Tacking the rust, one step at a time

R

Rustbuster77

I'm new here, haven't done body work/painting in about 20 years but am really looking forward to taking on some projects on my daily drivers. Found SPI on the Hotrodders forum and discovered this is a wealth of info and good community.

I'm starting my plan of attack on my 2001 Dodge Grand Caravan's rust. Ordered 2 dog legs from Key and a rocker for drivers side.

I'm wondering about best plan of attack for dealing with the rust from the backside of the dogleg. Once I start cutting it, I'll likely find there's need for inner patching too. If nothing else, just showing some pics of what I'm going to start with and over the next month or so, hope to get at it. Just don't want to blindly tear into it until I gather some info and advice.

I DO plan on using SPI Epoxy primer for sure, after seeing Rusty's posts, I'm a believer.

I don't have access to many of the typical shop tools so it's going to be done on a shoe string budget but at least I do have a MIG welder. This is the first side of repairs and will likely break the resto into chunks that won't disable the vehicle which is family van for the 6 of us.

The hood, front pass fender, tailgate, and right dogleg area will be part of overall plan. Just don't think I'll be able to tackle all the body work quickly enough to not have vehicle disabled for more than 2 days.

less than ideal but it's what I've got to work with.
 
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Is the wheel opening pinchweld rusty around the complete wheel opening or is it only on the dogleg area?
 
Mainly around dogleg. I'll have to take the tire off and get a few more pics to assess the damage on driver side, there's an inner wheelhouse liner (black plastic) part in there that might be blocking my entire view of the back side. From what I've read about you Bob, I trust that you are very experienced in these matters so am very thankful you took the time to reply. I'll do some homework on the area and post my findings. Thanks!
Mark
 
Part of the process is also determining what caused the corrosion so you can fix the issue and it doesn't happen again. Pay attention when you open it up to determine where water is entering? is dirt accumulating somewhere holding moisture? is there foam or open cell sealer that's absorbing moisture?
 
it should be interesting! I was thinking of borrowing a plasma cutter to do a few surgical slices in before I just start ripping things out. Also I did notice there was bubbling paint on the bottom of the rocker, there was water/moisture trapped in there so I'm guessing somehow water is getting into rocker and no where for it go so inside is likely a mess...I'm getting ahead of myself but is there a way to "fog" or spray 360 inside a cavity through a tube with SPI epoxy primer? that would be very helpful I would imagine.
 
There are applicators for that. Transtar also has a nice economy 360* kit for shooting their Amber Coat-I can get the part number if you're interested, about $12
 
very cool, I suppose I need to wait until I can cut open the rocker area to see what's going on first. but I think I'll likely use that type of setup. on a side note, I have 2 older Devilbis siphon cup guns that were considered pretty good back when I was in body school (1990ish). Hope they are still good for laying down base and SPI clear.
 
Those guns will work but they do create a lot of overspray.
 
I was also looking at the Astro gun for $98 (The Evo 4014) since I don't have a large air compressor. I appreciate any comments on it.
 
Here's a few more pics of what I'm dealing with, there are some repeats but all posted in one place.

The tailgate has some closeup pics of it, little specks of rust throughout it. Not sure best way to proceed, do I need to fully strip it all the way down to metal? or just da/scuff the entire part, shoot with epoxy, then proceed with filler/primer etc?

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What would be the preferred method for rust speckles? (pics above)

This is a daily driver for the family so unfortunately, I can't disable it very long and likely won't be pulling any glass out of it. I just need a few tips to get started. Wanted to bump the thread so it would show up in recent posts. Thanks all

Mark
 
You have some serious cancer there. They must salt your roads where you live?
 
Will likely find more rust. It's cheaper to fix than a new/different vehicle so fixing it is what I'm challenging myself with

Posts from Rusty and Chad have been great inspiration to just tackle it one panel at a time.
 
That's cool. Practice makes perfect! Good thing this forum is full of knowledgeable people to help guide you through the process.
 
Part of what I was trying to learn is the limitations/expectations of SPI epoxy. Meaning can I expect it to block any further rusting of I just get the tailgate smooth or do I have to strip it completely?
 
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