Rust

[Brandon2489]

I have a 2011 Tahoe with 130k on it. I have rust at the bottom of the lift gate but the worst place I have it is on the left rear wheel arch. I have talked to may body shops and they say it's a very expensive ordeal that last maybe 3 to 5 years until it comes back. I have no experience in bodywork. Only experience I have in metal work is sheet metal repair on aircraft. I don't think that will work here haha. I have heard people will cut the rust out and seal it then do some type of fender flare. I guess it's one option but it would be my last option. Do they even make fender flares that don't stick out like a soar thumb? I like to keep the body decluttered as mutch as possible. What have you all done about this rust in that location? Sorry for the crappy pic. I took it at work behind a fence. I will get a better pic later.

 

[wjburken]

Typically by the time you see rust in the areas you are referring to, it is coming through from the back side of the metal. If you could see the back side, the rust area will be 10x the size of the area you see on the surface. Your body shop is correct in that it will be expensive and if they don’t properly remove/neutralize all the rust, it will return like they say.

As for fender flares, going that route would be like sticking a bandaid on a dirty wound if you don’t fix the underlying issue as the fender flares may actually accelerate the problem as they will trap moisture and dirt.