Fender Rust

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Nov 12, 2006 | 06:59 PM

Capt. Payday

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Joined: Nov 2006

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Fender Rust

Hi everyone. I am new here. I just bought a 1990 F150 4X4 today. My other truck is a 93 Dodge 250, and although it is a very good truck, I have always liked the Fords, and the 90's F150s have a great track record for reliability, which is very important, since these are work trucks. So, that is why I went with the Ford. Everything on this F150 is in good shape, except for the rear fenders. They have rusted through around the chrome trim on the wheel arch. You guys know what I mean, I think this is common for F150s of this age in salt areas. I am not trying to totally restore this truck, I just want it to look good for my customers. What are my options for addressing this issue? I don't want to spend big bucks at a body shop, I would prefer to do it myself and save $$$ and get some bodywork experience (of which I have NONE). I have thought about applying a rust inhibitor and covering the areas with fender flares, but that is my only idea so far. So, to you body guys, some suggestions on where to start would be wonderful. Thanks!
Jason

Nov 12, 2006 | 08:00 PM

puck1263

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Joined: Oct 2005

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Rust is like cancer. The only way to get rid of it is cut out (or sand out) COMPLETELY the infected area and prime & paint the area to prevent future corrosion. Leaving a small bit of rust, like cancer, will cause re-occurance. So, completely get rid of it, or replace the fender, and take precautionary measures (prime, bondo, etc) and paint it or cover it up. 2 cents.

Nov 12, 2006 | 09:38 PM

MRL123

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Joined: Oct 2004

Posts: 371

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From: Wetaskiwin, Alberta

Replacing the wheel wells is really NBD, check out my gallery and you can see a few pics of some of the work that I did. The panels were about $70.00 each and I used body repair adhesives because I can't weld - don't have the tools or the know how. This is the second set of wheel wells that I have repaired by cutting, flanging and gluing. The sytem works well and is an insurance industry approved repair procedure. If you can weld, so much the better. The rest of the body work is time consuming and can be expensive depending on how far you want to go. I painted the entire truck because that was my goal from the beginning - I think it came out OK for a first time paint job that I did in the garage. Unless you have unlimited acces to a huge arsenal of tools you will probably have to consider renting some items, like a really good compressor, for doing the sanding work - again it depends on how much you want to accomplish.

You should check out some of the postings in the bodywork forum and do a search under "wheel well repair". You will get a ton of hits and some really good advice on this as it is a common repair issue.

Cheers!

Mike

Nov 12, 2006 | 10:38 PM

luke245

Junior User

Joined: Oct 2006

Posts: 55

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From: Kansas

get some naval jelley and put it on the rust. Cover it up with paint and then cover them up with fender flares. did the same with my truck and it is fine now.

Nov 12, 2006 | 10:50 PM

Capt. Payday

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Thanks for the comprehensive and speedy replies guys. I will def. go over to the BW forum and see what I can learn. Maybe I should have posted this there, but I am still leaning my way around the site. BTW Mike your truck looks pretty good, especially for a 2nd time repair. You did a better job than Maaco did on my sisters car, that's for sure!
Luke245, can I ask where you got your flares and what brand they are? I was looking at the Bushwhaker Extend a Fender but I wasn't sure if it would cover it (it LOOKED like it would). It is rusted through and about 1 to 1.5 inches high at it's worst, do you think the flares will cover it?
Jason

Nov 15, 2006 | 10:49 PM

luke245

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Joined: Oct 2006

Posts: 55

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From: Kansas

I got them on some website I don't remember which one, but they are Warn fender flares. They are pretty expensive for pieces of plastic but if you put them on right they will keep water and salt out of there and hopefully cover the part that the rust has already eaten through. I've had them for about a year and no discoloring. The only problem I had was one flew off when I was driving on the highway but that was because I drilled it into more rust so it just came loose. Warn is a pretty good company though, known more for their winches. They have different sizes. I had about 3 inches of rust so I got the big ones and they covered all the rust up. I've heard nothing bad about Bushwhacker either probably another good company.