I have a 1990 Maxima Brougham. I bought the car with a slight patch of rust on the back driver wheel well. I am in the middle of my first winter and the rust is getting noticabley worse. The car is pearl white and looks really bad with rust.
Can someone tell me if there is a way to stop the rust and conceal the existing rust (without paying out of the nose).
I have heard about using some sort of 'bondo' or something....
anyways, any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

 

Did you know there is/was? a recall pertaining to corrosion around the shock tower and fuel filler pipe?
Contact your nearest dealer and enquire. Nissan fixed mine for free.
If it's no longer covered you will need restoration work which means cut/patch new metal (pop rivets or welding) and bondo to make it look nice and last. Or you can slap on the bondo and let it fall out in a year. Painting is required, of course.

Good luck

 

yup.. try the recall thing first.. it may or may not get fixed under that.

If not, and you want the quick and dirty way to fix it, simply sand the rust off with some sandpaper, then put a thin layer of bondo over it to smooth things out, then paint over it with some matching spray paint. the pearl white will be the biggest problem, but you can find small spray cans that are very close at most auto parts stores.

it won't look perfect, but it's better than the car rusting to pieces in one winter.

 

Ya, that is more along the lines of what i wanted. A way to fix it so it won't rust more, doesn't cost me $$, and still looks decent.
Thanks alot for that, I'm going to do that.

 

yup.. I'm the master of cheap fixes.
window regulator broke? coat hanger and JB weld.
rear wing faded and peeling? red Krylon and some sandpaper!

the most important thing in your case is that you need to get rid of all the rust possible, then to seal the bare metal off from the weather. if water can get to the metal, it WILL rust... that's why there's not much stopping it after it's really set in. the rust is under the paint, then cracks the paint and lets more water in.. more water = more rust over time = bigger problem= yuck.

sooo, do the best you can to get rid of the old rust, then seal it off from the weather. there's a brand of spray paint called Kilz sold at wal-mart and other places. it's more expensive then krylon or other cheap brands, but does a great job in sealing off from rust... you may want to do a test patch and see if you can paint that stuff on top of the metal, then sand lightly and go over the Kilz paint with your own body color stuff to make it look better.

there's a few more options for ya.. good luck. if all else fails, wait till some moron is backing out into the street, then hurry up and park your car behind them.. WHAM! then get it paid for by their insurance.

 

Matt,
Do you have any more information on that recall? I heard nothing of that until now. My 89 SE has the same problem up inside the wheel well (rear driver's side) and water is getting into my trunk from getting flipped off of the tire. Also, my seat belt harness has come off from the rust. That is how I discovered the problem in the first place. I was taking the seat on and off when I installed my shocks and the harness busted off from all the rust. If you have any more info, I'd appreciate it. Too much $$ in my Max to have it rustin out on me!! Thanks...

 

damn...i got da same problem...rusting on the driver side rear wheel well..
is there really a recall on that??? let me know about it. otherwise i have to wait til the summer to patch it up with some bondo!!

 

i keep getting it back on both sides in the lower corner of the rear door jams. it becomming really frustrating. i sanded it down twice removing any sign of rust, then put like a coat of primer, 3 coats of paint and like 3 coats of clear coat. i hoped this would seal it off from water, but it turned to rust again now, which was like only 5 months since i did it. i think im gonna try the bondo when i do it again. if that doesnt work im just gonna take it to a professional. i dont want rust to come back right away there when i get my new paint job.

 

You can also try rust-specific products like Extend from Loctite or Rust Destroyer paint. Both of these neutralize the rust and prepare the surface for more paint. I've used both with reasonable sucess (actaully pretty good I guess since I didn't topcoat either one) I would still try to sand off as much rust as possible first though.

 

One question about this...
I was reading some other posts on the subject and they said to put a layer of some sort of rust stopping primer down on the bare metal (After sanding). Should I put this on before the bondo or the other way around?? And Can bondo be made to fit small gaps. Because I have a small square about an inch big missing on my wheel well from rust. Could I fill this in with bondo?
Any websites with detailed info on this would be great if you know any...
Thanks alot.

 

Good point about the seat belt corrosion; I forgot about that most vital detail. IMHO Nissan is addressing the potential for liability from a safety standpoint. I don't know how old a car has to be before the maker is no longer liable for a seatbelt that let go in a collision or the possibility that a corroded fuel filler pipe caused some other 'mishap'...I stumbled upon the recall when I went to Nissan for a new filler pipe after I found mine split open along the weld seam, while I was doing some patching in the strut tower to prevent water from coming in. My argument was that the pipe was defective and should be replaced ideally under warranty, even after 10 years. Nissan insisted the car come in for repair. 13 days later the entire shock tower with seat belt mount/retractor, fuel filler assembly (right to the filler door) and inner fender well were replaced. The dealer billed Nissan $2700 CDN. BTW the other side was rusty also but not to the same extent. I patched in sheet metal to seal the area and undercoated inside and out.