Dealing with Rust

Summary: Rust is a curse on everything it touches and detailing is about prevention, not repair.

Ultimately detailing is about the prevention of rust to avoid encountering it in the first place. There are some limited situations where rust can be handled by a detailer, but in many cases it’s a task for a body shop or major repairs. If a body panel shows a lot of rust holes and degradation, there’s not much hope to save it. Sometimes paint chips will have surface rust in them, which can be handled by sanding before applying touch-up paint. Surface rust from clear coat baking off in the sun over the years requires refinishing and a full repaint job, though sometimes the aged patina can look pretty good!

Rust in Paint Chips

Sometimes paint chips can be deep enough to the metal on your hood or fenders, which can then rust in a little spot. This can be cleared up with some sanding and repair treatment. Check out the Surface Repair Guide.

Body Panel Rust

Rust that’s spreading over a large surface (i.e. bigger than a pencil eraser) is beyond what detailing can handle. The overall process is to sand off all the rust, treat the surface, then prime and repaint it. Go to a body shop. Check out the Surface Damage Field Guide for a visual reference.

Preventing Rust

The best way to prevent rust is proper washing in the winter and being mindful of your paint by detailing regularly. A paint chip can’t form rust and deepen to the point of eating through a body panel if you catch it early and don’t neglect it until it’s too late. No one wants a car that looks like Swiss cheese.

Additional Resources

• Surface Damage Field Guide
• Surface Damage Repairs