Not so enjoyable rust.

[Iowa98Gmc]

My 98 is rusting in the typical cab corner and rocker just below the third door area on the passenger side. The local body shop wanted more than i want to spend to fix it and paint it. Im not very good when it comes to body welding. Whats the best way to close off the rust and shoot some paint on it. I know it wont be permanent especially with iowa winters. Im just tired of looking at it

 

[Hunttman01]

Temporary fix wound be to spray foam the holes, and it smooth then bondo for strength.

sent from my Vortec powered s4

 

[thz71]

hunters method, or fiberglass or if you wana try to weld in patch panels weld them in grind um down and bedliner your rockers that way your welds dont have to look good. BTW post in this thread and help Iowa out http://www.gmt400.com/forum/showthread.php?15110-GMT-400-Census/page10&highlight=census

 

[ac3 of diamonds]

What would it take to switch to fiberglass rockers and cab corners? I have serious rust i need fixed and i feel if i can switch those to fiberglass it would be worth it and not have to worry about minnesota rusting it again. Any thoughts would be appreciated
97 K1500, 5.0l, nvg3500

 

[deadbeat]

Rocker panels are a structural component, fiberglass is not the answer. Besides, as hard as it is to get the thin metal rockers to fit a thicker fiberglass version would take some work and serious skills.

 

[Bob L]

No matter what you do unless you cut out all the existing rust it will be back very quick and worse than before. Keep in mind that what you see is just a taste of what you will find when you dig into it. I do some rust repair in my shop for customers but do not give fixed prices till the job is done. Repair panels can be glued at the upper edge with panel adhesive if you worry about warping metal with welding. Proper rust repair is expensive because it is very labor intensive messy work.

 

[df2x4]

No matter what you do unless you cut out all the existing rust it will be back very quick and worse than before. Keep in mind that what you see is just a taste of what you will find when you dig into it. I do some rust repair

How right you are...

I still kick myself for letting a cheap body shop ever touch my Suburban. All the rust they "fixed" was back in less than six months.

 

[ac3 of diamonds]

thanks for the input =) I'm pretty bummed about how bad the rust is honestly and i cant afford to get it done professionally for probably a few years. Is there any preventative maintenance i can do to slow the process and hopefully help it survive long enough to get to the shop?

 

[michael hurd]

thanks for the input =) I'm pretty bummed about how bad the rust is honestly and i cant afford to get it done professionally for probably a few years. Is there any preventative maintenance i can do to slow the process and hopefully help it survive long enough to get to the shop?

No.

That's like trying to apply a band-aid over a cancerous melanoma and hoping to have it surgically removed in a few years.

By the time you get to it, the rest of the truck will be junk anyways. Be realistic, it's already 20 model years old. As mentioned, rockers and cab corners are structural components, any repair needs to be structurally sound. Body work is expensive, both in terms of labor and materials. You don't get what you don't pay for.

 

[ac3 of diamonds]

alright next question. Assuming the frame isn't to terrible would it be possible for a guy to take the old cab off completely and the box to expose the frame, sand blast and or tiger paw the rust off to get that nice clean metal again, than say rhino line it to keep any future rust off the frame, than drop a new unrusted cab on and a new box?