Rust help/advice

[packer]

I have a 98 LC with about 170k. Some rust is starting above the windshield and i took it to a body shop for an estimate to get it completely fixed up. It came to.......$2700. I was just asking for some other opinions. Should I go for it? or let it run its course? Or look for another? Thanks for the help!

 

[NMuzj100]

We need a picture.

Spot treatment - Grinding out the rust, painting on a rust resistant primer and then top coating with a matching color will halt the damage but won't look as good as a pro paint job.

 

[dclee]

x2, a picture is worth a 1000 words.

How bad is it? Just bubbling paint? Given the location (up high) you might want to start working your way lower down (like, all the way down into the floorboards) and see if there's anything else hidden.

Did they itemize that quote for you? Are they cutting out sheet metal (I wouldn't think so)?

 

[packer]

Here are a couple pictures of the top of the windshield. Top one is the passenger corner, the other is what it looks like all across the top.

 

[2000UZJ]

Wire brush, rust-oleum sandable primer. And the glossy silver paint. Thatlll save you 2700 bucks, and will get the jon done ( it won't look perfect, but I'd rather spend 2700 on mods).

 

[Trunk Monkey]

I hate to say it, but that's some of the worst rust I've seen on a 100. Has the moulding around the windshield been removed? I'm wondering if the windshield was replaced, the moulding was put back in poorly or wrong and water was allowed to get trapped back there. That's all hindsight tho, doesn't really help you now.

Looks like it's eaten clear through in a few spots. Cutting that lip out and replacing it certainly could run into thousands for labor, body work, and paint. Cheap solution would be to get the rust out of there (flapper wheel on a drill, dremel, grinder with sanding disc, etc.), coat everything with a rust stopping paint like POR15 or similar, fill the holes with body filler or silicon, and then make sure that the OEM moulding is replaced and sealed correctly.

 

[packer]

Yeah, it looks like a couple windshields were put in poorly. On the last one, they used a universal moulding on the top that wasn;t glued on one side (thats why it looked like there was no moulding). I figure i'll wait til it gets a little hotter up here, have someone take out the windsheild, grind as much rust out as i can, then some cheap paint and new mouldings all around. I cant beleive how much the side mouldings are, $400 for the pair. My dad found something called "Rust Mort" in the garage that he used before. Anybody have any experience with this stuff?

 

[odessit]

on a similar subject as to avoid a new thread... I just got 2004 LC. Previous owner did not take good care of the car as result - few stone chips that turned into rust spots. Largest is about 1/8 of an inch. total - about 4-5 spots (2 - next two the rear quarter windows, one on the hood, two above the windshield).

I plan to keep a car for long time but can live with non-perfect look. What is best: body shop or independent/retired mechanic or myself with sanding, rust oleum and factory touch up paint?

Same question about underbody. I am in Massachusetts and all LC100s I looked at had fair amount of rust. I think about talking to some garage to allow me to use their lift and put rust oleum or some other primer/paint on the rusting parts. Any suggestions for materials? Any gotchas? I definitely do not care how it looks from under the car but do not like this rust at all. Other cars in the household (97 STS and ES300) do not have nearly as much rust.

 

[1loudLX]

odessit, are the ones near the rear 1/4 window just aft of the window on the vertical....D-pillar I guess you would call it? I find it an odd place to get a rock chip, but I got one over the winter there, probably from salt trucks as I passed them on the highway.

 

[odessit]

1loudLX, you got the location for the ones next to 1/4 windows! One is 1/8 inch, another really small. What should be the plan of action?

 

[1loudLX]

I just fixed a chip I had there a few hours ago. Took some sandpaper, cleaned the rust out of the chip, then prepped the surface (wipe with my shirt) and touched it up with some paint. It's still noticeable but I dont care, its not exposed anymore.

 

[odessit]

Should not you put primer first? I am thinking about grinding the rust out - with a dremel or (?) and then using a bit of primer (rustoleum or POR15 ?), then touch of rustproof paint and then touch up paint. I do not care about the looks as much as rust not getting worse after my job is done.

 

[rusty_tlc]

.....

Looks like it's eaten clear through in a few spots. Cutting that lip out and replacing it certainly could run into thousands for labor, body work, and paint. Cheap solution would be to get the rust out of there (flapper wheel on a drill, dremel, grinder with sanding disc, etc.), coat everything with a rust stopping paint like POR15 or similar, fill the holes with body filler or silicon, and then make sure that the OEM moulding is replaced and sealed correctly.

Then repeat every few years.

 

[packer]

Just an update. I took the advice you guys gave me. Thanks a bunch. Most shops I called wouldn't touch rust, and the others were really expensive. I dremeled out the rust , coated with por 15, and replaced all moldings with correct ones. Looks much better now, I even feel a little better inside. I was glad to find out that the rust didn't go through all the way, i was a little happier. Anyways, here;s a couple pics.

 

[2000UZJ]

Looks good

Glad you it everything solved. Are those the newer style headlights? How are those holding up?

 

[packer]

Yeah, i got them off ebay awhile back, they're the depo ones. My old ones were cracked. These ones definately seem brighter. I like 'em.

 

[Roverrad95]

I like the new lights!

I bought a 2001 Land Cruiser (new), which I traded in for my 2004 Range Rover. That car lived in Chicago (and sold it with 146k miles in 2004). The truck started rusting around the gas tank area and under the lip on the lift gate. Aside from Toyota fixing that, the roof rack had to be repainted 3 times. I haven't had a good experience with any toyota/lexus paint. Thankfully, my Lexus has been in Florida and California for it's entire life, but still have abnormal fading problems with the Lexus.

While yes, the windshield replacement was probably a bad job, I still think Toyota still needs to up its paint/metal protections.

 

[packer]

Agreed! My last toyota, a '90 camry with 480k km, I could grab the rear tires through the trunk. Sure loved that car. The electronics let it down in the end. I miss the excitement of waiting for random electrical demons.

 

[89s rule]

I hate to say it, but that's some of the worst rust I've seen on a 100. Has the moulding around the windshield been removed? I'm wondering if the windshield was replaced, the moulding was put back in poorly or wrong and water was allowed to get trapped back there. That's all hindsight tho, doesn't really help you now.

Looks like it's eaten clear through in a few spots. Cutting that lip out and replacing it certainly could run into thousands for labor, body work, and paint. Cheap solution would be to get the rust out of there (flapper wheel on a drill, dremel, grinder with sanding disc, etc.), coat everything with a rust stopping paint like POR15 or similar, fill the holes with body filler or silicon, and then make sure that the OEM moulding is replaced and sealed correctly.

Never ever use silicon as a filler! It promotes rust and is one of the worst things to use. Not sure why its mentioned so many times to use. Even a lot of body filler sucks, if put on thick it will crack eventually.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

Never ever use silicon as a filler! It promotes rust and is one of the worst things to use. Not sure why its mentioned so many times to use. Even a lot of body filler sucks, if put on thick it will crack eventually.

Got a better solution? The PO of my 80 used normal ole household clear silicon to seal the holes in the roof when he removed the OEM rack. No rust.