SLOWING down the rust monster..........

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burrpenick

burrpenick

'69 Barracuda
Joined
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Florida/NC
I have a fairly rust free '72 Duster but the passenger side lower quarter has some bubbles. This is NOT a show car and I do not want to cut and weld at this time, but again, I was told that if one could seal BOTH sides of the sheet metal that the rust process would slow down due to a lack of oxygen/dampness. So, my idea is to try and wash out that lower quarter with a light pressure wash from inside the trunk around the trunk floor extension, DRY well, then spray some 'Rustoleum Rusty Metal Primer' inside and later some topcoating. Was thinking there was some body plugs on the inside/lower quarter panel, is there????

Next on the drivers side just in front of the rear wheel the rocker panel has some bubbles. Again, I want to try and seal the inside of that rocker- but dont know how to access; maybe they have pinch welds on the bottom to allow for water to drain out, but thought about drilling a hole inside the car under the rear side windows in the rocker so I could clean and paint? Am I dreaming? Is there any way to get inside the rocker enough to spray it out, dry well, then spray Rusty Metal Primer and topcoat? Any and all suggestion will be appreciated.

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Dont try to seal it up, open up or drill drain holes and clean out any old rust or garbage, dry it out then spray some penetrating oil into the cavity a few times a year. This will slow further rust formation way down
 
Painting over and sealing in any rust will only make the rust creep and spread faster.
Oil spray is the only real way to slow the rust down, but I wouldn't use penetrating oil.
 
50 50 mix of marvel mystery oil and 68 wt hydraulic oil . and a patio deck oil sprayer 15 bucks at the hardware store . coming from the heart of the rust belt . the MMO will make it creep like crazy .
 
Eastwood makes some rust preventative products. Call them and see what they recommend. I would not spray water in that trunk area because the water will slip into tiny areas and help the rusting process. I no longer wash my car with a hose because these old cars can rust quickly and water gets into tight places no matter what. I get a bucket of water and wipe my car down changing clean rags often. I wipe and dry as I go. Just my way of doing things to prevent rust. If you have a daily driver this would be hard to do, but a garage kept car with a cover and it works well.
 
Like said, there is only one real cure, you know what it is
This sheet metal rusts from both sides. Many time just from the inside, like at the rear lower quarter. If you start digging at that rust bubble, you will probably get a hole, and driving the car, if you leave that hole moisture gets to it, and more rust. Leave that bubble and it continues to rust.
Anything you do beside do it right will buy some time. When trying to seal this metal, USE the rustoleum in a qt can and a bursh. Put on several good heavy coats and let each cure, it can be slow. Key is having a heavy coat to to seal it. Problem is rust will be under that paint. Some people use the rust convertors, I clean the metal best possible, and spray Ospho ( a phosphoric acid solution that works for me), Costs bout $18 a qt.
On that truck extension ( that lower rear qtr) yes there is a drain and a plug with a hole in it. Pull that plug and hose it out., as is for the cowl, and drains in the bottom of the doors. Hose them out good too. .
I have an old car buddy (Pontiac guy), he keeps ATF on the floor of his old firebirds. Works for him. Messy nasty no doubt, but he owns an old car boneyard. You understand his logic.
 
Just remember.........the amount of rust is always more (worse) than what the "few bubbles" might hide.
 
That area holds dirt.
If you can clean that out I expect it would help before any treatment.
I like Rustoleum Rust Metal.
But supect treating from the inside will have little effect on the bubbling cancer.
 
all good suggestions. If the car is kept in a closed garage, you might consider buying a dehumidifier. I think I paid around $250 for a dehumidifier about 7 years ago. Since then, I've run it 24/7. I have it draining into the garage sink. It doesn't seem to use a lot of electricity, as I have never noticed a big difference in the bill.
 
