After washing my car today I decided to open the hatch just to let things dry out faster, and to my horror saw some rust on the bottom of the hatch lid in the center.

See the pics.

The car is garage kept and I never drive it in the rain any more. (I have in the past)

I tapped on the rusty areas and the paint is ready to flake off. I can't tell how deep the rust goes. I'm afraid if I try to remove those 2 black plastic plugs, the rusty metal will just break off around it.

I could spray it with some anti-rust chemicals and then leave it alone.

Scrape off the peeling paint and see what's there, then sand it down / wire brush it, and paint with rustoleum?

Take it to a shop and pay megabucks?


Any thoughts welcome!

Thanks

 

Looks like moisture is getting in between the halves of the rear panel. Just trying to fix what you see in the photos will only be cosmetic. The real fix is addressing what you can't see.

I'd replace the rear panel with a known good piece.

 

At minimum I'd try to scrape off whatever you can and use something like Por - 15 to seal the metal.

That rust is gonna get woooorrrrsseeee.

 

My rule of thumb on rust is: you only see half of it. I would begin searching for good replacement deck lid.

 

My rule of thumb on rust is: ASA you find rust - deal with it. The longer you take to 'fix' it - the worse it will be.

 

Do it - and good riddance. if the metal is that weak than it needs to be removed before it continues to spread. While rust and can just "pop-up" from anywhere at any time,....... it''s more common for it to spread from a starting point and expand 'out' from that point. ( I've never see a shrinking rust spot ! ) All that soft / flaky paint/metal is doing is holding onto moisture ( condensation. humidity, what-ever ) and making things worse. Take the plugs out then physically or chemically (better yet both) treat that area ASAP. Even if the plugs don't fit in the holes anymore,... missing a plug it better than keeping them to in place and allowing the rust to get worse.

 

What about the value of the car as a collector's item? Would a collector prefer an 88 GTA with the original deck lid with treated rust that's going to slowly get worse, or an 88 GTA with a new deck lid with no rust?

I would guess they would rather have the new deck lid / no-rust option, but that's just me.

 

Replace it.