If you haven't removed the rubber weather stripping from your rear fenders already, do it now! More than likely you'll find the same thing I did- ugly rust. Luckily mine hadn't eaten through the metal, so to keep it intact until I sell the car or get it repaired professionally, I decided to try a little DIY.
I bought a can of Rustoleam white primer for bare metal (works on lightly rusted/painted metal as well). An assorted pack of sand paper 220-400 grit (something like that) will be useful as well. If you have a grinder then you can do a much better job than me, since the sand paper wasn't able to get the metal completely smooth.
Your first step is to use soap and water to clean the area and remove any loose rust. Next, use the sand paper to remove as much rust as possible and to get any bare metal ready for paint. Also scuff all painted areas that are going to get sprayed over. Next, I used some rubbing compound to clean off the sanding debris and to further smooth out the surface. Finally, use some paint thinner to clean off the sanded area so the paint can stick.
Mask it off, spray it, let it cure overnight, then lightly wetsand and clear coat. After that dries remove all your masking and go along and remove the edge left behind by the masking. You can wetsand or in my case I just rubbed hard with my fingers and it knocked it down smooth. In a few days you can wax it.
Left side:
Right side:
Finished:
The color match isn't perfect, in person you can tell up close that it's been painted. From a few feet away though you honestly can't tell it's been painted over, and if this stops the rust from further attacking my car I will be extremely happy. If you already have the sand paper then you can do it for $3!
Last edited by NotoriouSH; 08-17-2005 at 07:55 PM.
Yes, this should be faq'd. And I should do this soon too. In fact, I talked to this guy I know who owns a body shop, and he told me the same thing - take that stupid rubber molding off! He told me that if I don't, it WILL rust.
yup, it just slides right off. this won't make it rust faster will it? maybe now that the edges of the fender are exposed? Since i havent' heard much about this, i didn't know if i should be keeping them on.
Painted metal shouldn't rust, and I've never noticed any rock chipping along that lip even with wider offset wheels. Definately take it off before it's too late, if you don't have any rust you could mask it off and spray it with rubberized undercoating to make it chip resistant.
What happened to mine is that when I took it off, the metal in the weatherstripping rusted. I thought that my feder got it, but the rust came off the paint with my thumb. There is a little rust in the fender joint (where there is a gap in the sheet metal joint) but I plan to seal it off so it doesn't get worse.
that is allot of rust! The previous owner and maybe yourself must have had the fender weather striping in for a while. That harbors quite a bit of rust, especially for us states that get snow, etc. That is one of the first things that I had taken off when I got my car repainted.
Nice write up!
__________________
Jay
03 Acura CL-S 6 Spd Blk/Blk
95 Yamaha FZR600R **for sale**
yup, it just slides right off. this won't make it rust faster will it? maybe now that the edges of the fender are exposed? Since i havent' heard much about this, i didn't know if i should be keeping them on.
Its the lesser of two evils. Either keep it on and have dirt, salt, water, etc. trapped there all the time, or have it exposed 100% and keep it clean.
350z scooter is right, it is far better not to impact and harbor rust, keep it open and keep it clean. I do a fine wipe up in both sides of the fender when i wash the car, every couple of days. Even in the winter.
Call me anal, But call me rust free prelude owner.
__________________
Jay
03 Acura CL-S 6 Spd Blk/Blk
95 Yamaha FZR600R **for sale**
Painted metal shouldn't rust, and I've never noticed any rock chipping along that lip even with wider offset wheels. Definately take it off before it's too late, if you don't have any rust you could mask it off and spray it with rubberized undercoating to make it chip resistant.
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that is allot of rust! The previous owner and maybe yourself must have had the fender weather striping in for a while. That harbors quite a bit of rust, especially for us states that get snow, etc. That is one of the first things that I had taken off when I got my car repainted.
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