95-96 Guys, how bad is this RUST?

[IsaacHayes]

Is this stuff just surface rust, or worse? I know the pics aren't great, but from what I can tell it's not completely disintegrated like my 94. This looks like some wire-wheel work and some good primer/paint and it'd be good as new. Am I right? Just cosmetic and not structural or too deep yet right?

What about the bump stop, I don't see those long metal bump stops in Ixion's thread... Are those removable pieces?

From Ixion's thread it looks like the 95+ is a lot simpler and has less pockets both on the side wheel well and up top of the spring to catch dirt and rust out. Looks all smooth and less complex. The frame rail looks bigger and cleaner than older styles... But I figured I'd ask someone that owns one...

Thanks!

[IsaacHayes]

Here are the rest of the pics.

[Money pit Beretta]

Yours is better than mine. I had alot of shale rust back there. I had to knock it off with a screwdriver and a hammer. Then I hit it with Eastwood's rust converter. All the paint I put on it came off, but the rust has stopped. My 90GT was more like yours. Watch that bumper support. That thing rusts like crazy and fills up sand. I also hit that with the rust converter. I had to clean out the sand twice this summer.
Those were the spring mounts I was going to send you. I still have them. You can pry the bump stops out and put better ones in. It's kind of a pain, but it can be done. Mounts without rust are hard to find. The ones I have downstairs have just spots of rust unlike the ones in the photos. Also the inside has very little rust(they rust out bad in there, they are open on the top). Drop the axle and they will come out with the springs. By the way a 95 Skylark has the same mounts(if you have to look for them).

[IsaacHayes]

So you're saying the photos don't look bad at all? MY car is 100x worse than those photos. Those are not of my car but a car I might buy.
So the eastwood paint came off? The metal rear bumper is rusty on mine, but it's pretty thick steel...

Cool so those mounts do come off. I can clean those up I'm sure. If not I'll take those ones from you!

[Money pit Beretta]

That's cool Isaac, that's why I got them. Guess you don't remember that PM?
Yes, I don't know why the paint and the rust encapsulator came off. I did spray them both on not too long after I did the converter. I would say I should have let it dry more, but didn't have the time. I was doing my girlfriends car also and it was going to rain later in the week, so I was in a rush. That and we both had to drive the cars on Monday.

Be sure to check the inside of those mounts.

I used the trim tool that looks like a pry bar to get the bump stops out. It worked great. It's also very good for taking hoses off that have been on for years and doesn't rip the hose like a screwdriver. O'Reilly's sells them.
I thought you were going to get that 3400 Beretta. I know, you put too much work into your engine to buy that one.

[3X00-Modified]

Thats not that bad... better pics will definately tell the story better... How were the rockers? THATS the biggest test... if those are intact then the rear bar is typically ok too.

Those bumpstops are part of the upper spring insulator... Take that off and it's just a steel bump up there about 1-2 deep that centers the top of the spring.

Rust encapsulator only works in dreams... there is no way to encapsulate rust or convert it. Its all a gimic... They only way to stop rust is to clean down to BARE metal and treat from there to PREVENT it... other than that if there is still rust color on the metal the oxidation is there and it will continue to spread when exposed to water and salt and so on. I need to get under my pink car and ensure that all that I have done will hold good... I know some spots I couldn't get before but with my own garage now I can stand this thing and pull everything out from under it and do a better job. I never had the facility to work like this for extended periods of time.

This is what I had when I started for rust... It was all surface and no real bad bubbles. As well as the rockers.. I'm going to go deeper into the rocker area this winter when I remove the splash guard to ensure everything else in there is OK.



















Since we got our first snow this weekend, the car is now done for the year

[3X00-Modified]

Oh and my quick fix was clean up with wire brush and such, primer it and then use truck bed coating to coat it... Much stronger than ruberized undercoating.



some has pealed in the rear after I did it but that was mostly due to where it wasnt primed and I sprayed right on the factory paint so it just didn't stick well.

[woody90gtz]

I suggest "Zero-Rust" brand paint as your first layer of prevention. There are pics in my project thread. That stuff was designed for marine use (ie: salt water) and goes directly on the metal, no primer. You can top coat it after. You should have no issues where that stuff has been used, and your only worry will be the open cavities where you cant get any coating on them. Mine is sitting for the winter because I'm paranoid about it rusting from the back side.

(It's amazing how scrapping 5 years worth of time & money will make you paranoid)

[IsaacHayes]

Thank you guys. Jon, yours almost looks worse in some areas like the spring pocket at least from what I can tell with the crappy pics I have. I need to see if I can get the seller to take some photos under the rockers. He said the door jambs are not rusting through. BTW what's up with 95+ not having paint on everything underneath but instead just primer on parts, and what's up with the gas tank tubes rusting out? My 94 tubes are mint... LOL

What about POR15? I remember the Fiero guys raving about it.

[3X00-Modified]

mine was only bad in that area because that was after I scraped off all the paint that was there... it was only surface rust pealing the topcoat of primer/paint off... There wasn't any scaling that I was worried about. Trust me in comparison to what I'm driving its 100x's better and since it wont see salt again it won't get any worse.

[Money pit Beretta]

I have some POR15. I haven't used it yet, damn stuff costs too much to use on small areas. I'm going to do what 3X00 said, but will only use a wire wheel for areas that still have paint. I had some trouble with them on my 67 Camaro that I cleaned all the paint off of (everywhere). When the wire wheels hit the metal just right they can jump and really screw up the metal. So much so that primer won't stick. I only had a few small spots where that happened. I tried to sand them, used a black 3M wheel and a prep pen. Nothing got rid of it. I don't know how to spell it, but it's called burmishing. The black 3M wheel is best for bare metal or rusted metal. The only trouble with it is that it will fly apart when you hit any edge(protect your eyes). It makes the metal look like stainless steel. Move it from time to time(the metal gets very hot).
I spent two less years than you on that Camaro Woody and I also have that fear. I have four small pin head size spots on the 04 Cav bumper support and it made my heart sink.

[IsaacHayes]

I only use steel wire wheels, maybe you were using something else like brass that embeded in the metal??
POR15 once opened goes bad, so use it all at once. Also it requires a lot of prep stuff.
Rust Bullet from what I've seen (friend has it) and read looks to be better. I'd wire wheel the rust off, apply some rust converter/etc clean it more, then apply the rust bullet. Then paint if need be over that. Rust bullet is UV resistant (por15 is not) and it dries to a very hard epoxy like coating.

[Money pit Beretta]

I used steel wheels on a drill(also a 90 degree air die grinder)and the braided ones too on an angle grinder. The drill didn't do it as much. Buy one black 3M wheel and put it on a drill. Try it, I'll bet you will like it. It cuts down on the prep sanding that you have to do after using a wire wheel. It also takes the rust off faster. You will need a mask bad.

[3X00-Modified]

Any areas that I'm worried about this winter are getting sand blasted

[Money pit Beretta]

That is the best! Boy did I learn the hard way. There is alot of clean up with that, but it's better.