Djlarroc

I have rust on all 4 corners. I'm getting a new pass front fender from certifit, and was thinking of removing the rust from the rear & tiny bit on drivers side and installing flares on all 4 sides. I've been told a few people have done that or just installed flares to cover the rust. Can anyone post some links to those threads so I can get a better idea of how to do this? Also, what flares should I use? Bushwackers are nice, but pricey. These are cheap, but I duno if they are crap....I was thinking of the 2" flares.. http://www.car-stuff.com/cs_auto/mmp...+Fender+Flares

Here are some pics of my rig & the rust.

GVOLCRunner

Hey, Im a mechanic and and a at home body work guy. Go for the flares, but if you dont get the rust out and seal up.. no amount of hidding is going to stop it from spreading.. and at some point its unfixable.

Body work, at least stopping the rust is pretty easy. Go buy a 25 dollar angle grinder from sears, get a heavy sand rings and sand down all the rust off. Maybe chisel or trim the rust on the big spots, grab some rust convertor and spray it on it.. this will help get any rust you missed. Sand it all down, and spray on at least 2 coats of primer. This will seal it, so no bare metal will rust. If you wanted to fill it in, and were going to cover it with fenders, go buy some bondo body filler.. its can at walmart or autozone for liek 14 bucks.. fill it in. Sand it even.. cover it. NOW, you wont have to worry about it spreading..

If you just cover it up, you will wake up one day and notice its spreading. Not pretty. Get it now while you can.

Just from looking at that, filling it in would not be that hard. You can buy wire mesh, cut to fit to give you a frame to put to body filler on. WE are talking about a day, maybe 2 worth of work. Not much at all.

4JOGGER

Truck looks nice.

If i were you, I would get some panels and fix it up good (welding). Then you would have something that look as good as new.

Btw, from looking at your pics, I don't think there is anything for the flares to hold on to anyways.

Kaleb

Those flares are universal. I don't like them at all to be honest. I have seen them on a couple of rigs. They look like vinyl floor molding on a truck. Also those will not hide rust at all, because they attach to the very bottom of the inner and outer part of the fender.

CyMoN

here what my drivers side looks like with the bushwhacker fender flares

Djlarroc

Thanks guys....I was thinking the same thing. I know the fenders have to bolt from the bottom up. There is still sheet metal to where they can grab on to and the rust isn't high enough (on the outside) to keep the tape from sticking. I would really rather use the flare money to remove the rust & cover it up with bondo. GVOLCRunner gave me a good idea about using the mesh. What if I cut the rust off and use metal mesh? Then cover it with bondo and just paint it? Will that work? I've seen other threads where they use some foam to fill in the gap also.

GVOLCRunner

Thats pretty much basic body work 101. The mesh provides a frame for the body filly, particually if your using it at the edge... but, its not necessary. You can fill it in, and sand it down to flush shape.. I actually just this weekend fixed a troublesome fender rust spot..

I dont know about foam.. but the bondo creates a very hard, sandable surface that you can then prime, paint and clear coat to look just like the rest.. unless you where to tap and notice the missing metal sound.. you would never know it wasnt metal.

Bondos pretty think, so its really nice for sculpting, which is what you will want to do. The mess is nice in not making you use to much, since it gives a frame to work on.

SO, the simple steps.
Strip the rust away, sand down to just metal for where its just surface and cut off or chisel out the just rust areas. Fill in with bondo, let it dry.. sand it down even, flush with body.. if you mess up, add mor bondo...prime it, paint.. add a couple layers.. then clear coat if you want.

89macrunner

Even if you get the flares atleast buy some new fenders..they are like $40 a piece and not too exensive to paint.

The rears definitely need some serious attention as well. I would probably weld in repair panels like said above. Once rust starts on a panel..it ALWAYS comes back. No amazing job, rediculus amount of bondo or Por 15 will take away rust.

I have lived my whole life in PA and i know rust well.

