This thread will make you cry - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

couchman487 · 06-15-2008, 02:10 PM

Time to reveal the worst four-letter word ever; RUST!

Ok, I have a bit of rust on my '90 camry and i really want to repair it. It seems like every day after I bought it it rained, and it hurts to watch water touch my car. Anyway, here are pictures of the affected areas. I'm thinking of buying some por-15 and body filler (along with primer, paint and clearcoat). Do you think that will work?

TVISMR2 · 06-15-2008, 03:04 PM

aka cancer. ouch

zppeacock · 06-15-2008, 05:28 PM

My 90 camry wagon has some rust well acutally the rockers are gone. I dont want to admit it but I think the motor 233k will out last the body.

TBayToyotaBoy · 06-15-2008, 08:29 PM

Okay, this is a topic I have LOTS of experience with. In fact, I just started doing some body work today...

For the fenders, just replace them and re-spray with white laquer. Given how much rust you have on the fender in your pic, you have no choice but to replace it. POR-15 and Bondo will look good for about three months, and then the rust will start bubbling-up around the repair patches. At $90 per fender new, it's worth it.

If you plan to keep the car for a long time, have a body man weld on new rear quarter panels (repair panels). I can't remember the price, but I'll look-up the part numbers in my book and post them later.

I cannot make this clear enough: you need to decide how long you want the car to last. Bondo will get you through another year (damn that salt), new fenders/rear quarters will last another five years.

Kingdom934 · 06-16-2008, 02:18 AM

My Gen1 has rust in some places, but it's much more contain. Trunk is eaten up and the roof theres a hole...

But that rust you got is all over the place

Albuynp Ryeno · 06-16-2008, 02:27 AM

omg i am soo happy i dont live in a place where it snows anymore. My 98 mi car has more rust then my 95 cali car, actually my 95 has NO RUST.

TBayToyotaBoy · 06-16-2008, 11:26 AM

Yeah, if it weren't for that whole "San Andreas" certain-death thing, I'd be all over Cali like white on rice...but I'll just live with the rust and enjoy the eternally-solid ground of central North America

white90dx · 06-16-2008, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TBayToyotaBoy

Yeah, if it weren't for that whole "San Andreas" certain-death thing, I'd be all over Cali like white on rice...but I'll just live with the rust and enjoy the eternally-solid ground of central North America

Just buy some property in Arizona and live in CA. Then just swim back to your land after the big one.

Seriously though, I don't know how you guys deal with the rust! I found one little cancer spot on my '89 AWD Camry and I almost cried... It looks like it was a small hole in the seam sealer in the upper rear fender area, since the rest of the car was in great shape. I just cleaned up the loose stuff, put some rust converter on there, sealed it up and put a bunch of undercoating on it... which should keep it from getting any worse here in CA. I guess that's what I get for buying a car that lived a few years in MD.

Around here, the only thing that rusts out is exhaust (and then, only about every 10 years).

-Charlie

couchman487 · 06-16-2008, 11:50 PM

I can't even imagine seeing a car around here without rust. In both places that I've lived in my life, MN and MI, every car on the road has at least some rust. The longest I've seen a brand-new car last here w/o getting any rust was 3 years. Oh well, at least all of my rust is cosmetic; underbody is perfect.