Some not great, but kinda decent body rust repairs, and related PSA's

I've had a few nasty spots of rust showing up, and as many of you know that stuff can spread lightning fast. I decided to bite the bullet and grind it off, which went alright..

I didn't want to spend a crazy amount of time on it since half my truck doesn't have clearcoat anyway. The goal was for a random person walking by not to immediately notice 'oh, look, a big rust repair.' in direct sunlight, that is not the case, but in shadowy conditions like in the pics I think it's pretty close. Here are some before and afters of the larger areas:





















Now onto the PSA's:

First thing, (which may be documented on here already but I haven't come across) is that the cavities in those front quarter panels behind the mudflaps were PACKED with dirt. An unbelievable amount. Each side had probably a shovel full of what felt like damp topsoil just begging to rust out the whole panel.




Taking a peak in there and spraying some wax could go a long way as a preventative measure.


The next thing is the paint.. which I'm blaming for most of what I think was unsuccessful here. I cheaped out and tried this Duplicolor BTY1603. It shows up as a match on lots of sites. I read mixed reviews, and should have listened to the bad ones. This does NOT match 6Q7 green tundras.. its too dark. From what I could gather after some hindsight-research , duplicolor tried to split the difference and make this work for 2 similar paint codes, but it just doesn't.











I've heard good things about touch-up direct, there are lots of options. Bottom line is if the factory paint code isn't written on the can, don't bother. Lesson learned I guess. The difference is more obvious here, before wetsanding:




Anyway, all things considered I'm pretty happy with how it went after the polishing. The paint mix-up was on me. If you're looking for similar results (with better paint) I followed this video pretty closely as a reference, not exactly reinventing the wheel.

Used this stuff on a DA polisher and was very impressed by it:

 

Heck yes, need to peek behind my panels in that area.

 

Nice! I've had good luck with www.AutomotiveTouchup.com

But it's weird. Their rattlecan matched my Natural White 056 exceptionally well while rebuilding my Waltrip/sports grille. But their little touch-up glass bottle was a hair too yellow. It only shows in direct sunlight, but ...

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I think that looks awesome for an at-home job. I've done some similar DIY body/paint work on my truck, with the same goal: not to be immediately noticeable. I used stuff from Automotive Touchup and it matched really well.

Looks like you caught a lot of that rust before it got too bad. I'm really scared to pull off my fender flares. I think there is going to be a lot of corrosion under there. I know for certain that my front fenders are shot. My truck sat outside under a tree for nearly all of it's life. I've cleaned out those spots but it's far too late.

 

Thanks guys! glad it passes the first glance test.

That grille looks awesome @shifty` I'm always amazed what can get done with a rattle can and some patience.

Yea slowing down the spread was really the top priority. Fenders are such a rough area on these. I don't run flares which makes it a bit easier to catch early, but the nice thing with the flares is that you can do a really bulletproof repair underneath them then just cover it back up.

 

It's all in the P's. Prime, prep, and patience.

Always prime where appropriate to give your topcoat(s) something to grab onto, self-etch with metals.

Prep applies to many things: Treating rust appropriately, sanding to get the surface prepared to take paint, and using a proper oil/wax remover with lint-free cloth or tack cloth, also applies to getting your space prepared for paint.

Patience is multifaceted too: Waiting for proper cure time before sanding, waiting the correct amount of time for recoat, taking time to do light coats versus to it'll bit better vs. laying it on thick, and not touching anything until you're done.

Anyone can paint, the 3P's above are the ticket to getting a better-than-DIY-looking result. Granted, good technique helps, like holding your can at the right distance across an entire stroke, etc. But even I've got a clearcoat run hidden in there, just to the right of the top-right corner of the "D".