Conquering the common "sneaky" rust spot on grands

[kristi5683]

So I decided to clean up my wheel wells (or at least start to) and get that crappy bedliner i put on off and do this with better stuff and the right way. I hhad noticed before that i had some rust on the inside of my passenger around the wheel well. I know this is pretty common with grands and the rust had originally started from the inside and worked its way out. I've searched a bit but havent found a whole lot. I wish I would have taken a pic before I started tearing all the paint up... I'm sure a lot of you have seen what it looks like though



As you can tell, its rusted through pretty bad


Anyone else attempt to clean up this mess on their jeep? I'm trying to figure out a good way to approach this since all that foamy shit is bad inside and the rust WILL spread. I know I probably cant get it all but I'd like to at least slow it down. I was thinking about going in through the underside of the wheel well and cutting out an area so I can clean it out in there as best as possible and then weld it back up... Luckily there arent any signs on my other side but I wouldnt be surprised to see rust if I cut into the same area.

Anyone got any ideas?

[tjswj]

are those pics of the quarter panel or the rockers? If its the rockers, mine are rotted as well, just a LOT worse. I plan to cut a section out from a donor jeep and weld it in since im not ready to do boat sides yet. If those pics are of the rear quarters above the wheels, why not just do a fender trim and cut that all out? That way you do away with the wj rust prone spot all together and you gain some clearence for larger tires/ more flex.

[kristi5683]

are those pics of the quarter panel or the rockers? If its the rockers, mine are rotted as well, just a LOT worse. I plan to cut a section out from a donor jeep and weld it in since im not ready to do boat sides yet. If those pics are of the rear quarters above the wheels, why not just do a fender trim and cut that all out? That way you do away with the wj rust prone spot all together and you gain some clearence for larger tires/ more flex.

The quarter panel. yeah Ive already cut the fenders. I cut them in all the way to just before where the passenger door closes. I had put bedliner on when I cut them but I was obviously lazy when I did it and did it wrong along with the bedliner being somewhat crappy. I'm going to clean it up the right way hopefully this time and try to seal it up

[tjswj]

get some duraglass, and some chassis saver. I would try and get all the rust and rot out that you can. Then fill the holes with some duraglass. Then a couple coats of chassis saver to help stop what (if any rust) you couldnt remove. After that some primer and some duplicolor color match paint and your good to go. Time consuming yes, but a lot cheaper than a professional repair.

[IndyZJ]

If welding isn't a problem, do it right, no fiberglass BS.

Cut out any obvious rust-through and weld in patches. It's usually easier to cut out larger square/ rectangular pieces for ease of making a patch, plus the panel will be thin around the spot that was rusted through. Finish to your desired level, coat it in a rust encapsulator, and paint/ bedliner/ undercoat over it. If you have a seam, cover it in brushable seam sealer, not bondo or any other BS.

For spots you cannot easily get to but still look solid (inside of quarter panels/ rockers/ etc.), you can drill a small drain hole and dump some rust reformer/ rust remover inside until it drains out, then repeat with rust encapsulator. A well-placed hole won't be noticed and will keep water from pooling in the future.

[dp96zj]

Solution: Move away from the coast

[1ABrian]

Well thats a kick to the cookies. I'm rusty but I weld......whats left

[ZJ TINS]

Wait till I do my rust clean this fall. I will start new thread, the whole under body is rust. Damn sick and tired of the salt spray eating up every bolt and I have at least one hole in the uni frame.

Acid wash until all rust is gone, rise, base neutralize, rinse, prime this time with cold galvanize. I tried POR but it still has problems. I figure I will try cold galvanize then Hammered finish on open areas and simple Rustoleum on bolt heads and such that cant take a build up of paint.

Also I have been changing out to Stainless hardware whenever I find a rusted bolt , nut etc. Some areas don't seem to get hit with spray so I leave them stock, but the rest get the same part in SS.

Ahh screw it gonna boat side in the spring... too much damage.