Rust under side skirts

[Dr0]

I would have posted this in the appearance threat but no one ever looks there so here goes...

I have surface rust all along the body under the side skirts (no perforation yet) and im curious is it even worth having this s*** fixed or should I just look at buying a new shell?

I ask mainly bc I have a lot of money saved and I really don't want to ditch my protg but rust really kills resale value, and id like to sell it before its visually obvious (you cant see any on the exterior atm). the only reason im asking is im either going to jump platforms or buy a speed 3 depending on what yall think about rust on this particular area on these cars.

i know that the way the chassis is set up that rust in these areas will eventually just eat up the car and i can only imagine the work required to cut those sections out and re-do the pinch welds (all of which seems like a lost cause on a protg)

lmk what yall think

 

[Installshield 2]

probably need some pics to be able to tell just how bad it is...I've noticed small amounts of surface rust in similar areas, but in my case it seems to be pretty easy to remove...but again, 99% of the time with rust you only see the small part...when you start grinding/sanding...its usually already pretty bad...case in point, my rear passenger wheel well last night...it has been blistered for 3 years...I finally got around to undoing my patch work, and fixing it 'right'...and with a body hammer was able to punch a few holes along a 3" seam back there...So it was a whole lot worse than what i could tell from the outside, but still very fixable...

rust sucks...thats all there is to say...I guess my advice would be; if it appears to be something you can do yourself with various products...try it out, you don't really have much to lose (considering it would be all hidden by the skirts afterwards)...if you don't want to try this kind of work out, or don't have the time, etc...and are considering taking it to a shop...thats where i would scuttle the ship... this is all art, no real science...and in my experience with rust repair, a lot of shops will do worse work than the average home dude...but charge $1000+ for it...

 

[xxskateratxx1]

I have the same problem... Rear wheel wells are getting a little (bubbley) and im also curious on how much it would cost to Fix it on both sides the bubbleing is about 3-4 inches long and about 2-3 inches wide at the end of my rear wheel wells... I would want it done right though... No bondo crap or anything like that...

 

[Installshield 2]

I have the same problem... Rear wheel wells are getting a little (bubbley) and im also curious on how much it would cost to Fix it on both sides the bubbleing is about 3-4 inches long and about 2-3 inches wide at the end of my rear wheel wells... I would want it done right though... No bondo crap or anything like that...

that is exactly what i have on one side...I had patched it earlier in the spring to attempt to seal off the seam/lip inside the well where moisture was getting in...this was a solid 3 years after i first noticed the issue, which never seemed to spread...

washing the car yesterday, a square inch or so of paint chipped right off...and the metal underneath was pretty rusty...so i took out a body hammer and a small screw driver and ended up chipping nearly all of the blistered paint off...under the paint, only a line of rust about 3" long was present...above or below the rust the metal was still in good shape...but the body hammer easily tapped right through the seem and left a worm like hole along the fender...

options for this repair are a little limited...I've seen videos online of guys repairing this exact spot with a galvanized mesh plate that fits in between the exposed sheet metal layers...and reinforced epoxy with a self etching primer are first used to connect it, and you build over it with body filler...if you're able to get to good metal close to the rust, and also able to completely removed any traces of flaky rusted metal...this will be perfectly fine for years...especially since this area is easily filled from inside the wheel well, which is the problem area where the rust first forms...

but...on the other end...you may find the rust spread very far inside the well...and you have nothing to back fill up against, good metal wise...you'll then need the big repair, which uses a full replacement 'dog leg' fender, which has to be welded in...and the entire existing fender needs to be cut out...this easily creates 10x the work and expense, if done by a shop...I don't love this method either, though..as you're not replacing whatever is inside the wheel well...only what is visible from the outside...so, i wouldn't comfortable say this will last any longer than the simpler method...i don't really think either is completely permanent, but both should give at least a few years...

either way, i'd highly suggest getting to work on it sooner rather than later...the sooner you find what you're up against, you'll have more options...the major thing is removing ALL rust to start with...you're going to have to use 'bondo crap' to some degree, even with replacing everything with fresh metal...bondo is perfectly fine when used on fresh surfaces...it just gets a reputation for half assed work when someone uses it to patch the visible areas of rust...without stopping the section that the rust is coming from...the key is sealing off the seams in the fender lip, as that is where water enters...without doing that, no repair will last more than 6 months...tops...

