How to fix this rust spot/paint chip?

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

How should I repair this? I could only a paint pen at the dealer for my color. Also, I don't think they have a clear coat or primer in the pen. Do they sell primers and clear coats in brush form? I don't want to spray it on and work on a bigger area than what is affected.

Should I also sand it down? What grit?

https://i.imgur.com/sHj6qNd.jpg

[Alyonstouch]

I would recommend picking up a spray can from your local automotive store for rust if you're trying to keep it simple, forgot the name of it. But bascially you might want to lift the remaining of that buble and sand it with a 320grit.. quick primer, and then spray it with something close to that color with a couple coats of clear... Keep in mind this is a D-I-Y job, not a professional shop result. You could even do a quick soft polish to smoothen it out. Inspect the rest of the vehicle aswell.


ALSO, make sure you mask things down because it will be a MESS of overspray.

[coredump4]

That's a doozie. Aside from its size, it's right on the edge of the windshield; that's going to make it tough for sure. I also see a 2nd spot on the curve at the top of the A pillar.

Here's my process. It doesn't take much work time; more time is spent waiting for things to cure. This is geared toward rusting rock chips, but the idea works on bigger patches. I've got several rock chips that have been fixed this way for 4 years so far.

1) Use a Dremel grinding bit to remove the rust. Go a bit beyond the bubbled area to make sure you get all of it.
2) Spot-wash area with Iron-X.
3) Dry thoroughly with hair dryer, etc.
4) If concerned about any remaining oils or film that might interfere with paint adhesion, go ahead and wipe the area with diluted IPA and dry again.
5) Apply Automotive Rust Bullet (requires 2 coats; follow directions)
6) After curing, prep for paint. If you end up wet sanding, make sure it dries completely. In all cases, remove sanding dust.
7) Paint as usual. For small rock chips, I usually just do 2 thin coats and don't mess with sanding, but your case looks like it will take more work.

Good luck! My feeling in cases like this is, don't worry about getting body shop-perfect paint; get rid of the rust that's eating at the vehicle, and just paint well enough that the repaired area isn't an eyesore.

[hollerstiltner]

You’ve gotten some good advice, but before you get too far into repairing it I suggest you see how extensive it really is. In that location, the rust could be extending well below the gasket for the windshield and possibly quite a ways laterally under the gasket. If that is happening, you’d have to remove the glass to get it all and keep it from returning.


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[2black1s]

I grew up in the auto body industry in Ohio and as such I've done plenty of rust repairs. The only way to permanently repair rust is to remove it completely, 100%. Not 50%, or 75%, or even 95%, it has to be 100%. There are only a couple of ways to do that. One, and my number one choice, is to sandblast. The other is a combination of sanding and strong acids.

I don't think either of those options fit the bill based on your original question.

My suggestion that I believe fits the time, effort, cost, and expectation that you are considering would be as follows...

- Chip/scrape away the blistered paint
- Hand sand the rusted area with a coarse grit paper (40G to 80G) to remove any crusted, scaly rust
- Treat the remaining rust with a rust converter chemical available at an auto parts store
- Brush on an automotive primer to repaired area
- Brush on the color topcoat (or color/clear coat)

If you can't find the paint and/or primer in brush form, spray cans will work. Just spray the product into the cap of the spray can and then use a brush.

[ducksfan]

On the cheap, I would fix the spot and spray a strip the width of the recessed black trim (same color as trim) with rattle can base and two part clear.

[Calendyr]

For removing rust, most acids will do. So after you have sanded, clean the area. If rust still still visible, sand again. Once you see no rust, you can use an acid on the surface to remove the microscopic rust remaining on the surface. Cheapest you can use is vinegar. If you have wheel acid like Meguiars wheel brightener, that works too. Otherwise 10$ will get you the rust converter 2black1s was talking about. This type of product takes a long time to work compared to vinegar and wheel acid but it's also a bit easier to use IMO.

Be aware any repair you do will be visible. The idea here is to protect the panel from rusting, not making the paint perfect.

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

I grew up in the auto body industry in Ohio and as such I've done plenty of rust repairs. The only way to permanently repair rust is to remove it completely, 100%. Not 50%, or 75%, or even 95%, it has to be 100%. There are only a couple of ways to do that. One, and my number one choice, is to sandblast. The other is a combination of sanding and strong acids.

I don't think either of those options fit the bill based on your original question.

My suggestion that I believe fits the time, effort, cost, and expectation that you are considering would be as follows...

- Chip/scrape away the blistered paint
- Hand sand the rusted area with a coarse grit paper (40G to 80G) to remove any crusted, scaly rust
- Treat the remaining rust with a rust converter chemical available at an auto parts store
- Brush on an automotive primer to repaired area
- Brush on the color topcoat (or color/clear coat)

If you can't find the paint and/or primer in brush form, spray cans will work. Just spray the product into the cap of the spray can and then use a brush.

Ok cool.

I am able to find primer and clear coat in spray can but my paint color code I can only find in pen form at dealer... I'll try to look around for good paint or maybe their paint pen has a brush on the other side.

