What do I need to patch a small rust whole on my vehicle?

Question

I have a small rust hole on my vehicle.It's about 3 inch in diameter.What do I need to patch that hole to prepare my vehicle for painting?

Answer 1

Husband says put fine screen wire behind the hole, before putting the bondo, sandpaper, and primer to allow the bondo to have something to grip to, and not just fall out later.

Answer 2

It all depends on how well you want to make it look and last. To do it right you need to sand off the paint at least 2 or 3 inches all around to hole. Remove as much of the rust as you can. Cut it out if possible.If not I like to use something called rust converter. This stops the rust from spreading latter.Then get a small piece of thin sheet metal.It needs to be at least an inch bigger than the hole.Put it on the inside not the outside.Drill and pop rivet it in place.If the rivets stick up too much take a small hammer and set them in. Put body putty over it all.Make sure to blend it in to the body contour.This usually takes someone that has had a little practice. The rest can be done by the body man that does the painting.

Answer 3

this can be a bit involved. The only way to repair a rust hole is to remove the rust, that means cutting it out. Normally you would be cutting out much more than what you see as a hole because rust just doesn't stop at the edge of the hole. with the Rust removed, you NOW have a gigantic hole to address. This can be done by buying a replacement body section from your local after market shop, or if it/s a flat panel, get a piece of flat steel and put it in behind the hole, You can temporarily fasten it with sheet metal screws then the replacement panel is welded in around the hole you made. take the screws out and weld the holes shut. take a side grinder and grind the weld bead down so that it is flush with the outside of the car panel. Make sure there are no cracks in the weld after your done, if there are then you have to weld them up again. Now clean the entire area thoroughly with a wire brush either in an electric drill or in your side grinder. wipe the entire area down with naphtha, mask off everything you don't want paint to get on. Now you can apply a coat of bondo, over the whole area, when it.s dry, block sand it until it is the original shape is achieved. brush off the dust, wipe down with naphtha again and as soon as it dries, apply a really good primer, you might want a couple of coats. Spot fill as required between coats then add your colour. Its FUN I have done several of these repairs.

Answer 4

Youll need sand paper, bondo, primer paint, and paint made to match manufacturers color (all can be found at auto parts store)
1) Sand off all the rust in and around the hole (be thorough)
2)Fill the hole with bondo and around it (dont worry about using too much cause your going to sand it again later)
3)wait for it to completely dry (see instructions on bondo)
4)Sand bondo down till it is a flat and even surface (so it matches the car)
5)Blow off any left over dust around the area.
6)Paint with the primer first (this is important to preserve the bondo) use 1 coat let dry use 1 more coat let dry.
7)Use the normal paint in 2 coats just like the primer.
Also to avoid painting over original paint use newspaper and masking tape to block off the problem area to as small as possible and dont rush the drying process on the bondo primer or paint. This is probably the cheapest and most efficient way to stop the rust from spreading and make your car look a little nicer.

I dont know how the tempature is where you live but its best to do this in warmer weather in the sun but a heated garage will do or even an unheated garage. But Dry Warm conditions are most ideal. Doing this to my car took an afternoon to complete in July but it sounds like you have less of a problem than i did. Most importantly take your time. The bondo needs to be hard to be effective. Hope this helps.

Good Luck

Answer 5

Of corse, a Pro Shop will tell you to replace that panel,BUT,.. you can do a pretty good job with a "Fiberglass Repair Kit". First, you need to kill the rust. It's a cancer that will keep eatting away at your car. Navel Jelly works pretty good for that. Once that's done, remove any loose and badly rusted steel. Sometimes you have to make it look worse, to make it turn out better. Sand the area you're working on with 80 grit sandpaper and remove any dirt, grease, wax and paint. If you can, do your patch on the inside of the panel using the fiberglass webbing. After that has cured, use risin on the outside of the patch to make the surface even. If you can't do the work with it flat, you'll have to do this in thin layers. After it has dried completly, sand it down. You may have to use a small amount of body glase to finish it off. I've used this method on cars and bikes and it works well for me.

Answer 6

I would cut the hole larger to get rid of the flaky rust around the hole. You can get a piece of sheet metal and cut it out with tin snips, form it with a soft hammer if it needs to be curved. Slide it behind the hole and rivet on the backing plate. Buy some body filer spread it on about 8 inch diameter around the hole.After it has hardened sand or disc grind with a sanding wheel. Paint with primer ,match the colour of your car with touch up paint or spray paint.

Answer 7

Try using a product called "Great Stuff" (Wal-Mart, or the like). It's typically used to fill in cracks around windows and other places around the house. It's an expandable foam that dries REALLY hard. You can bondo over it when it dries.

Simply fill in the hole with "Great Stuff", then sand it smooth to the surface. Finally Bondo over it (you won't need much bondo). Then prime/paint the surface.

Answer 8

The easiest way is fiberglass. You might have to fill the hole with some steel wool so that the fiberglass has some place to bond to. If you're out to do a repair that's as good as the original, you'll have to remove metal around the hole until you get to unrusted metal, then make a piece to cover the hole, have it welded and then bondo or putty the piece before you can paint it. Fiberglass is relatively easy to work with and cheap.

Answer 9

The flex pipes are frequently got here across on the front wheel force automobiles and their objective is to absorb the flex brought about through the engine rocking the front to rear as a results of the undeniable fact that is shifted or the throttle position ameliorations. it is continually an severe priced section and quickly patching would suffice. I have used somewhat of tin protecting fiberglass insulation held in position with a hose type clamp or maybe twine wrapped.

Answer 10

Fiberglass is the best way to fix it. You can get a can of fiberglass that comes with a sheet of fiberglass that can be cut to match the size of the hole, and a small tube of hardener. follow the instructions and be sure to grind the metal prior to application to insure the fiberglass sticks. good luck!