopic rust that is on the metal, and turns it into a dusty black coating, but it doesn't seal it afterwards. There are probably many opinions on whether or not you should use ospho AND a rust converter like Mar-Hyde... the difference is that the Mar-Hyde also seals it after converting. I like to let the rust get a double dose of chemical, so the rust gets penetrated fully, so what I am doing is converting it twice to be sure, (once with the Ospho, then again with the Mar-Hyde) and then the Mar-Hyde also seals it. Then I seal it again with some undercoating on top of that.

I think this would work well for what you want to do, which is prolong the life of the panels as much as possible. The absolute sure answer is to cut out the rust and replace with new sheet metal, but in many cases this is overkill, and could lead to more problems if done incorrectly, for example there are going to be welded seams that could trap moisture between the patch work, etc. Welding in new metal is usually for scenarios where the rust has created multiple holes in the vehicle, over 1/4". Smaller than that, it is easily fixed by prepping it correctly and then sealing like we are talking about here. But you HAVE to get to both sides of the panel, inside and out!

thook

I see. Thanks....

There is a converter on the market that is guaranteed to convert rust through paint and down in small, tight crevices. I talked with a representative late one night for almost an hour about the product. Very impressive stuff. The large percentage of the company's clientel is up in the NE with old churches, bridges, and on farm/industrial equipment that simply cannot be allowed to fail or deteriorate due to rust. It was a while back, so I don't remember everything he said about it's unique chemical composition and why it's different. Nor do I remember the name of the stuff. I just remember I couldn't afford it! Around $70 something a qt!?

Itoyota

Personally, I would not use a rust converter. My limited experience using that type of product has given okay results at best. I refinished my steel rims with rust converter and proper coats of black and clear to find the rust eeking through after a single winter. (the winters here are especially harsh though) I did just replace my driverside rear quarter panel behind the tire with sheet metal and to take care of the rusty areas around the fender wells, I used POR-15. This is the best stuff I have laid my hands on in rust detterent paints.

thook

What kind of converter did you use, though? The 'musement park dude did tell me not all are created equal. "You get what you pay for". The guy has been using the stuff they use for long time and didn't hesitate to recommend it.

ThomasTedder

These guys are right about that rust coming back. You have to do it right the first time. Most of your rust is on the back. I had a similar problem. I actually cut out the bottom part where the rust was and got to it from the back. I sprayed about a whole can of rust converter behind each fender/quarter panel. This costs a little more, but what's an extra $20-30 to make sure all your hard work is not for nothing. One little speck of rust will start the same process over again. When you fill your panels make sure you don't use ordinary bondo (it will absorb water). I like Duraglass but any fiberglass strand filler will work. On the outside, take the paint all the way down to the metal with a grinder or sandpaper until you have clean metal all the way around your rust. Spray it with converter before you use the filler. You will probably need at least three layers of filler to get the shape right. Be patient here. I used bed liner instead of paint for two reasons: it looks cool, and it was easier than matching paint.




If you have any questions, let me know.

thook

Sorry, this confuses me a tad. First you say not to use bondo...use fiberglass fill...then you say use bondo. Would you please clarify? I only ask because at some point I'll be doing some rust work myself.

Also, when you say take the paint down to the metal "around the rust", do you mean to leave the rust yet have a surrounding area of clean metal free of paint?

ThomasTedder

Sorry, I meant filler. Old habits die hard.

Grind it all down to clean metal especially the rust. In fact, the best option is to completely remove the rust. I cut most of mine out. The point of going down to the metal all around the rust is that there is rust under the paint that you don't see. A dime sized rust bubble is probably at least the size of a silver dollar under the paint. Keep grinding until there is no more rust. If there are no holes, then grind the rust as good as you can and give it a heavy dose of rust converter. If there are holes, I would cut it out all the way back to clean metal. The most important thing is to make sure there is no rust left. At least no untreated rust. A piece of microrust that is smaller than you can see can eventually come back to haunt you. They call this stuff cancer for a reason.

BoostinChick

What are the names of rust converters that you guys recommend. I saw one mentioned above "Mar-Hyde" and that's it. I am going to start saving up so I can get rid of the rust then go over the areas I want with either POR-15 or Herculiner like WillRadFord did (his truck pictured below).

thook

Yeah....but, but my understanding from those I've talked to is that you MUST leave some rust for the converter to actually work? These are people that use it in industrial applications. ???

Run a google search, Boostinchick. There's quite a number of them on the web.

ThomasTedder

I don't understand that. If you don't leave any rust for the rust converter, it won't convert the rust? Maybe because there's no rust left to convert?

I'd much rather just remove the rust than convert it, but that's not always practical. So when I can't grind the rust completly away (usually because of pitting) or when it's not accessible, I use rust converter.

I believe the purpose of an etcher is so the subsequent layer will adhere to bare metal.