Car Repair Tips for Body Rust Car Rust
While a touch of rust on a vintage car may add to its antique, nostalgic appeal, rust can ultimately be a car owner's worse nightmare. Rust is ugly to look at, it may considerably depreciate the value of your car and it can also be unsafe as it weakens your car and its parts. However, should your car develop a few rusty spots here and there, it may not be time yet to make one last trip to the junk yard. Rather, there may be some car repair secrets to keep those ugly, rusty spots at bay.
How Rust Builds On a Car
If you have a few rusty spots on your car chances are you have chipped you car in a way that the paint was removed exposing the car's bare metal core. With time, exposure to weather elements and wear and tear, the metal will oxidize and turn into rust. The chips and nicks on your car may have formed after bumping into objects, exposing the car to hail or from small pebbles and stones that may have hit your car upon driving on country roads.
Tips For Car Body Rust Repair
• Now that you know how rust has formed you may interested in learning how to take care of these unsightly corroded spots. If you do not have the right equipment of feel unsure on how to proceed, you are better off consulting with auto body repair shop. Getting it done professionally may cost but at least they know what they are doing.
• Of course, it would be helpful as a first step to find out if your car is still eligible for rust protection warranty. Most warranties will cover for at least five years but it is not unheard of some covering against corrosion for up to twelve years. However, it may be disappointing finding out that often rust developing as a result of salt and sand are excluded from coverage.
• If you feel comfortable, you may try to take care of the rust spots yourself using some tools. It is a good idea to arm yourself with protective gear. Invest in gloves, protective glasses and dust masks. You will be exposed to fine rust particles and spray paint and you want to protect yourself as much as possible.
• Equip yourself with medium-grit sandpaper and remove the rust. Once signs of corrosion have been removed, wet a rag with mineral spirits to remove any residual oil or grease. Paint the area with touch up paint. It is best to consult with a paint technician in order to find the best paint that matches your car color.
• For more precise work, use a grinder with a sanding wheel to remove the rust and smooth out the surface before getting it ready to be painted.
As seen, there are options for all those Do It Yourself aficionados, but if the area to treat is very large you are better off spending some money on getting the body work professionally done. Once free of rusty spots, your car may look nice and smooth again and certainly will have lost that old fashioned look.
