Bring on the Bondo... (long)

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kdryan

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Ok, so I have decided to try some body repair. May God have mercy on my soul; this is the point where I either save or destroy this truck. :)

Here is the rust on my truck. Between this truck and an '84 Mustang, my son and I are keeping pretty busy with projects but this is something I have never tried. I have watched a few videos and I think I have a pretty good grasp of the theory of it and I am reasonably smart (my wife might say different) but it's a little daunting. I wonder if I might get some opinions on each of the sections and what to look out for. The truck is a '98 and started life with those idiotic ground effects everyone loved back in the '90s. I ditched those earlier this summer but I think they did at least keep the rust at bay a bit longer than most trucks enjoy. After all of it is done I'll get under there with some undercoating and spray the hell out of it. Click for Ginormous images...

Thanks beforehand for any advice you can offer! :)


Passenger side rocker panel


Easily the worst area on the truck. Rust has eaten it's way through and is all along the rocker. The inside has heavy surface rust (see the picture of the hole) but is not rusted through. My plan is the sand it down then use a rust converter or remover on the inside. I thought of using a mesh patch on the big hole then just Bondo alone on the rest. After that, primer it up with some spray primer until I can afford to get it painted. BTW, the image is warped. The truck is not dented or anything.

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Driver side rocker panel


Not as bad but I'm certain when I get it sanded down it will be worse. Sand it, remove rust, Bondo, primer, live happily ever after...

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Passenger side bed behind wheel

Rinse, Lather, Repeat...

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Driver side bed behind wheel

More of the same. Not rusted through...

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Roll pan is chipped

Obviously not a Bondo area since it flexes but I was thinking of putting a patch on the back then laying down some fiberglass, sanding it down then priming it. The break is about 3" tall by 2" wide at the bottom. Unlike Bondo, I do have minimal experience with using fiberglass so I am fairly confident here.

0YVPfza.png

There are other tiny areas where the trim trapped moisture and rust has started but if I can handle this I certainly can them.
 

jsmith

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If it were me I'd cut back to good metal and weld in patch panels but if you don't want to try welding they do have some good no-weld patch panel kits out nowadays. Eastwood sells one and I'm sure there's other places too
 
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kdryan

kdryan

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If it were me I'd cut back to good metal and weld in patch panels but if you don't want to try welding they do have some good no-weld patch panel kits out nowadays. Eastwood sells one and I'm sure there's other places too

Do you have a link to that? I would be interested. I am not in a position for welding.
 

dodge dude94

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I tend to lean toward the rivet-in style patch panels available these days. Bondo WILL crack and fall off within 1-2 years given how much you'll have to use.
 

07MegaCabRam

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Man, Do I love living in Arizona. None of that crap around here!! Holy hell..

And do not use the word BONDO. That is the cheap stuff.. and body filler (bondo) shouldn't be around rust at all..

I worked at a body shop and trust me - this is no easy task, if you have not done this before.. Don't attempt it.
 

dodge dude94

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FWIW, we use EVERCOAT RAGE at work...seems to be alright lol
 

dodge dude94

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Wut? You talking to me? I work in a collision shop. We don't fix rot or rust. lol
 
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kdryan

kdryan

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Wut? You talking to me? I work in a collision shop. We don't fix rot or rust. lol

Well aren't we just superior... :flipthebird: I've only had the truck a year and the only reasons I bought it were A: So I don't have to drive my 2013 Mustang in the snow and crap, and B: to have something my son and I could work together on. The object here is to learn, not to throw the thing away because we only want to swap out fenders.

I am not against replacing the rocker panels, in fact I would prefer it but I do not possess a welder, a place to weld, or even welding skills. My first thought was to have a body shop replace them but at $1200 per side it's a bit prohibitive and defeats the learning process. The stick on panels people are talking about here are tempting and using Bondo isn't my first choice; it's simply the most expedient method.
 
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jsmith

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kdryan

kdryan

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Looks good. Thanks!
 
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kdryan

kdryan

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The 3M video on Youtube says not to use it on rocker panels but I think with some slip-on rockers it might be okay. I am curious as to why; body flexing maybe? It does solve my problem with not being able to weld them on. If it works it works. If not, I am not much worse off than was. I like it a darn sight better than using Bondo. Painting them is another matter. I like getting the 3M stuff over the Eastwood kit. About the same price and according to the video, no rivets.
 

jsmith

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Be sure to let us know how it works out, and pics are always welcome!
 

Rustycowl69

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The 3M video on Youtube says not to use it on rocker panels but I think with some slip-on rockers it might be okay. I am curious as to why; body flexing maybe? It does solve my problem with not being able to weld them on. If it works it works. If not, I am not much worse off than was. I like it a darn sight better than using Bondo. Painting them is another matter. I like getting the 3M stuff over the Eastwood kit. About the same price and according to the video, no rivets.

my guess is body strength/integrity reasons. That's very important for unibodies.
 
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kdryan

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I agree. Since I am not really removing the old rocker, but just putting the patch piece over it I think it should be okay...
 
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kdryan

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How exactly is this relevant in a do-it-yourself thread? The question at hand is not which body shop to go to. The question at hand is the best way to go about doing it myself.
 

dodge dude94

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It got off topic,


As I said before, your best bet is going to be cutting out and treating everything. Then rivit in a patch panel and grind and fill from there.
 
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kdryan

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Have you ever tried that adhesive? If so how did it work?
 
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