My Very First Rust Spot.

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George7941

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Toronto, Canada
I washed and waxed my truck this past Sunday and found this


Truck has been Krowned twice so far, once at 5 years of age and last year when it was 7 years old. I should have had it Krowned from the time I bought it. That area of the truck has never been damaged though my truck has been bumped from behind.

I plan on keeping the truck for another seven years. I will get some body work done in another two or three years to keep the truck looking decent. By that time I am sure some more rust spots will have popped up.
 
The Krown potentially clogged the drains in the body panels speeding up the rust. That happened with my parents 1990 Toyota Pickup. The parts of body damaged early in life and did not have rust proofing reapplied never rotted.
 
Originally Posted By: rjundi
The Krown potentially clogged the drains in the body panels speeding up the rust. That happened with my parents 1990 Toyota Pickup. The parts of body damaged early in life and did not have rust proofing reapplied never rotted.


My parents had that happen with a Jeep that was Ziebarted. Krown is kind of runny, I think, so it will run and doesn't clod body drains.

I guess that's the good part of the multiple waste-oil treatments I do during the winter - it doesn't plug the drains like Ziebart or Krown could.
 
I haven't gone under the truck and taken a look behind the panel where the spot is but I doubt there are any boxed sections with drain holes there.
 
My guess is that as someone was climbing into the truck at some point, knocked something tiny and sharp into the paint, creating a tiny pin hole where water got to bare metal.
 
The '1st' rust spot - Bummer.

That looks like an easy DIY fix.
Don't wait, it'll only get worse.
Deal with any rust as it occurs and you'll be fine.
Continue with the Car-Well.

To repair the 'small' rust spot, I learned:
* Scrap with a "sharp/pointy" scraper and keep applying Navel-Jelly to help dissolve the rust. Than, scrap some more. Take your time.
* When 99.9% of rust is gone, use a small paint brush and apply Rust-o-leum Self Etching Primer.
* Lastly, apply same color paint.

It's not a large rust spot so your repair won't be to noticeable.

Edit: I've never been to fussy with looks. I'd use a 'small' paint brush for color coat also.
 
Last edited:
Thanks ,Larry, I think I will take your advice and deal with this right away instead of waiting for a couple of years.

I hope the naval jelly/ self etching primer works.

Would a Dremel with a small wire brush work instead of the sharp/pointy scraper?
 
Would a Dremel with a small wire brush work instead of the sharp/pointy scraper?
Hard to say. The idea is to get down to bare metal.

I also don't recommend 'grinding' because of the sheet-metal thickness.

Any wire-wheel will get most off, but, you have to get down to bare metal for best results. I don't like to grind, so scrapping is best for me.

I use a 1" wide hack-saw blade that has a 90 degree bend.

Scrapping and using Navel-Jelly.
 
That's rusting from the INSIDE-you'll need to get to the back side somehow to get it off. Very common on the Sprinters we used to have, they did that everywhere.
 
No, I think EdwardC has it right. But it is something that you would want to take care of before it gets worse.

Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
That's rusting from the INSIDE-you'll need to get to the back side somehow to get it off. Very common on the Sprinters we used to have, they did that everywhere.
 
For a German vehicle, Sprinters rust very badly. I see rust streaks all the time around the rear door hinges. They need to source better quality hinges.
 
Originally Posted By: NHGUY
Its a GM truck.It was going to happen.Check any that's slightly older.

Ya, he should have bought a Toyota:

2001-2004 Tacomas recalled for rusting spare tire carriers
2005-2012 Tacoma TSB for rust stains under door handles
2008-2010 Tacoma TSB for rusting chrome rear bumpers
2001-2012 Tundra TSB for rusting rear bumpers
2000-2003 Tundra frame rust recall and frame replacement program
2007-2012 Tundra TSB for bed bolt rust issues
2007-2011 Tundra TSB for bed floor rust
2007-2012 Tundra TSB for rusting tailgates

OP, please let us know how this turns out. A spot that large would have taken at least 6 months to develop, so I am surprised you didn't find it sooner.

It looks like rust from the inside, but it doesn't make sense at that location. If this is an extended cab, then the interior side is to the interior cab. An exterior chip that degraded that fast is odd also.

Best of luck. That really sucks.
 
Wow, these threads on rust are an eye opener for me - we just don't see those sorts of issues here until vehicles are 20 plus years old, unless it's a 4WD which has done lots of beach work, etc. On normal road cars though, it's rarely a problem. I guess our climate is a lot kinder to metal. No road salt probably helps too.
 
Originally Posted By: doitmyself
Originally Posted By: NHGUY
Its a GM truck.It was going to happen.Check any that's slightly older.

Ya, he should have bought a Toyota:

2001-2004 Tacomas recalled for rusting spare tire carriers
2005-2012 Tacoma TSB for rust stains under door handles
2008-2010 Tacoma TSB for rusting chrome rear bumpers
2001-2012 Tundra TSB for rusting rear bumpers
2000-2003 Tundra frame rust recall and frame replacement program
2007-2012 Tundra TSB for bed bolt rust issues
2007-2011 Tundra TSB for bed floor rust
2007-2012 Tundra TSB for rusting tailgates

OP, please let us know how this turns out. A spot that large would have taken at least 6 months to develop, so I am surprised you didn't find it sooner.

It looks like rust from the inside, but it doesn't make sense at that location. If this is an extended cab, then the interior side is to the interior cab. An exterior chip that degraded that fast is odd also.

Best of luck. That really sucks.


Huh, I missed that one... I do have a nasty-rusted rear bumper, but I have to be under the truck to see that. Wonder if I can get that replaced. Far from perforated and I keep it oiled now, so I might not bother.

I swear, GM had rust licked late 80's/early 90's, then dropped the ball going into 2000 or so. Those older models seemed to be very well rust-proofed, but the later ones had perforated rockers in short order. Personally, I still think it's shameful that brake lines were made out of pot metal too. If they didn't rust so fast I would have bought one a couple of years ago.
 
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