repairing rust 88 Corolla

Driver's rear quarter panel rusty about 2 inch circle around wheel well. It is not rusted through yet but has about 4 one inch circles of rust. Under the paint I am sure there is more.

Tailgate on this DX model specifically under the tailgate. About one third to one half has semi crumbly rust. Almost none through to exterior of tailgate.

Remainder of body good with superficial scratching on hood and driver door. No other rust spots.

Dark Grey in color. Generally the vehicle looks good now. Has 153K miles. Just got a tune-up and its mechanically sound daily driver. I've owned it now for seven years. No fluid leaks. Good tires, good brakes, new battery. Undercoated underside suprisingly clean.

Ballpark/Guestimate me a price range to fix rust and full paint. This is in West Virginia/S.E. Ohio.

I had a guy Quote me $3000 and he said the rust will come back in 2 years. I am curious how realistic this is. Could I buy a tailgate and corner panel inexpensively and easily?

I figure the car is not worth more than $2K but I like the car and want to keep it ten more years.

Reply to
john
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I can tell you if he's quoting $3000 and telling you rust will be back in 2 years you need to look elsewhere!

I had a guy look at my Supra, $2000 and a 5 year guarantee the rust won't come back!

And that was painting the whole car!!!

Reply to
Hachiroku

Well yeah, the quote I got was for a whole car paint also. I agree, he didn't want to do it. I suppose.

It's a FX not DX, I always get that wrong.

Anyone else get quotes for body/paint work lately?

Reply to
john

If it is a Corolla FX, I'd bet Hachiroku would offer to take it off your hands ;-)

Body and paint work require skill, time, and equipment, and the more you're willing to pay for those 3 components, the better the quality and durability of the work. $3,000 for a repaint sounds reasonable to me.

Reply to
Ray O

That's all true.

Not when it comes with a promise that it will be rusty in two years.

sdb

Reply to
sylvan butler

Well, I think you should sell it immediately! I'll give you $400! (They're cool! ;)

Reply to
Moonbat

Ooooo...he don't know me very well, do he?

I didn't even READ this before I ran my yap!

And why in HELL am I stuck at MoonBat?!?!?!

Reply to
Moonbat

Let's try again using the right nym...

Reply to
Hachiroku

Good point about the rust coming back. My guess is that the estimator was covering his behind in case it did.

Reply to
Ray O

Do it yourself. First mask off the affected areas. Then physically remove as much of the loose rust with brushes and rough sand paper. A sand blast down to clean metal would be the best. Assuming some dark areas and non-removable rust remains, clean the area by spraying with brake cleaner. After it is dry apply lots of rust fixing gel or spray. This should be repeated several times over two days. The rust will turn black. Then prime the area and go on to basic body fill and fiberglass patch work as needed. Once the area is clean and smooth it can be painted to match.

The best approach is to replace the sections or locate rust repair sections and have the rusted areas cut out and the rust repair sections welded in.

In your case I would find a used hatch at the junk yard in the same color if it is badly rusted and find out if rust repair sections are available for your vehicle.

Richard.

Reply to
Richard

I like 'lead filler' (solder) better, myself, esp for a car you are planning on keeping for a while. I can find solder body filler, but I haven't been able to locate the 'lead paste' we used to use in the Good Ol Days. I think they have done away with it in favor of the soldering method.

In the OP's case, these cars are VERY popular on the Used Car Market; I get people asking me where they can get one all the time. It would be worth the effort to have the job done correctly, and then see if you can have the car oiled afterwards.

Reply to
Hachiroku

My uncle made cars at Rolls Royce and Chevy (in the USA) in the good old days and told us stories of filling the seams with lead, etc. In his older years he had health problems related to his environmental lead exposure. I'll stick with the filler products used today if you don't mind.

Richard.

Reply to
Richard

Clean the surface rust off, sand, apply metal conditioner (phosphoric acid mixture) and paint with POR-15. Its nearly 20 years old - it will give it another 5. Sure not worth 2-3k to repair. A sand blaster will remove all the rust but guarantee you'll be left with rusted thru holes.

Reply to
Wolfgang

Thanks for the replies!

Oiled? In what way?

Reply to
john

Yeah, lead was used because it was metal and they didn't have polymers back then.

Damn, Rolls Royces? That means he was in the Springfield MA area, which ALMOST became Detroit! And it was also somewhere right around the start of the Depression.

Lead is easy to work, smoothes nicely and doesn't shrink like plastic and certainly doesn't crack!

If you're looking to do a serious repair (And on an FX I would consider it...) then lead is a very good way to go. These cars have quite a cult following and a good example can draw more than the car should be worth!

Reply to
Hachiroku

Depends on where you are: it's illegal in Mass but in Vt you can still get it done. The idea is you take a sandblaster gun and use oil instead of sand beads, and spray the oil underneath, into the panels, etc. My '85 Celica had holes punched in inconsipcouos places and sprayed, and it didn't rust until i parked it last year. Use hydraulic oild since it isn't acidic and sticks quite well. An application every other year does wonders. And, drive it down a dirt road ( a DRY dirt road) after application.

Reply to
Hachiroku

I'll dialogue with those applicable for my best repair options. Would I be far off calling it my little "Lexus BeetleBug"?

Reply to
john

Let me know after you park it next to an IS300 Hatch...!

Reply to
Hachiroku

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