# Visions of Rust



## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

More than I would expect an a car that's about 3 years old.


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## Tomko (Jun 1, 2013)

Looks like abrasion followed by corrosion in the abraded areas. 

Given your mileage it doesn't surprise me. And in all honesty looks pretty good to me. 

Do you have splash guards? 
Do you ever drive on gravel roads? 
Do you drive on roads treated with sand / grit / salt in winter time?
Do you ever exceed the posted speed limit (increases the force with which abrasives will impact your vehicle)?


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## Tomko (Jun 1, 2013)

I also take note that it is always starting from the welds.


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## Robby (Mar 1, 2013)

Consistent with anything exposed to road chemicals......welded areas always rust first because the process damages the metals 'skin' for lack of a better term.
Next areas to show it are the spot welds where bracing has been attached to floors......same reason.

Currently cosmetic but six or seven more seasons will have things looking evil.

Same car operated in the South or Southwest just gets dirty down there.

SUX,
Rob


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## 2014Oilburner (Feb 1, 2015)

I would jack the car up on some ramps and put a wire brush on a 4" grinder and brush off that surface rust...then paint with primer and black paint to take care of this before it ever gets bad


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

Z-link on my 2012 1LT looked about the same, as well as the rear drums.


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

I am definitely planning on treating and painting it. I am a fan of Extend rust converter to start. it turns the rust into iron oxide and acta as a paintable primer. I've had good luck with it before. I am going to tackle this on my vacation. 

Tomko, As for your questions:

Do you have splash guards? 
No
Do you ever drive on gravel roads? 
Yes
Do you drive on roads treated with sand / grit / salt in winter time?
Yes
Do you ever exceed the posted speed limit (increases the force with which abrasives will impact your vehicle)?
Speed limit is 70 here which is plenty fast for abrasion to have an effect. I never thought of that.


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

diesel said:


> I am a fan of Extend rust converter to start.


Maybe if you get all the rust off first. Otherwise, the surface of rust protects the deeper layer. I did pretty good with Ospho. Same thing without the plastic coat. Since there's no plastic in it, you can apply as many treatments as needed to covert all the rust.


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## UpstateNYBill (Jan 14, 2012)

You can probably thank your DOT highway department for that. Many states have switched over to spreading "liquid salt" on the roads during winter the past few years. This stuff will cause rust like nothing else before.


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## Cruzator (Dec 31, 2014)

I can hardly wait to look at mine, at 2 winters of sand and MgCl2.


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## Tomko (Jun 1, 2013)

Look into POR15 if you want to treat these areas. It is a three step process. 

When my Tahoe was new I used POR15 to treat the entire underside. It lasted a good 10 years and only gave up because I never top coated it to protect from UV radiation.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

diesel said:


> I am definitely planning on treating and painting it. I am a fan of Extend rust converter to start. it turns the rust into iron oxide and acta as a paintable primer. I've had good luck with it before. I am going to tackle this on my vacation.
> 
> Tomko, As for your questions:
> 
> ...


You do know that 70 MPH is pretty fast on a gravel road.


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## ethana912 (Feb 24, 2016)

And another reason to live in south Georgia


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## MilTownSHO (Oct 9, 2013)

Don't feel bad I discovered a small spot of rust starting in the wheel well of mine.... :sad010:


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## cruze2011white (Feb 2, 2011)

This is normal rusting from exposed metal to air and moisture. Metal doesn't need salt to rust just air and moisture. There is a black paint from Rustoleum that you just spray on an it reacts with to coat it and stop the rust. Don't need to brush any of it off just get the dirt off and it will adhere.


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

MilTownSHO said:


> Don't feel bad I discovered a small spot of rust starting in the wheel well of mine.... :sad010:


Pic, please!


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

Tomko said:


> Look into POR15 if you want to treat these areas. It is a three step process.
> 
> When my Tahoe was new I used POR15 to treat the entire underside. It lasted a good 10 years and only gave up because I never top coated it to protect from UV radiation.


This.

We did the entire underside of my buddy's '86 Monte Carlo (Frame, suspension components, axle, underside of the trunk floor pan - and the entire upper surface of the interior and trunk floor, too). We ended up prying on the frame to get tubular A-arms in later on, and it totally stood up to our significant abuse.


