How to Repair Minor Rust on a Car

Source: wikiHow

Staff
Co-Authored

When bare metal comes into contact with the oxygen in everyday air, the resulting chemical reaction (called oxidation) creates rust, which eats away the metal in your car. If you’ve got a little elbow grease to spare, you can do away with minor rust before it has a chance to become a real problem.

1. 1 Identify areas of surface and scale rust on the vehicle. Rust is usually placed into one of three categories based on how serious it is, but penetrating rust is the worst. Check the rust spot for signs that it has created holes through the metal or that the metal has rusted all the way through. If it has, that metal can’t be fixed; it must be replaced.^[1]
   • Surface rust is light, and is the first sign of rusting. It is surface deep and usually forms in scratches or nicks in your paint. It will just look like a bit of rust on the metal.
   • Scale rust is more serious, and it develops after surface rust is allowed to spread. It’s the most serious rust you can address easily at home. It may include some paint bubbling or flaking of rusty metal.
   • Penetrating rust develops after rust goes untreated for a long time. If there are holes in the metal or the rust goes all the way through, the only way to fix it is to cut the affected metal out and weld a new piece in its place.
2. 2 Find the paint code for your vehicle. You will need to repaint the part of your car you remove the rust from, and that means needing to find an exact match for your vehicle’s paint color. Most cars have labels on the body inside the driver’s side door frame and occasionally under the hood that will list that “paint code” used by the manufacturer.
   Give that code to the clerk at the auto parts store to get a can of paint that matches it exactly.^[2]
   • If you can’t find the paint code on the body of the vehicle, you can often find it on the manufacturer’s website or occasionally in the owner’s manual.
3. 3 Purchase primer, base paint, and clear coat from the auto parts store. You’ll need an automotive primer and paint matched to the vehicle’s color by using the paint code. You will also need a can of automotive clear coat. You can get these paints in spray cans, though you can also get…

Click here to read more

The post How to Repair Minor Rust on a Car appeared first on FeedBox.