my truck has really bad rust around the rear fender and i thought it would be cheap and easy to cut the rust out and put a new piece in the put herculiner over it. i was just wondering if anyone else has tried this or if anyone has any inputs on it.

 

Won't be pretty, but it should work. You going to weld the new pc in? If so, your not that far from just finishing it right and painting.

 

Bushwacker cut out flairs....... just sayin

 

Depends on how much rust there is. I have had success in removing the rusted metal, then filling the void with polyurethane spray foam after coating the inner metal with POR15. The urethane foam is a vapor barrier, so no moisture will get into the cavity between the inner and outer fender where they always rust. The POR15 stops any further rusting if applied properly. I then trim the foam off and apply filler. If it is a large repair, metal repair lathe will add strength. I am sure someone will say this isn't the way to go, but it does work very well, and rust doesn't reappear.

 

Buy the the new metal and 3m makes a panel adhesive. I am planning on using this on my truck in the spring. I hear it works good but never tried it yet.

 

Cheap and right dont go together

CHEAP
sprayfoam and paint over


RIGHT
replace the $300 bedside

 

If you don't have a welder, panel adhesive is the bomb!
It makes a great bond on freshly sanded metal and seam seals at the same time.
With a pair of dimpling pliers those pop rivets will sit flush and you can fill to close to the original body contours.

 

It seems that the foam would soak up water and hold it in causing future rust, but I haven't tried it. I know that a lot of 71 and newer VW Beetles would rust at the back windows because there was foam in there to keep engine fumes out of the cabin.

 

It's spray polyurethane foam. It is closed cell and is a vapor barrier - moisture will not penetrate it. You don't paint over it, you body filler over it (with mesh over large areas), then paint. It will outlast most of the other body panels on these trucks. Most of the replacement panels are made out of pretty crappy metal, and unless you cut out the old and flush weld in the new panel, you will end up with more bondo than with my method. The O.P. said cheap remember. Just replace the entire bedside if money isn't the issue.

 

Spray on insulation like I see on DIY Network? Would Great Stuff work as well? I'm in a small town and I got the biggest local insulation contractor to insulate my Garage. I wanted the spray foam or even the sticky spray cellulose. They said that it was cost prohibitive on smaller jobs.

I would be willing to try this on my old rusty truck. I just don't want to create more problems than I solve.

 

Cheap, correct way would be to weld in new steel, but that takes some skill. LMC sells patch panels for not too much money.

Expensive, easy way would be to replace the outter bed skins. If you're feeling strong maybe you would want to find one in the junkyard. A good cordless drill and spot weld cutter would be necessary. Then you'd have to weld it in still, but you wouldn't have to worry about weld beads on the body. Or even get a whole bed!

Cheap, incorrect way would be to fill it with bondo, and put fender flares on it because it will look uneven no matter how long you work it, and fix it again in a couple years when it bubbles up again from the rust making its way around.

 

I like the American heavy gauge galvanized patches available from Tapco myself.

 

I purchased some very good patch panels from ccg truck , found em online , panels are much thicker than others i have seen and priced affordably too. having maaco do the cutting and welding should get out for less then 900 total. will post pics soon.

 

great foam, it does work but it isnt pretty unless you cover it up.

I jsut got a dodge for a friend from a junkyard and the previous owner filled in the bed sides and the front fenders and doors with it and it did stop the rust.

If it were me, maybe do the foam, trim it so I can put a patch panel in using panel adhesive and then bondo and paint to match.You could also fiberglass it.

 

dude its not that hard to just get a piece of sheet metal and weld it not that bad, I probably would be pretty sad if I bought a truck and then I found out it had spray foam in the bedside, ya sure its cheap and it looks freaking cheap, invest in a cheap welder at HF and learn how to weld and make it look good for resale some day