As for the primer, can it be just regular paint primer that sticks to metal? Like no need for special etching primer? It's like 20$ a can compared to 5$.

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

For removing rust, most acids will do. So after you have sanded, clean the area. If rust still still visible, sand again. Once you see no rust, you can use an acid on the surface to remove the microscopic rust remaining on the surface. Cheapest you can use is vinegar. If you have wheel acid like Meguiars wheel brightener, that works too. Otherwise 10$ will get you the rust converter 2black1s was talking about. This type of product takes a long time to work compared to vinegar and wheel acid but it's also a bit easier to use IMO.

Be aware any repair you do will be visible. The idea here is to protect the panel from rusting, not making the paint perfect.

Now if I would use body filler this job would be 100% perfect I suppose almost?

But yeah I just want to avoid rust because I will be selling the car in like a month or 3.

[Calendyr]

The touch up paint doesn't need primer.

If you decide to spray, you better watch a ton of videos on how to do it. Making it look good is not easy.

The problem is that no matter how you decide to spray, you will have a separation in appearance from the area you sprayed and the one you did not.

Usually you have to spray clear coat on the whole panel. Which is a big undertaking compared to simply using touch up paint on the area affected.

This process is not something I can explain in a forum message. My suggestion would be to search Youtube and you can decide if you want to try to do it or not.

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

The touch up paint doesn't need primer.

If you decide to spray, you better watch a ton of videos on how to do it. Making it look good is not easy.

The problem is that no matter how you decide to spray, you will have a separation in appearance from the area you sprayed and the one you did not.

Usually you have to spray clear coat on the whole panel. Which is a big undertaking compared to simply using touch up paint on the area affected.

This process is not something I can explain in a forum message. My suggestion would be to search Youtube and you can decide if you want to try to do it or not.

Well my original plan was to do it properly but it's to expensive for a car I'm getting rid off.

So if I sand down rust and use the touch up after I should be good? Maybe use rust converter before to?

[Christians1988Ford]

Hey everyone! First time poster here!

It seems like that rust is worse than it looks at first glance. Other than the chip on the top edge, there also appears to be bubbling on the upper left corner of the windshield (to the right in the picture). I would also be willing to bet that there was very little paint applied where the windshield molding rests from the factory, and the last of that is starting to fail with vibration and rock damage.
Also, check the rest of the windshield edges for more bubbling and missing paint.

Taking it to a bodyshop is probably the best way to handle it. Even the best rattlecan and touchup paint markers out there can't hold a candle to automotive paint with hardener. With time, off-the-shelf quality paint will start to become oxidized and chalky long before the OEM paint does, and will always be softer and more vulnerable to further damage. Depending on the bodyshop, you could have it professionally done for less than paint, equipment, and even your time would cost to do it yourself, and the repair will last as long as the rest of the paint does, if not longer.

Depending on how old your vehicle is, the damage might be covered by the manufacturer paint warranty, which would mean being touched up at the dealer or a manufacturer-certified bodyshop.

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Hey everyone! First time poster here!

It seems like that rust is worse than it looks at first glance. Other than the chip on the top edge, there also appears to be bubbling on the upper left corner of the windshield (to the right in the picture). I would also be willing to bet that there was very little paint applied where the windshield molding rests from the factory, and the last of that is starting to fail with vibration and rock damage.
Also, check the rest of the windshield edges for more bubbling and missing paint.

Taking it to a bodyshop is probably the best way to handle it. Even the best rattlecan and touchup paint markers out there can't hold a candle to automotive paint with hardener. With time, off-the-shelf quality paint will start to become oxidized and chalky long before the OEM paint does, and will always be softer and more vulnerable to further damage. Depending on the bodyshop, you could have it professionally done for less than paint, equipment, and even your time would cost to do it yourself, and the repair will last as long as the rest of the paint does, if not longer.

Depending on how old your vehicle is, the damage might be covered by the manufacturer paint warranty, which would mean being touched up at the dealer or a manufacturer-certified bodyshop.

Thanks for the reply. The car is 2006 so it's probably out of warranty. Do you think I could paint the area with a touchuip pen? That's all I can get my paint color in. If not, how bad can it spread for a month or 2? As I said I will be getting rid of the car in about 2 months so.

[2black1s]

The touch up paint doesn't need primer...


All automotive paints requires primer for maximum adhesion and corrosion resistance.

[Christians1988Ford]

I wouldn't be concerned about the damage spreading in that short of a time...we're coming out of the Winter months anyway. If you're getting rid of it, I guess it wouldn't be a big deal to use spray paint, so long as the new owner knows it's not automotive paint.

Have you tried automotivetouchup.com? They sell matching paint in spray cans. You would need to do a fair amount of prep work to get all of the rust removed and paint feathered out (plus using some Bondo on the more pitted rusty spots) but it should look nice if you spend enough time working on it...don't just sand the paint down and spray some paint on. You will also need to do plenty of wetsanding and polishing afterward to feather out the clearcoat, but if you do it right, it should blend in well with the existing paint.