I have a couple quarter size rust spots in my spare tire well where the jack is as well. It rusted right through and want to repair it. I'm curious on my cheapest option to fix this in the best way? If anyone has done this before could you give me your options and procedure?

thanks in advance,
Timinsk

 

if you have access to a welder can use some sheet metal and tack it from inside .and on the outside you can do body filler to smooth it out..

 

ok

if you dont have a welder and you want to do it right

todays auto manufactures are using panel bonder to put the cars together

wire wheel the rust out and treat with por 15

make some small patch panels

you have to form them almost perfectly

with a welder you can tack and beat into place

after forming use a bunch of panel bonder

 

If you have access to a welder, it would be best to cut a patch piece of sheet metal to fit the hole and weld it into the hole. Then grind the weld down, bondo and paint. Just make sure you grind/wire wheel all the rust off and cut out the rotted metal back to good metal so you get a good solid weld. Once you *think* you have gotten all the rust, spray or brush on some type of rust converter or rust neutralizer to make sure it doesn't come back. The problem with rust is that if there is any left behind, it will eventually eat through the repairs. It may take 10 years, but it will reappear.

 

If you don't have access to a welder, you can "glue" the patch in place, which is what I think jamon8 was getting at. Basically you would follow the above mentioned rust removal steps, then cut a patch piece slightly larger than the hole. I would go about an inch on all sides. Pick up some panel adhesive at the local body shop or body shop supply store. Follow the instructions on the adhesive to glue the patch behind the panel being repaired. Then bondo and paint.

 

If had needed to do a cheap repair without a welder i would
1- Sand down most of the rust as you can
2- treat rust (I like rustbullet) Menards has some oil base alluminum paint that I like too
3- fiberglass using fiberglass mat


Its not the best way but works

 

another option if you don't have a welder is to take a piece of sheet metal, my friend used aluminum. Clean out all the rust and pop rivit that piece over the holes. Then use either Duraglass or Bondo fiberglass filler to seal it up on both inside and outside. Spray over the area with some canned rubberized undercoating. It won't be pretty, but it will work. If it's under the car, you won't even see it. Then at some point down the road, you can drill out the rivits and remove the metal, and fix it with new metal and a welder.

 

I forgot about the pop-rivet method. The other thing you can do with that if it's on a visible panel is to use a ballpeen hammer to dimple the surface where you're going to put the rivets so that the heads are below the surface. Then bondo over the heads and sand and paint. Again, not ideal, but it will work.

Although, if you're going to do any temp repairs, no matter what method, you probably shouldn't bondo over them as you'll have to remove all that bondo to fix it right and that is not an easy thing to do.

 

I've repaired some rust holes in the floor pans by removing the rust, spraying a rust inhibitor around it, then either use a piece of aluminum and use JB weld then primer/paint OR I've used fiberglass cloth with epoxy resin, primer/paint. Now, these were in areas that arn't seen so I wasn't concerned with appearance. The resin stinks likes crazy and you have to work fast but its really strong and rustproof. Use 4-5 patches of cloth and apply resin between the patches.