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## Handles (Oct 8, 2012)

I noticed some small rust discoloration at the joints in all four doors at the top corner of the window frames. Bad spot and probably really difficult to do something with. I'll try to load a pic later.


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

cruze2011white said:


> This is normal rusting from exposed metal to air and moisture. Metal doesn't need salt to rust just air and moisture.


Salt dramatically speeds the process.

Oxidation is the process of losing an electron. Salt makes moisture conductive.


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## PanJet (Jun 18, 2013)

cruze2011white said:


> This is normal rusting from exposed metal to air and moisture. Metal doesn't need salt to rust just air and moisture. There is a black paint from Rustoleum that you just spray on an it reacts with to coat it and stop the rust. Don't need to brush any of it off just get the dirt off and it will adhere.


I live in Portland, Oregon, a very wet climate 8 months of the year but no road salt usage. You wouldn't see that much rust on the average ten year-old car here. Salt is horrible to vehicles.

Fortunately, my CTD only saw one season of salted Minnesota roads before moving. Even then, it has more rust than a similar aged car (2.5 years) which has spent its whole life here, but at least my rust is limited to a very small amount on the exhaust mounts (heat speeds the process) and the brake rotors (bare metal). The rest of the car looks great.


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## CruzeDan (May 17, 2015)

Looks like a subaru under there. I rinse mine underneath most times I wash it. I also spray the underneath with some sort of cleaner every once in a while as well.


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## GlennGlenn (Nov 27, 2015)

@diesel, that's manageable to me. You ought to see what rust does to the strut towers (top) on the 90s ChryCo minivans. It's a well known issue and the strut literally punches through. Hoping my CTD has no issues, but Hellinois is starting to use the brine solution in certain areas.


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## KpaxFAQ (Sep 1, 2013)

MP81 said:


> This.
> 
> We did the entire underside of my buddy's '86 Monte Carlo (Frame, suspension components, axle, underside of the trunk floor pan - and the entire upper surface of the interior and trunk floor, too). We ended up prying on the frame to get tubular A-arms in later on, and it totally stood up to our significant abuse.


I've used POR15 extensively. It is great stuff but I consider it a last resort because it isn't "repairable" so to speak. I'd use a good epoxy primer first that if there's a chip or problem you can touch it up. POR15 is done if you don't top coat it before drying, and you need to remove it to apply more coats. They say you can rough it up but it's not always an option or easy to do in certain spots.


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## CruzeDan (May 17, 2015)

KpaxFAQ said:


> MP81 said:
> 
> 
> > This.
> ...


We just did an S-10 frame with that stuff, very difficult to get to turn out right. We followed all the instructions and advice and it did not come out looking well, but we can't get it off, even hitting it with a hammer, so it should be doing its job hopefully.


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## Tomko (Jun 1, 2013)

CruzeDan said:


> We just did an S-10 frame with that stuff, very difficult to get to turn out right. We followed all the instructions and advice and it did not come out looking well, but we can't get it off, even hitting it with a hammer, so it should be doing its job hopefully.


You have to follow the instructions scrupulously. Start with marine clean (I think they call it something else today) to clean all possible oils, greases or contaminants; etch it with Metal Ready, keeping it wet for the requisite 15 minutes; flush with tons of water; dry, dry and dry again using compressed air and 24 hours of time; stir the POR15 (don't shake) and apply in very dry conditions. Apply second coat of POR15 before first coat totally dries; then top coat with a UV protectant. 

This stuff is MIL-spec. But is very fussy on application as it dries by way of humidity. So even doing it when the garage floor is wet or on a rainy day will cause it to fail. It is a product that would work best in controlled factory conditions. 

I was very happy with the results I achieved. I've used the gloss black and the clear formulations.


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## KpaxFAQ (Sep 1, 2013)

You said it best Tomko, you need to apply it with no shortcuts and there is an art to getting the re coat and topcoat on at just the right time, not too soon not too late


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

Yup. I've heard people complain that "POR-15 sucks, it came right off, blah, blah, blah".

Of course, when you asked if they followed all the instructions, the answer eventually comes to "Well, no, but..."

It's tough stuff if you do, though. I need to get my ass in gear and give the Cav's rust some POR-15 love. I bought the little starter pack a couple of years ago now, when I intended to do it originally. I wish I had, the rust has definitely accelerated. Luckily it's _mostly_ relegated to the doors and hood.


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