Body Rust Help/Suggestions

What's up, TW?

I've been slowly addressing issues with the Tacoma I purchased in the Fall (absolutely love it so far, and want to keep it rolling strong!).

The truck (for the most part) is in excellent shape. On the driver side rocker area, there is some rust that I'd like to address. I went to a couple local body shops and got a pretty sizeable quote for the repair ($1500), and want to see if you all have any suggestions that wouldn't be as harsh on the wallet as the shop route...

Thanks in advance!

 

I'd be more worried about frame rust. What's that look like?

 

I was as well. It's solid and has been inspected a few times. Thanks for the suggestion, though.

 

I used this method on a 2007 VW GTI I had and it turned out really nice. I think that with the amount of visible rust, it would work well for you and save you some cash.
https://youtu.be/n4vusY2-rkQ

 

if it's not rusted through, wire brush or sand the rust untill you get to bare metal, then put some primer and have it repainted.
If it is rusted through, clean it then rebuild the area. You either DIY with bondo then let the shop repaint it. Or you let the shop do both the rebuild and the paint
If you do the prep yourself, it will save you a bunch of $$$

I needed a complete paint job and I did save $1500 by taking care of the rust spots and dents on my truck

 

On my last Landcruiser I carried those areas to bare metal, primed and the used bedliner material on the lower quarter. Looks good, wears good (still nice 4 years later when I sold it), easy repair if needed and really hides imperfections that have to be prepped to look good under paint.

 

The rockers on my 4runner rusted from the inside-out like that and I got quoted about the same. The problem is that the rust you can see is the tip of the iceberg, as a general rule. What does the backside look like? I guarantee you the inner rockers are totally rotted if the outsides are looking like that. You could clean them up, bondo and repaint but that rust will be back with a vengeance. They need to be cut out and replaced completely, thus the hefty price tag.

 

Thanks for the responses, everyone! I really liked that video - I think that's the plan.

Danno - vengeance, meaning that if I try to do the Sand/Bondo route that it won't just necessitate repair in the future but do more damage besides that general area (spread?) Wondering if basically by going the cheap route it might cost more down the road...basically.

Thanks again, guys!

 

I don't know if it'll speed it up, but that kind of fix should be considered a band-aid at best. It might look ok for a couple weeks, but you'll see rust bubbling up in other spots quickly and the bondo will eventually crack and crumble because it isn't actually attached to metal anymore.

I'd be more inclined to just hose the inside with Fluid-Film to at least slow it down for now. Check your regional forum and make a friend on Tacoma World who has some welding/metal fab skills.

 

Not experienced in this area myself being from non rusty state, but remember Chrisfix (the vid maker) mention in a video referencing this repair that over time it did discolor/warp, so even though the repair looked good in the end - it eventually didn't hold up as pretty.

So, it may be worth looking into other methods that have proven to hold up better. Haha may also be my memory playing with me though, but I'm quite positive that he mentioned the deterioration of the fix.