Oh Noooooo! Help with rust....

[nathanours]

So today I discovered the first spot of rust on my 96 camry while waxing it. How can I get rid of it? As far as I can tell, the rest of it remains rust free. I sprayed some WD-40 on the spot in hopes it will stop its progression. It is in the upper right corner of the windshield, on the drives side.

[Stillrunning]

Best rust preventative/stop that I've ever used is "Rust Check". It is a Canadian product that is not widely available in the U.S. but it appears in Colorado you can buy the retail version at K-Mart in a spray can. It will stop rust from spreading but you cannot paint over it. It creeps and crawls into all the cracks and crevices to stop rust. No sanding is required.

http://www.rustcheck.com/default.asp

[NapalmFTW]

Check the rubber weather seal on your windshield. My roof had a hole in it thanks to water getting up under the rubber.

[Mister_Perkins]

^ +1.

I bet behind that seal theres a lot of surface rust.

[Silent Runner]

I've talked to the guys at my local windshield repair/replacement company more times than I like, and they curse modern high pressure car washes as a source of much grief in their business. The lesson has been to NOT use a high pressure washer ever, really... but thats not very practical in my climate. Just avoid using them to blast your windshield clean, or around any other rubber seal areas on your car. Use a foaming brush, or wash mitt or anything but high pressure water. Rust Check has worked well to keep a couple of my own concerns contained, until I could do a proper fix.

[Zembonez]

Your windshield guys are smoking something. High pressure car washes do not damage your vehicle unless it already has other issues. Actually, they work great for keeping the dirt and grime out of the cracks which can hold in moisture and accelerate rust problems.

OP. Short of pulling that molding, sanding, and repainting that spot, there really is not a way to stop that rust permanently. You will likely find more under that molding. You might be able to doctor it with something that will slow it down, but rust is rust. At least it's a small spot... not bad for a 15 year old car!

[nathanours]

Ya when I get enough to replace the windshield (they are like $400 right?) I am going to carefully sand out all the rust areas and bondo or whatever to get it back to how it is supposed to be. In the mean time, I was just wondering how I can prevent it from spreading.

I tried to find the Rust Check in K-mart today, but they said they don't carry it after searching their computer system? I sprayed some sea foam deep creed in there because it says it displaces water, which at least should slow it down.

I try very hard to maintain the car as best as I can. It is in pretty good shape.

[zythr]

Originally Posted by Mister_Perkins

^ +1.

I bet behind that seal theres a lot of surface rust.

...especially if Colorado uses calcium chloride or some other deicing chemicals on their roads

[Silent Runner]

[QUOTE=Zembonez;3716217]Your windshield guys are smoking something. High pressure car washes do not damage your vehicle unless it already has other issues. Actually, they work great for keeping the dirt and grime out of the cracks which can hold in moisture and accelerate rust problems.

Ida Know Zembonez. These guys have decades worth of experience working for them, and no reason to deter you from washing your car. What they are talking about makes sense to me. The little spaces in a car that can hold moisture and other things like salt, can be flushed out with a pressure washer, and then dry themselves in some reasonable time. However, most commercial high pressure, hand wand washers are certainly capable of pushing water past most automotive seals that are intended to deal with air pressure sealing circumstances. Once any water or other contaminants are pushed into these areas, they would never have the opportunity to ever dry properly.

A few of them might be smokers, but they have seemed to be car guys too, and a clean car is a happy car and owner. Windshields are their biz. They would love to see you back every year for a nice clean replacement windshield, no particular incentive to prevent you from blasting your windshield seals with high pressure water (especially around the seals), maybe even some incentive to do the opposite. IMHO, Mr. Moderater

[nathanours]

I'm just worried about is spreading. Here is what she looks like now:

[Stillrunning]

Originally Posted by nathanours

I am going to carefully sand out all the rust areas and bondo or whatever to get it back to how it is supposed to be.

You'll never get it to factory, it will continue to rust, especially if Colorado uses salt. Maybe you can order the Rust Check online, it'll creep behind the molding area and stop the rust.

[Silent Runner]

You can slow it down with the right stuff, but the only way to stop it for any number of years, would likely be to pull the winshield and go in and remove any surface and sub surface rust, and refinish/seal the whole area in the best possible manner. The better the quality of the repair, the more time you will buy, but all cars are doomed to rust-up some day, no matter how well they are taken care of.

[nathanours]

Originally Posted by Silent Runner

You can slow it down with the right stuff, but the only way to stop it for any number of years, would likely be to pull the winshield and go in and remove any surface and sub surface rust, and refinish/seal the whole area in the best possible manner. The better the quality of the repair, the more time you will buy, but all cars are doomed to rust-up some day, no matter how well they are taken care of.

Ya, but I'll be happy if that much rust appears only every 15 years.