I have had many project cars. One thing I found interesting ( in a bad way!) is how I could have a rust free car, da down to bare metal in that pesky lower rear quarter, and BOOM! I see all kind of rust "pinholes". YEP... Rusting from the inside. Only real cure is cut all that OUT all tht bad metal. ALL of it.
I have a car buddy, that restored his 67 GTX hemi car, leaves it in an enclosed pole barn, limestone gravel floor. He does not look at it for 2-3 years. The rechromed bumpers had rusted to heck, rust trying to appear her and there on the body, mice pissed in the interior, carbs were bad......HUMIDITY!!!! and that lime gravel draws moisture in that building, and the prigging car over!!!!
 
barbee6043 said:
I have had many project cars. One thing I found interesting ( in a bad way!) is how I could have a rust free car, da down to bare metal in that pesky lower rear quarter, and BOOM! I see all kind of rust "pinholes". YEP... Rusting from the inside. Only real cure is cut all that OUT all tht bad metal. ALL of it.
I have a car buddy, that restored his 67 GTX hemi car, leaves it in an enclosed pole barn, limestone gravel floor. He does not look at it for 2-3 years. The rechromed bumpers had rusted to heck, rust trying to appear her and there on the body, mice pissed in the interior, carbs were bad......HUMIDITY!!!! and that lime gravel draws moisture in that building, and the prigging car over!!!!
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Low humidity in Ca. and Southwest help with the ravages of rust. Also the absence of salt on the roads in winter. But even in this environment one gets rust in lower 1/4's, floors, trunk
floors, etc. Structural parts are usually pretty solid because of the previously mentioned reasons. Also never cover a car in Winter unless like in one of the previous posts the person mentioned
a de-humidifier. I used to live in Indiana and had a 68 Road Runner that I kept in a rented garage in Winter. One year I had a cover on it and it was big mistake, made surface rust on chrome
air cleaner and other parts. Covers trap moisture.
 
We used Ospho on my sons Dart to stall the same issues. Cleaned out the rear quarter/trunk drop area as best we could with an air hose. Sprayed Ospho in there until it was dripping out. Pulled the rear seat and rear door panels and did the same thing, until it was dripping out of any gaps and the drain holes. Ospho is a rust convertor, so its supposed to stop the rust.
 
340doc said:
We used Ospho on my sons Dart to stall the same issues. Cleaned out the rear quarter/trunk drop area as best we could with an air hose. Sprayed Ospho in there until it was dripping out. Pulled the rear seat and rear door panels and did the same thing, until it was dripping out of any gaps and the drain holes. Ospho is a rust convertor, so its supposed to stop the rust.
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Thanks all. Can anyone tell me of a way to clean out the lower/rear rockers? I dont remember seeing any plugs up top, but considered drilling one in order to clean out and then spray something inside? I do seem to remember that the bottoms of the rockers had pinch welds that would allow some water to drain- until they get plugged up!
 
The rocker area didn't have nearly as much crap as the rear quarters. If you keep at it with the air hose most of it should end up on the floor to vacuum up. Good luck.
 
Get a cheap pressure sprayer from Amazon and use Corroseal to spray inside and outside. It is a rust converter. With the wand you can get up in the wheel arches and into the rockers.
 
threewood said:
Get a cheap pressure sprayer from Amazon and use Corroseal to spray inside and outside. It is a rust converter. With the wand you can get up in the wheel arches and into the rockers.
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This Corroseal sounds good, but, there are MANY other products out that that at least claim similar results. Anyone have experience w/others? This stuff is about $30 a quarts- which is all I want.
threewood said:
Get a cheap pressure sprayer from Amazon and use Corroseal to spray inside and outside. It is a rust converter. With the wand you can get up in the wheel arches and into the rockers.
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Just got a tip that the bubbling area in front of the rear wheel on the rocker is actually not the rocker itself, but the body panel that is tacked over it. If thats the case, then sealing the rocker on the inside is probably not necessary, but cutting that out and somehow affixing a new patch could be difficult to keep the back sealed since its really boxed in. Anyone have experience with the bonded patches? It seems that most experts recommend welding in an exterior patch vs bonding; can anyone comment on how difficult it is to cut out that a small rusty section in front of the rear wheel at the rocker seam?
 
burrpenick said:
This Corroseal sounds good, but, there are MANY other products out that that at least claim similar results. Anyone have experience w/others? This stuff is about $30 a quarts- which is all I want.

