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DIY rust repair

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    Rust spots not only look unsightly, but get worse if not addressed.

Follow our video guide to remove the rust and improve the look of your car.

Little rust spots can make your car look like a bomb. Follow our easy video guide to get rid of them. It won’t cost much, and doesn't take long to do.

Materials you will need:

  • Masking tape
  • Newspaper
  • Sheets of fine sandpaper - P120, P180 and P240 are a good trio
  • Paint thinners
  • Two-pack body filler
  • Spray can of primer
  • Spray can of the paint that matches your car

Our video shows all the steps for taking care of those little rust spots. But remember, it’s just a guide for DIY to help you out and save you money.

If you want a truly professional job, you need to take it to a true professional.

We'd like to thank Jerry’s Bodyshop in Auburn for agreeing to be filmed for our DIY video.

image 1. Mask off the area around the spot to be repaired.
image 2. Using some P120-grade sandpaper, sand the rust spot so it is smooth and solid. Be sure to remove all of the rust.
image

3. Clean the area with paint thinners to remove any dirt or grease. This will ensure a clean surface for the repair.

image 4. Mix the body filler with the hardener. Make sure it is completely mixed in before application, otherwise it will not harden correctly.
image 5. Apply the filler to the rust spot. Try to get it as smooth as possible as it will require less sanding. Allow the filler to harden before attempting to sand.
image 6. Gently sand the filler with P120-grade sandpaper to get a smooth finish, flush with the body. Switch to finer grain sandpaper to get a smoother finish.
image 7. Once the filler is smooth and flush with the body, cover all areas around the repair spot with paper to prevent any overspray. Newspaper will do fine.
image 8. Spray on the primer using short strokes, rather than long sprays, to ensure it does not run. Allow the primer to completely dry.
image 9. Spray on the paint using short strokes, as with the primer. Allow the paint to dry.
image 10. Remove the paper and masking tape.

Comments on this story

Displaying 3 of 10 comments

  • This is a short-term clean-up where the rust could flare again. No mention of treating the cleaned up metal with a rust killer such as deoxidine and washing with water before applying the body filler.

    Peter Wilson of Surry Hills Posted on 15 June 2011 11:23pm
  • Bogg is an ecellent way of promoting rust to spread even further as it is porous and if not sealed properly will leak. Also in a structual area such as a window, pull it out, buy a piece of panel steel and cut it to fit the hole that you made to cut the rust out of. Weld it into place, clean it up, prep it and paint it with a rust inhibitor. Then you can bogg to your hearts content since you cannot lead fill anymore. Prime the area sand it and paint colour on it. Then paint with some clear in the colour for a top coat.

    A. Thomas of Melbourne Posted on 15 June 2011 7:23pm
  • @jb ‘Bogger’ is right - it’s a Holden (evidenced by the ‘Nova’ badges), which admittedly was just a rebadged Toyota Corolla, but hey…Also, Toyota’s rust just as much as any other car… they’re not all they’re cracked up to be…

    small-car-dude Posted on 15 June 2011 3:56pm
  • Excellent guide to ripping off potential purchasers.

    Wayne Irvine of Australia Posted on 15 June 2011 11:57am
  • A Toyota with rust….priceless

    jb of Sydney Posted on 11 June 2011 11:20pm
  • Some bad advice there. Certainly only a temporary fix, even surface rust needs to be acid treated after you sand it off. Bogans rejoice hahahaha!

    Rusty of Bendigo Posted on 08 June 2011 4:45pm
  • Nobody’s perfect ...

    Jeeves Posted on 08 June 2011 11:54am
  • A Holden with rust…. priceless

    Bogger Posted on 07 June 2011 7:48pm
  • Appears to very well explained.—Well done!

    Bert Reed of Bicton Posted on 07 June 2011 5:53pm
  • Er, so the rust is not being hit with rust converter? I understand this is meant to be a quick DIY job but you at least have to get rid of the rust that is there to stop it spreading - at best this will hide the problem for a couple months and it will continue to get worse underneath. Which is probably all that’s needed if you’re looking to sell the car and want to temporarily hide the problem, but I don’t know if this is to be encouraged. If its just surface rust then sanding it til the rust is gone and hitting it with rust converter isn’t much additional effort.

    r32gojirra Posted on 07 June 2011 4:41pm
Read all 10 comments

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