I started to remove rust on one section of my 4runner. See picture below to see what it looks like. My question is for anyone who has done this before. Do you think I can restore this area with body filler and patch? Or should I just cut it out? Also, I may not have time to finish it before winter, so I was thinking of just cleaning off as much rust as possible down to metal and then spraying with gloss enamel to seal it so it doesn't spread and then finish restoring it at a future time.. thoughts? advice?

 

Looks like the inner wheelhouse edge is good. The easiest way to repair this is by cutting a piece from a non-rusted truck and welding it in.Anytime you can take apart and replace using factory seams and spot welds it will be easier to get good results.

 

Two obstacles I'm faced with there -- finding a non-rusted truck and not knowing how to weld lol.

If I do find a non-rusted truck, what's the best tool to use to cut it out? Is it better to cut out a much larger section than needed?

 

Brushing it with phosphoric acid acts as encapsulator. You can buy small bottle at Napa for $5 or so.. Brush all the rust areas and then put the Bondo to it... Myself I'd make a patch panel and weld it. Obviously cutting a section out of a non rusted truck would be ideal but like you say tough to find.
Possibly time to invest in a mig welder and learn a new life skill. Mig welding is very simple to learn. You would be drawing beads in minutes. A decent welder is going to cost around $500.

 

I agree, not having experience welding has forced me to take the car to a shop several times. I'll look into getting one.

Do you just cut out patch panels from sheet metal? How do you deal with the curves?

Thanks for the advice re: phosphoric acid and bondo. I may need to go that route as a stop-gap.

 

There are plenty of Youtubes on shaping tin, tricks and methods. There are scant few people who can produce a perfect panel from a sheet of tin.
I bend the metal to form curves. Don't expect perfection, get the basic shape as best you can and smooth it out with Bondo, the better you get the less Bondo required. I have a few tools for shaping metal. Hammers, dollies, beater bag, bead roller. For many years I only had 1 hammer and 1 dolly and managed.

 

Would you recommend lap or butt welds? Lap seems easier in this situation.

 

Butt weld is the correct way. I have a bead roller in my garage and I still won't lap weld,its just somewhere for corrosion to start.
Easy way to patch a hole is lay a piece of tin over the hole, tack it with a couple welds then cut around the edge of new metal using a metal cutting wheel and holding it at inward angle, tack weld every few inches while doing this. Cutting out the old metal at a angle leaves a smaller gap, easier for welding. Yes you will cut the original tack welds however the panel will fit perfect.

This guy on youtube has some great tips, well worth some of your time, just tips and tricks, no drama

 

Yes, this dude is a magician. IIRC he starts with basic shapes. nothing really complicated. I just need a welder myself and 1/10 of 1% of his skill.