Rust Repairs?

[BoroBoroS13]

My poor S13 came from the east coast and it has some rust. Nothing really crazy though, the worst parts are where it got under the paint and its bubbling up but there are quite a few of these sports on the body and one big one on the frame. I dont want it to spread anymore and its something that must be taken care of soon before it gets any worse. Sooo heres my question, How much does this type of work cost at your typical body shop? A freind told me it would be like $300-$500... Is this true or is he way off. I just need a general idea of about how much I need to save up before I even go looking for a shop. Thanks a lot :D

[thelinja]

$300-$500 sounds about right, depending on the quality of work.

[BoroBoroS13]

Wow, not a bad price considering how much labor is involved. Thx

[thelinja]

Wait a tic, I just re-read your post and you mentioned you had several spots of rust. That will probably cost more. I have a spot of rust, maybe about 8 sq. in on my rear fender and it's gonna cost me about $300. You might try to do some of the sanding yourself if you wanna save some money. If you wanna try sanding yourself search the forums for paint prepping, I know I've posted quite a bit of info on it.

[twitchy]

save your money and get it done right. I had a small rust bubble under the driver side mirror. I took it in to a friends dad who does body work to touch it up. He took off the mirror to paint it and the metal brackets that hold the mirror on were all rusted to hell. He pulls off the trim on the top of the door where the window comes out of and that seam at the top under the trim was nothing but dust and holes of rust. But all you could see was the little blister about the size of a dime until you looked deeper.

Point is, Im told, if you see a blister its probably several times bigger underneath. Think of an iceberg. Rust is cancer. My painter-buddy said he knew of some shops where they would just fix the spot and paint it, and the rust would come back. I got a new mirror frame thinghy and he re-welded a new seam at the top of the door. See the difference between fixing it and FIXING it? If he was lazy or ripping me off that rust would still be in there, chewing some other part of my door off.

Luckily that was the only rust on my cars paint, albeit a small spec on one headlight cover. There is one decent sized spot underneath where the exhaust bends down at the firewall but im having it cut out in the spring, and welding a new piece in place. Rocker panel seams are of course corroding mildly too, but I can take a grinder to them and grease them like a pig.

Mine is a 1993 and its been winter driven this year and last. Im storing it next year too for sure. I get it oilsprayed twice a year too, spring and fall to make sure the rust stays off. Its a greasy slick mess under the hood and underneath but its beter than rust. I swear by Krown rust control. I have receipts from when the car was brand new, it was always done and thats why its NOW in the awesome shape its in. There isnt even rust under my spoiler. Invest in oilspraying.

Grease is your friend. I butter up my rockerpanels in the winter and smear chassey grease inside the lip going around the fenders. It displaces salty water out, you cant tell its there and it lasts forever. Again, cheezy, but better than rust.


I suppose my point is that you should plan on spending some real time and money to fix the rust damage on your car if you think its worth it. Oilspraying can stop rust in its tracks on a car thats already rusting. But the best advice is to stop it before it starts, otherwise its going to be costly to fix later on. But its worth it too.


Good luck

[BoroBoroS13]

I live in Nor Cali where we see no snow. Over the last 20 or so years that I have lived here, only seen it snow twice and it was more like a couple min's of snow then rain. The S13 however spent most of its life on the East Coast.

I guess I will just have to take it to a body shop and see waz up. I planed on having the whole car redone once I sell my Infiniti but I was hoping to get rid of the rust before all that. I guess it will just have to wait a few months...