Djlarroc

Well I bought the fender today. $22.95 at Certifit!!!! WOW. I also bought some 3" sanding discs that attach to a drill to see if I can knock off some rust. I almost bought a 4.5" grinder I found at Big Lots for $12. Then I thought, what's the difference between a grinder and a sander/polisher?? I want to buy a 7" sander/polisher to buff my truck later. Can I use the grinder for that? Adding the right pieces of course. But what's the difference? Only thing I could tell was the sander/polisher said had 6 speeds but is like $50. Also, I went to Walmart to look at the bondo. What kind do I buy? There was regular bondo, ultimate, proffessional gold.. and then there was some bondo glass...and also fiberglass matt. I have NEVER tried this before so any help is greatly appreciated...oh.. and where can I find that wire mesh? Or can I use that fiberglass matt?

michalik_piotr

wow, i just did the same job last saturday...my fenders looked about the same. took me 6hrs.....its done. if i spent another 2 sanding no one would know it was there after paint. i'd get the bondo with fiberglass in it. its harder. dries quicker though. and its also harder to send but its tougher. then get some putty to fill in the pin holes after sanding. and do exactly as that gvol said....i've done that to many cars and it works great. never kept a car long enough to see it fail....3, 4yrs and it was still holding up. its cheap and easy. i wanted to cut it out and get flares too but didn't have the money for them plus i think they might not look too good when running 10.5 tires (i've ran 12.5 and don't ever want to go back to that width due to poor handling). i think the glass bondo comes with the mesh. don't use the cloth, thats for working with fiberglass. you can't buff a car with a grinder, it spins at too high an rpm and will burn your paint. you can't grind with a buffer b/c it doesn't spin fast enough.

Asha'man

I think I've seen your truck around Littleton a couple times.

tc

I would just cut it, will let you fit bigger tires anyways.

I learned the hard way to take a magnet with you when buying a car in Ohio. My rear fenders are works of Bondo art.

If you reconstruct them out of Bondo, it won't flex, and a minor incident will result in a cracked fender (don't ask how I know).

Djlarroc

Ya dude, I live right on the the border of Denver/Lakewood/Littleton and I'm over there all the time. Southwest plaza, Sams.. etc etc etc.. Cool.

I don't want to really cut the metal out since the biggest tires I would go are on there already. I just want to make the truck look clean again and not spend a ton of money on it. I guess I will have to also just spend on the grinder and the sander/polisher. That sucks cuz I don't know when I will ever use the grinder again. At least it's only $12. So...this is what I use with the bondo glass? http://www.bondo-online.com/catalog_...sp?itemNbr=559
This is the cloth I don't need right? http://www.bondo-online.com/catalog_...sp?itemNbr=576
What about this body patch stuff? http://www.bondo-online.com/catalog_...sp?itemNbr=758

Sorry for all the simpleton questions guys.. I can probably ask at the store if it's an auto-body supply place, but since I want to save more skrilla, I was gona get the stuff at Walmart and I highly doubt they can tell me.

rdlsz24

I bought mine with rusted through fenders and rust also above the fenders. I just recently found a rust-free bed for it

Rob

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

Stop the cancer. Cut it out or fix it or it will just spread and ruin your truck.

Asha'man

Cool, I used to live over there. I saw your rig at 3 Margaritas one night, when I was at Buffalo Wild Wings. It was raining and your truck was topless and I was like "oh I know what that's like". Small world.

Post up when you put that Certifit fender on and see if it fits well. My dad's gotten a few things from them but I never have.

BluYot

I just went at it with some tin snips....that was a year ago and why there are little spots of surface rust. Bought some thin sheet metal and bondo...should do the trick. Post some pics when I get to it.

GVOLCRunner

Well really its personal.. you can go anyway you want as far as fill in.. bondo glass.. body putty, fiberglass.. I prefer straight bondo becuase its just so easy to use. I have a variable spead grinder.. pop a soft sand disc.. say 320 or 400 and go to town. Set it to low speed, and never get tired...

Really the main goal is, STOP the rust.. so, even before you bondo.. I always spray the now exposed metal to a rust stoper or covertor.. becuase they are a chemical layer against rust. Rust comvertor actually turns into a sandable primer layer.. then, to fill in the gaps you can bondo over.. and you know that you have put a chemical layer to prevent rust spread under the bondo.

Just kill the rust is the main thing.. after that.. THERE are tons of ways to do each little body job.. and thats all your opinion.
Oh and I recommend a grinder.. becuase it does so much. I put a new bumper on yesterday, and the old mounts and section of bumper cap wouldnt come off... no prob, cutting wheel and 5 minutes later.. SEE YA.. thats why I lik a good angle grinder.

Anyway, good luck. Post up some pics.

tc

How to cut it right:

http://www.trailslesstraveled.com/ar...d2e972c3879442

michalik_piotr

ya dude, get a decent angle grinder...makita, bosch, etc....don't skimp out, you'll hurt yourself. even the good ones can be had at a grt price, look around for sales. and you'll be suprised how much you'll end up using it for. especially with a cutting wheel or brush.