Rust mitigation?

[chipmunk]

Well.... finally that dreaded day has come! I notices a couple of rust spots starting near the license plate mounts on the trunk. Each about 1-2 mm diameter.
What options do I have?

• Take it to a body shop?
• Some DIY solution?
• Wait till it gets big enough and replace the whole trunk from salvage yard?
• Treat with rust-inhibitor chemicals, if there are any effective ones?

Watching my toddler grow up, my hair turning gray, rust on the car... I guess they are all inevitable, but all these things are happening so quickly

[soundman98]

do you have pics?

[Tcoat]

Ya pictures are critical in this case.
Without seeing responses can range from “meh don’t sweat it” to “oh my god trade it in now”.

[VoltsFRS2013]

Pics would be super useful. I will say, depending on what it is and the severity If it's 1-2mm in size it would probably be best to just neutralize the surface rust and paint over it with a paint pen or something similar fashion.

[chipmunk]

I put some rust inhibitor last night. There is another one of these spots behind the license plate.

Now the rust inhibitor won't come off!! Gosh, one problem is breeding another!

[soundman98]

that looks a lot larger than 1-2mm!

now the course of action is:
a. bring to professional
b. wet-sand, touch up, wet-sand, touchup, wet-sand, mild buff, clearcoat, wet-sand, finish buff, wax.

c. leave it.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by chipmunk

I put some rust inhibitor last night. There is another one of these spots behind the license plate.

Now the rust inhibitor won't come off!! Gosh, one problem is breeding another!

Of course it won’t come off. It works by chemical reaction with the oxides so becomes part of the steel.

Originally Posted by soundman98

that looks a lot larger than 1-2mm!

now the course of action is:
a. bring to professional
b. wet-sand, touch up, wet-sand, touchup, wet-sand, mild buff, clearcoat, wet-sand, finish buff, wax.

c. leave it.

This ^. You can do it yourself if really ambitious but a pro can can make that invisible for a relatively cheap price.

[chipmunk]

Autocorrect edit: hand washing (not handwriting!)

I have lost faith in all of my abilities at this point �� including hand washing the car.
At some point, my sanity is more important than a couple of hundred $$. I'll let a professional deal with it.

[soundman98]

the neverending personal struggle!

can i functionally do anything/everything? yes. do i have any experience? rarely. do i have the time to take 5x's longer than someone that knows how to actually do it? haha. ha.

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by soundman98

the neverending personal struggle!

can i functionally do anything/everything? yes. do i have any experience? rarely. do i have the time to take 5x's longer than someone that knows how to actually do it? haha. ha.

Yep, you're starten ta get old -

[JD001]

Originally Posted by humfrz

Yep, you're starten ta get old -

Either I have been elusive or you have been hiding.. Not seen posts from you in ages.. How are you? Still keeping the local gals at the supermart happy?

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by JD001

Either I have been elusive or you have been hiding.. Not seen posts from you in ages.. How are you? Still keeping the local gals at the supermart happy?

Thanks for asking, I've been just fine. Where have YOU been?

The gals down at the supermarket are doing just fine. Some of them aren't nearly as pretty, since they quit wearing masks -

[JD001]

Originally Posted by humfrz

Thanks for asking, I've been just fine. Where have YOU been?

The gals down at the supermarket are doing just fine. Some of them aren't nearly as pretty, since they quit wearing masks -

You should insist that they wear masks, good for the wellbeing of their customers!!

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by JD001

You should insist that they wear masks, good for the wellbeing of their customers!!

Good idea, I'll suggest that to them -