Surface rust bubble. How bad is this?

[Mav2u]

I've been waiting to pay a few things off before I do a full resto paint on the 1989 Jimmy . Clear coat is already off the roof and hood. But I've noticed a few spots behind the door and between the topper that are bubbling under the paint with rust. Also on the rail right at the topper and truck bed rail.

I want to keep the truck in best condition until it gets the resto. But how concerned should I be with this rust? I can get pictures up if that helps.
If I can do something to keep it under wraps without making the truck look like a bondo queen I will. I don't want any gaping holes in the truck or more work to pay the body man later if I can help it. The truck will get a full sand blast to metal when the time comes.

I need help to ensure my baby stays in best condition until paint day comes next year.

 

[blazinzuk]

Rust, including the bubbly kind, simply needs to be cut out. If you plan on keeping your stuff nice for a very long time then its the only answer.

I am going to swap bodys on my 89 after a very careful survey of the underneath. Since I already have another body with almost no rust I can wait for a while to do it.

 

[Jessie James]

Based on the photo in your album, I'd say it's a total loss. Give it to me.

 

[Mav2u]

I'll be keeping it. So any bubbling like a pimple under the paint is really bad and requires a patch panel to fix?

 

[ryoken]

no... absolutely not.. unless the metal is compromised.. some poking with an awl or screwdriver will tell.. you need to fully remove the rust.. whether that's by cutting/patching, or for surface rust, mediablasting or acid....

the right way is to at least stop the rust and start the spot repair... i prefer media blasting whenever possible..... they make spot blasters that run with a vac for smaller areas.. but you can spot blast stuff with a standard full blaster if proper precautions are taken...

blast the rust and get it in primer.. most surface rust pits, once blasted, will fill with a decent fill primer..

 

[tRustyK5]

What's scary about rust bubbles and blisters is that it's usually the tip of the iceberg that you're seeing. What appears to be a dime sized rust bubble can be quite a large problem. These rigs rust from the inside out, and seem to do a wonderful job hiding it until it has become quite bad.

Put up some pics...

Rene

 

[blazinzuk]

Ryoken is the man to listen to on this.

I am just talking about from my experience on these trucks it seems anytime there is a bubble in the paint you have deep metal damage.

 

[ryoken]

oh, no doubt.. it usually goes on and on...

and yes, usually if it's the high, thick bubble thing, it's a deeper rust and compromised to some extent... whereas tighter, smaller bubbles tend to be more surface rust orientated...

 

[Mav2u]

I'll try to get some pics up on Monday. I would like to stop it for now by some means whatever that ends up being. So that in year or so the truck will be full media blasted and taken into the body shop for full part off repair and paint.

If I do repairs I would like to be able to make them look nice. I don't want a primer patched ugly monster but if that is the only way then it is what it is.

Check back for pics. I'll grab a few tomorrow as it will be nice a sunny.

 

[blazinzuk]

oh, no doubt.. it usually goes on and on...

and yes, usually if it's the high, thick bubble thing, it's a deeper rust and compromised to some extent... whereas tighter, smaller bubbles tend to be more surface rust orientated...

That kind of explains my lack of knowledge I have never seen these small bubbles you speak of. Only the large ones

 

[Mav2u]

Okay, here are the two images of rust on the truck.

What would the best way to eliminate it, patch it now and have it still look decent and last until next year when the truck gets full paint restoration?

 

[tRustyK5]

That upper bedside rust is not sexy at all, in fact you can see the scaling is compressing the topper seal in that area which gives you a good idea how bad the scaling is there. That one is a cut and replace fix for sure.

The second pic, I cannot figure out what part of the truck I'm looking at. Also hard to tell what is reflection and what isn't etc etc.

Rene

 

[bp71k5]

The second pic looks like the rust was painted over, which may mean it's been rusting even more underneath the paint, but it doesn't look like normal rust under paint since it hasn't broken through the paint. Maybe it was just bad body work?

My not-so-expert opinion is to just leave it alone if you are only going to wait a year. The metal underneath is already destroyed so sanding away only part of it now wont do much to stop further damage. You need to remove all of the rust to stop it and after removing all the rust, if you don't protect all of the newly exposed metal underneath, it'll rust again and cause even more damage.