Well my new truck has rust above the rear wheel wells like every ford up here but it sticks out like a sore thumb being a white truck. Other than that the truck is perfect. I've never done body work before so im looking for hints and tips and pretty much how to do it.I don't want to pay the rediculous body shop prices and would rather but the tools and do it myself. I don't need the repair to look perfect just better until I have money to go down south and find a new bed. One side has about a quarter inch gap rusted through along the top of the wheel well and the other side isn't rusted through yet. Thanks guys

 

if you want you can buy bed sides for like 380 a piece form lmc trucks or you could put on a set of fender flares on your truck like the ones on my truck. What I did was cut out the rust and then sealed everything with RUST Bullet and then covered the that stuff with 3 coats of automotive paint and then installed the fender flares. The Rust Bullet coating comes with like a very good warranty with preventing rust and so far so good. The fender flares cover 5 inches of the fenders.

 

well, you can make a filler piece out of some sheet metal and weld it. then use some bondo to give a shot at body work and just hit it with some primer or paint and seal the bondo.

 

Yeah I was looking at fender flares but they're as much as bed sides which are as much as a rust free bed I was hoping to be able to do this cheap as possible as I just spent alot on the truck lol. So with bondo it won't fill a 1/4 -3/8 gap and I need a filler metal price? Do I cut more rust out or spray it with a rust converter and do I need a special gun for the paint/ clear?

 

all depends on what you want it to look like. if you are just trying to that the 50' truck look then bondo and paint it and fix more permenantly later. Some body shops can match paint and put into a spray can. Bushmaster makes some affordable fender flares that may cover the area after you cut it out. Xenon flares like rn360908 and I have are more expensive but they cover a lot of area.

 

here is a website that has affordable patch panels for our truck beds
Misc. Bed Parts | CCG Truck
here is a website that has colored matched paint in spray cans that will do a decent job and look pretty good and the website has tips on using there product
Express Paint - How to Apply
If you want to go the route of putting in patch panels then you want to cut about 1-2 inches past the rust holes to get to good metal. then cut out the patch panel to fit the hole you just cut out. Then you can either weld it in or use automotive grade apoxy to hold it in. If you go the apoxy route then you need to use whats left of you patch panel to create a lip around the bed opening to make a shelf to glue your new patch panel in. Then you use a little bondo to make it look good.

 

Now I know why I've never attempted body work before. Seems like a major PITA lol. Ill try n get some pictures posted. Thanks for that like by the way! Those are awesome prices. Have you used their parts before? Are they decent quality? Too bad they don't have whole bed sides for the sd like they do the obs.

 

Now you can see why body shops can bend you over and ask for how ever much they want. Body work isn't to hard it is just takes A LOT of time if you don't have a lot of experience, It probably takes me twice as long trying to find the right step that gives me the right results, but practice makes perfect. I haven't bought these panels before but probably 95-98% of the rust repair panels are made in china to keep the prices down, so the quality of the parts are alright but they are a lot better than having holes in your bed.

 

Ok so I checked on reppair panels and it'll cost me 450 for the pannels because id need 3 per side to cover the rust plus what it costs for paint paint. If I do that is it possible that it would just rust right away? Do you guys think im better off just bolting fender flares over it for now and saving up for a bed later? I don't know why body work scares me so much

 

if you use good quality primer and take your time it won't rust for a long time. The only reason that the fenders rust out like they do is because crap can sit up there and keeps everything moist and it rust out. So if you use good supplies and wash out that area everytime u wash the truck then it should never rust out. If it is going to cost you $450 for rust panels then I would just find a rust stoping agent, like rust bullet, $30 for a quart, and a set of xenon fender flares for $350 and make your truck look good. Also you won't need to have paint cost for the fender flares because the black flares will look sweet on your all white truck.
Also your going to have like two or three solid weekends doing rust panel repairs while you will have less than three hours if you sand off the lose rust then clean the area real well, paint over the rusty areas with rust bullet, and then instal the fender flares.
here is the website for rust bullet
Rust Inhibitor Paint | Stop Rust | Rust Corrosion Inhibitor | Rust Converter
and here is the website where i got my fender flares
Xenon Fender Flares
they even offer coloring matching if you want them white and they have free shipping on the fender flares

 

Raybuck Autobody Parts LLC - Rust Repair Body Parts - Chevy Ford Dodge ........I've found better prices here

 

Hey do you have any closer pics of your flares? I'm thinking of going that route but i dont have wide tires to make the big fender flares look alright......Thanks

 

I will get some pictures later this week cause I am down at college right now, but the xenon fender flares are on the larg size, I am thinking they stick out almost 3" at the very top and tapper down a little towards the bottom. but I have seem them on trucks with slighty bigger than stocks wheels and they look pretty good, what size tires are you running Deerslayinrenek.

 

I did some fairly substantial rust repair to my bedsides without filler metal this summer. Pics are on my facebook page.

 

Joe, how did you end up doing it? Rust reformer and bondo?