wheel well arch, rust

[jblueridge]

The PO used bedliner on the lower half of the sides of my BJ74. It helps fend off the rocks but there's some rust underneath. Around the wheel arch and on the rockers too.
I want to install rubber fender flares but I am not sure how to proceed in dealing with the rust.
What do you think?

 

[Billyfj7312ht]

Hi j,

I would fix it now before it gets worse. Paint strip back to the bare metal and see how far its gone.
Maybe stop on a horizontal crease line. That way you could two tone it? instead of matching the exact colour and run that line right around the bottom of the car. Unless of coarse you can colour match it? then just do what's needed. you will be surprised how far it goes back though.
Sand/kill rust/primer/bedliner? if you want/top coat.

 

[jblueridge]

Well that's what I thought but I was hoping to get out of it somehow.
I don't have good luck with spray paint: it sticks to everything except my target.
Maybe I can roll on some epoxy primer.

 

[AndrewHadji]

What Billy said, you can get out of it if you want, but you will have to replace the cancer in a few years. Better now when you hopefully dont have to cut. I spent the last 3 weeks dealing with this kind of rust, its time consuming

 

[Bob Richards]

If you are going to cover the areas with a fendor (I have the same problem by the way) I was thinking of chipping off what I could and wire brush it and then use a rust converter and then a couple coats of rustoleum under the fnedor add on. That was you have no bondo in it and if you want to finish it out completly later you can still do so but you have stopped the rust.

 

[jblueridge]

I already have the stuff to spray cavity wax on the inside of the panels.

As I mentioned above, I have had rotten luck with paint adhesion. Self-etching primers in rattle cans don't seem to help the adhesion.
Probably I am not degreasing enough but I am not sure how I am going wrong with Wax and Grease removers.

One very annoying area is the place where the inner and outer panels come together as a flange. There's evil stuff lurking in that open seam.

I would probably use my 4.5 inch angle grinder with a flap wheel or wire brush.

 

[DenDen]

I have exactly the same issue. PO used bedliner to cover minor rust that escalated significantly! I pretty much lost my wheel arches and will have to chop them this summer. Then I will get every little bit of bedliner off (even non rusted parts) and paint it black or gray properly. IMHO bedliner is only making things worse.

 

[Billyfj7312ht]

After prepping the affected area you can roll the epoxy primer on as long as it is a high build style epoxy so you can remove any high spots otherwise you will see roll marks in the gloss top coat. bed liner before top coat will hide this if you like the bed liner look.

 

[jblueridge]

Thanks Billy and DenDen.
I like the lack of perfection needed when applying bedliner.

I was reading on SPI website and they say not to use rust converter under their epoxy primer.
They do say that Ospho rust remover is okay.