 

[xxskateratxx1]

that is exactly what i have on one side...I had patched it earlier in the spring to attempt to seal off the seam/lip inside the well where moisture was getting in...this was a solid 3 years after i first noticed the issue, which never seemed to spread...

washing the car yesterday, a square inch or so of paint chipped right off...and the metal underneath was pretty rusty...so i took out a body hammer and a small screw driver and ended up chipping nearly all of the blistered paint off...under the paint, only a line of rust about 3" long was present...above or below the rust the metal was still in good shape...but the body hammer easily tapped right through the seem and left a worm like hole along the fender...

options for this repair are a little limited...I've seen videos online of guys repairing this exact spot with a galvanized mesh plate that fits in between the exposed sheet metal layers...and reinforced epoxy with a self etching primer are first used to connect it, and you build over it with body filler...if you're able to get to good metal close to the rust, and also able to completely removed any traces of flaky rusted metal...this will be perfectly fine for years...especially since this area is easily filled from inside the wheel well, which is the problem area where the rust first forms...

but...on the other end...you may find the rust spread very far inside the well...and you have nothing to back fill up against, good metal wise...you'll then need the big repair, which uses a full replacement 'dog leg' fender, which has to be welded in...and the entire existing fender needs to be cut out...this easily creates 10x the work and expense, if done by a shop...I don't love this method either, though..as you're not replacing whatever is inside the wheel well...only what is visible from the outside...so, i wouldn't comfortable say this will last any longer than the simpler method...i don't really think either is completely permanent, but both should give at least a few years...

either way, i'd highly suggest getting to work on it sooner rather than later...the sooner you find what you're up against, you'll have more options...the major thing is removing ALL rust to start with...you're going to have to use 'bondo crap' to some degree, even with replacing everything with fresh metal...bondo is perfectly fine when used on fresh surfaces...it just gets a reputation for half assed work when someone uses it to patch the visible areas of rust...without stopping the section that the rust is coming from...the key is sealing off the seams in the fender lip, as that is where water enters...without doing that, no repair will last more than 6 months...tops...

Yeah i have had the car for about 4 years now and it just started i just noticed it last week... But i have already spent a fortune on this car... So now i see rust and im like SHIIIIIIIIT! but I used to cut out those "Dog Legs" and quarter panels and rear clips etc... I work at LKQ Im now doing theyre ebay sales, but we also dont have a mazdaspeed protege in any of our yards country wide or in canada for that matter... They arnt cheap by any means eaither (if you can find one thats any good). So i think it comes down to scraping it all off and seeing what your up against its all luck from there... Hopefully you have good metal to work with and not a 6 inch hole that needs to be fixed... But im really dreading the fact that i have to take care of this... Ive put way more money into this car then its worth this will just stack on to my MSP bills and I know wont see any of that money come back when i wanna trade it in or sell it privately... Which is unfortunate.. But i dont think this is something i would tackle myself Because if i ripped all the rust away and it was bad i would be screwed and then it would just get worse.. Luckily i have a friend that runs a bodyshop, im gonna get a quote from him for all the work i will need done.. ill post what he says he will charge me for what i got goin on.. when i hear back from him.

 

[callphy]

massive letters spotted....


i didnt any any above yet...


but i wanna ask similiar question...

the "jack point/safety stand point" is rusty and even bended after i used jack/stand

is there a cheap solution i can have to slow down the rust / reinforce the area?

i was thingking about using wire brush and sanding sponge/paper to roughly clean up the surface rust, and use somekind of rust converter/ "rust primer" + rust roof film

but i feel it would be scratched away by the jack/stand/lift later on anyway... so should i get someone to weld some new metals on to reinforce it after rust treatment?