Lpoking for some help with a paint screwup...

[Regal_Six]

Having trouble adding pictures so hopefully this works.

I apparently screwed something up when trying to prevent some rust on my burb. I've had the vehicle since 2011, in no salt states until I moved to the rust belt in 2017. This summer I noticed some cancer starting, passenger side front wheel arch was the worst. Tried to get ahead of it but somehow made it worse... hopefully someone can tell me what I did wrong and send me in the right direction. Here's what I did:

-Washed whole body
- taped passenger front rocker off
-hit it with a green brillo to take the shine off
-put naval jelly on the rust spots for about 15 minutes. Cleaned with water
-320 grit on the rough spots. Cleaned with mineral spirits
-2 coats of rust killing rustoleum primer
-4-5 light coats of silver, duplicolor aerosol
-2ish coats of duplicolor clear

First pic is what the passenger side looks like now, 6 months later. For comparison the second pic is what the driver side looks like. Haven't touched the driver side since I bought it.

Any help would be awesome. Don't need it to look perfect, I'm just looking to keep the metal in tact for a few years until I can afford to have the body straightened and

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repainted.

 

[RichLo]

Rattle cans dont have any hardener in them and are more prone to rock chip damage. Also, you said you didn't completely remove the rust, you just tried naval jelly. You'll need to get a wire wheel or something more aggressive to completely remove the rust and get to bare metal before priming/painting.

 

[Regal_Six]

Rattle cans dont have any hardener in them and are more prone to rock chip damage. Also, you said you didn't completely remove the rust, you just tried naval jelly. You'll need to get a wire wheel or something more aggressive to completely remove the rust and get to bare metal before priming/painting.

Can't imagine rock chips are causing my problem. Since moving I don't see dirt roads, basically ever. The parts I haven't tried repairing yet are full of rock chips but barely any rust. I'm leaning towards missing some rust like you mentioned because it looks like rust under clearcoat basically. After the naval jelly came off I took the 320 grit to it and got what I thought was all of the rust off but I was hesitant taking it all the way down to bare metal and then using just spray paint over the top.

 

[delta_p]

A few years ago, I rattle canned the roof of my truck with automotivetouchup.com 2 stage in cans and rustoleum primers because of the clearcoat cancer taking over. I didn't expect much but...damn! It has also been holding up pretty good.

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[delta_p]

I agree with RichLo, the rust needs to be completely removed first.

 

[deadbeat]

Besides removing all the rust, I believe that is a pinch weld area, and you are likely only treating the outside. If you can't fix the inside as well it will continue to be strip to metal and touch up, over and over. When you strip it down pay particular attention to tiny pin holes in the rust, if they are there it would be easier to buy new CAPA certified fenders that are warrantied against rust. Pour something like rustoleum rusty primer inside them and rotate so that the whole inside is covered. When washing your truck make sure to spray inside the fender to the drains stay clear. Good luck with it all.

 

[PlayingWithTBI]

I rattle canned the roof of my truck with automotivetouchup.com 2 stage in cans and rustoleum primers because of the clearcoat cancer taking over.

That looks good! From the picture I wouldn't have guessed it was a spray bomb job.

 

[kennythewelder]

Navel Jelly is OK and thats all. You need to get some Ospho. This is a lot better than Navel Jelly. It can be put in a spray bottle, and the area can be sprayed down. Then it needs to sit over night. But I caution you this stuff is about like battery acid. It is best to use a respirator or at least a good dust mask. Avoid breathing in the fumes. It cam be brushed on, but you will never get it into the cracks and crevices. Ospho is thin like water and will flow in and behind things. Keep in mind that you will need to power wire brush all of the rust off that you can. Then sand and prep. Then ospho. Then prime and paint. Follow the dercetions on the bottle of ospho. The reason your rust came back, is because you did not get all of it removed to start with. You have to remove all of the rust first, wether you cut it out, or chemically convert it, it all has to come out,or it will just return.

 

[Regal_Six]

Thanks all for the replies. I'm obviously going to have to strip it down again and repaint again... but the question I have now is what is the point of rust killer primer vs regular primer? I thought that was going to be my saving grace keeping me from grinding all the paint off. Figured if I removed the scale and any visible brown spots the rusk killer would work sort of like rust converter does on frames etc. If I have to completely remove 100% of the rust or it'll flash rust in a couple months is there any advantage to the rust killer stuff? Is it just a gimmick?

 

[kennythewelder]

A rust converter is what you need to use, but keep in mind that they come in different brands, and strengths. When I worked off shore on oil well drilling rigs, Ospho is what we used to kill rust. A good primer, and a good paint that was meant for that primer. Also any time you can use a spray gun over a rattle can, you will get better results. Good paint and good primer is not cheap. Dont get me wrong, I do use rattle cans some times too. Its just not as good as spray gun paint.