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It's located between the windshield and sunroof. I believe it started from a rock chip.
Last year I sanded it down, sprayed it with Rustoleom rust encapsulator and spray painted over it. Seems to be back and worse fairly quickly. Likely coming from underneath. I like I could probably poke a hole in it if I wanted to.
Vehicle is otherwise in excellent shape and I would like to keep it a lot longer.
As justn said, you want to completely remove any trace of rust. Then use a rust converter. Then repaint however you see fit. Just sanding it won't do, most time you need to replace a chunk of a panel when doing rust fixing work.
I fear a hard sand will go right through the metal. Cutting and replacing is way over my skill level. Tried a local body shop with good reviews and he recommended I didn't do that as the cost would be substantial given the car isn't worth so much anymore. Don't need it perfect, but need to to not destroy an otherwise perfectly good car.
Yes, you need access from both sides for body work. I have a rust spot by the driver's side rear fender, I removed the wheel liner and there's rust on both sides. Outside and inside paint's bubbling up.
They only coat the inside maybe once and there's no clear coat of course.
On yours it looks like it's accessible once the HFL bezel is removed. You have to have a look see from inside, see what else is rusty in there.
Rust on cars is the equivalent of cancer to humans. Once it starts it's hard to stop it. I can assure you, if you do it yourself it'll keep coming back. You need to have a shop fix it.
Because it is on your roof, it likely isn't rusting on both sides, however, a proper repair still has to be done. For the rear quarters, yes, the rust generally happens on the inside and outside.
I wouldn't cut the rust spot out though. That just enlarges the problem because you're uncovering more bare metal to eventual oxidize. The repair the shop would do after the welding is done is then essentially the same as if they did just a surface repair.
One thing of note- if you want the repair to last, don't cheap out on it. The rust will likely eventually come back, but paying more would likely buy you more time.
I was just wondering if the HFL put up so much heat in that spot that would ruin the paint. That'd be a new one. Use it if it still works and check the temp. We need inside pictures. Don't delay ... the work that needs to be done, not the pictures.
1. Put the 3M paint stripper tool in a drill and grind all the rust off. The wheel will clean and condition the metal. Go slow at first untill you get the feel for it. You might need 2 rice cakes... lol
2. Use the sem rust coverter to neutralize the rust and convert it to something else. . Follow their instructions. Pick one.
3. Scuff the painted area back 2 to 3 inches with a gray 3M scuff pad.
4. Primer and seal the bare metal/converted rust. Or use a sealer that can be use on bare metal. The sealer is important... it's water proof where primer is not.
holy shit. get it done the right way from a quality shop
I think it's repairable but if you wan to do it yourself and you don't think your skills are up to it, I'd let the shop fix it- you want the paint blended in well- it might be several hundred to fix, but it'll be worth it vs. a significant eyesore.