Just got a tip that the bubbling area in front of the rear wheel on the rocker is actually not the rocker itself, but the body panel that is tacked over it. If thats the case, then sealing the rocker on the inside is probably not necessary, but cutting that out and somehow affixing a new patch could be difficult to keep the back sealed since its really boxed in. Anyone have experience with the bonded patches? It seems that most experts recommend welding in an exterior patch vs bonding; can anyone comment on how difficult it is to cut out that a small rusty section in front of the rear wheel at the rocker seam?
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You would use a cut off wheel to cut the 1/4 panel over lapping the rocker. But when you do, the rocker will probably need a patch as well. Rust repair
usually opens a can of worms. Often times the rust extends beyond what is visible on the surface of the panel you are patching. You'll repair the area
and a few years later the bubbles will return. Welding is probably the best way to do a patch panel. If one is doing a 1/4 panel patch or replacement
panel in the wheel house area, panel adhesive is a good alternative. No overhead welding. Use panel adhesive on both panels and use a lot of clamps.
If one is replacing a 1/4 panel, welding is needed in door jamb area and rear body panel. The rest can be done with panel adhesive or welding, personal
preference. Most modern cars use panel adhesive extensively.
 
There are lots of good points and info from experienced folks in this thread. I don’t intend to contradict any of this except to say “maybe don’t worry so much?”

I’d describe my car’s condition pretty similarly to how you’re describing yours. I’ve got a small blister on the driver's rear quarter, a few pinholes in the paint on the rockers. When I first saw that, my heart sank...I knew I was doomed to huge bodywork bill...but that was years ago and it looks exactly like it did back then.

Yeah, it’s in motion and more or less unstoppable but it’s not really evolving on a visable time scale. The rust isn’t apparent from more than a few feet away, it doesn’t show up in pictures...evidentially, keeping the car dry and out of the weather can really slow down the process.

I think you’re smart to look into measures that might improve your odds (and I’m taking notes here ;) ) but your car looks awesome and it might be a decade or more before it becomes a serious problem.
 
rustycowll69 said:
all good suggestions. If the car is kept in a closed garage, you might consider buying a dehumidifier. I think I paid around $250 for a dehumidifier about 7 years ago. Since then, I've run it 24/7. I have it draining into the garage sink. It doesn't seem to use a lot of electricity, as I have never noticed a big difference in the bill.
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That's a great idea it's also good for your tools and other equipment and toys that you may have in the garage. I keep one running in my reloading gun room.
 
Idk if it works or not but I was told by on old farmer that he paints the frames on his farm trucks with his used motor oil. Idk If it's a good idea to do that on your classic or not but all his farm trucks where rust free the frames anyway.
 
When I first got my E-Body in 1978, I lifted the rear trunk mat and noticed it was wet underneath. I was the middle of summer and it hadn't rained in months. I pulled all the lower fender plugs and flushed them out good with lots of water. I had to use a coat hanger, sized wire to reach into the cavities and break up old leaves, twigs and other organic material.

Once I saw that the water was running out clear, I moved on to the next panel. The trunk floor had just started to get rust on it and my cousin had put the battery in the trunk. The acid from that battery had gotten down into the rear quarters. I flushed some baking soda through the area and rinsed well.

A few days later after the car had sat in the hot sun, I treated everything with Ospho from a marine supply store. Then primed and top coated the areas I could reach. The car remained virtually rust free after that.

I also removed the factory sealant along the firewall to inner fender well. I found rust had formed behind the foam-like sealant the used along the pinch weld. I treated and resealed that too. I never put that vinyl trunk mat back in. It seemed to always have moisture under it.

Cleaning and treating the cavities in the lower quarters, trunk and front cowl turned out to be a much wiser thing than throwing away that ratty, old slip of paper with jibberish on it that I found under the front passenger seat.
 
Those vinyl trunk mats are NOT good! You are right about that body sealer, once some moisture gets under it, look out! Got a leak and get moisture under your carpet, it will begin to rust.. Those old cars that came with the rubber (or is it sort a vinyl?) floor covering and not carpet, they rust pretty bad.
Every person that owns one of these old cars needs to see first hand how rust forms. I don't mean the obvious. Buddy of mine had been a body man for 10 years. He pointed out to where he replaced a rear quarter and overlap the patch or original metal TOO much. This was on a 70 roadrunner he had bought new. It had started to bubble there some years later. He explained a butt weld was not in his cards, but he should have only overlaps it just as little as possible. Back then there was no weld thru primer to help either.
Rust never sleeps, but we can do all we an to slow it wayyyyyy down!
 
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