Rust Bubbles - How Big of an issue?

[#41]

Contrary to opinion, rust does sleep when you deny it water and air. Keep the car dry and stop hose washing it which allows water to flow into the door and window seals where it will seep to the bottoms of the doors and quarters .....and the rust will slow way down. Then you can get to it when you get to it.

 

[Llamaback]

I would start by removing the interior panel and feel in there to see if there is any dirt/leaves etc. Then blow it out real good and spray eastwood internal frame coating in there if you want to try and hold it longer. Spray the internal frame coating such that it starts running out of the bottom pinch weld area. I bet doing that will give you 10 years of those bubbles staying like they are.

 

[dadsbee]

I had these on the Bird when I bought it in 1990, that grew ever so slightly over 33 years! What we found when we stripped it down last year... easy repair, but then again we were painting the entire side of the car!

 

[WileERobby]

I wonder if you could use a bore scope with a light and reach/see from the window opening or the trunk??

All you need to do is place a magnet, or a special magnetic tool that measures metal thickness, to tell you how much actual metal is in the area.

 

[YY1]

All you need to do is place a magnet, or a special magnetic tool that measures metal thickness, to tell you how much actual metal is in the area.

"Spot Rot" is one brand but since the late 90's they've been real hard to find.

I've bought two via ebay in that time frame "Auto Lak" is the brand and they are made in Poland IIRC of all places.

"Lak" is a Polish abbreviation for "lacquer" IIRC and the name suggests it's a tool to spot "thick paint".

 

[Mike D]

I'd say that is likely rusting from the inside out. My car is a California car and has similar. The water/dirt/condensation runs down the inner panel and collects on the back side where there is just a small gap between the inner and outer.

Mine is opened up right now, I'll try to attach a picture later.

 

[YY1]

Yep. under the quarter window is a terrible area for that.

Rain does get in between the seas and glass, and...

The inner surfaces of the panels are not sealed well with paint, sometimes only in absorbent primer.

...and the area between the quarter and rocker, where all that water collects is even less protected.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Yep. under the quarter window is a terrible area for that.

Rain does get in between the seas and glass, and...

The inner surfaces of the panels are not sealed well with paint, sometimes only in absorbent primer.

...and the area between the quarter and rocker, where all that water collects is even less protected.

Which is why spraying body cavity wax into the area is a good idea... It seals out air and moisture preventing any rust that's already there from getting any worse...

 

[Mike D]

Water and rat turds just sit in the tight areas and causes rust from the inside out. The rest of the rocker is great, but the back corner where the metal overlaps very closely is where the issues lie.

 

[JimKueneman]

The backside of that panel will be full of rust pits all along that panel. To do it right that entire lower 6" of the quarter needs to be cut off and then blast the trunk extension (I am sure it has pits to) and then a patch panel welded on. What you see is only about 10% of what is actually needing to be replaced to never have this problem again. I would just leave it until you are ready to fix it right. The only thing I may do is shoot some cavity wax down there to try to slow it down.

 

[CJG]

I wonder if you could use a bore scope with a light and reach/see from the window opening or the trunk??

He said it's the front fender in front of the wheel opening.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

He said it's the front fender in front of the wheel opening.

Actually he said....

"I've had this '68 just over 20 years. It was painted right before I bought it and about 10 years ago the first few rust bubbles started popping up. The car very rarely gets wet and the bubbles have been very slow to grow/spread, but there are probably 5 different areas showing a few bubbles. The car isn't going to win any car shows, but it presents very well. I'm hesitant to repair just the rust spots as I doubt the paint will ever match and the bubbles are hardly noticeable. I'm also not in a position to strip the whole car down and repaint the whole thing - at least not to the degree it deserves."

 

[CJG]

He said it's the front fender in front of the wheel opening.

Never mind, looking at the picture again it's not the front fender, it's the driver quarter ahead of the wheel opening, much harder to access.

 

[Runcharger]

Take 1 Wild's advice and invest in some full 1/4's and any other panels you may need now while they are still available. Then I wouldn't worry about it for a few years as long as it is parked inside and not left to the elements. In the future you'll have the panels available if needed when the car gets stripped or you can sell them if not needed.
Some of us have restored rotten sheetmetal when there was nothing much available from the aftermarket and that's why we give the advice that we do. No one ever stripped panels with rust bubble damage and then remarked "there isn't as much damage as I thought there would be".
You will find damage to the wheel arches and outer wheelhouses as well. Pretty much guaranteed. I would expect the trunk drop-offs not to be perfect either. Once you take a can opener to any car, the fun always multiplies.

 

[FASTEDDIE1960]

oh yeah, that'll do it.......

I recently spent an entire day removing nests from both sides, packed in there tight; no rot through though...... I was tempted to light the nests on fire, probably should have

a very small sample, that **** was everywhere

View attachment 1612638

yep that mouse piss is like acid

 

[dfrazz]

Instead of patching that area and taking a chance that it is worse than originally thought, or paint being a little off, I would just wait like @Kern Dog said since you plan to do the whole car eventually. There are likely other areas that aren't perfect and you can fix all body work with a great paint job in one shot.

 

[68BabyBlue]

I have never encountered a rotted rocker on any 66-70 B Body, unless it had been repaired or replaced....... there is some sort of galvanizing in that area

however, they do rot where it tucks in behind the quarter panel

lower fenders, doors, and quarters are obviously untreated

Chrysler Forward Look cars were notorious for rocker panel rust in the 50s. This led to the "flush and dry" panels of the 60s. My 1960 300F, and both my '62 and '66 Imperials had huge drain ports running the entire length of the bottom side of the rocker panel. When I daily drove the Imperials in Chicago, I used to stick a garden hose up the ports on a regular basis to eliminate any chance of road salt build up. I filled the usual trouble spots with motor oil. The later B bodies also have the drain ports, but they are much smaller.

 

[68BabyBlue]

Take 1 Wild's advice and invest in some full 1/4's and any other panels you may need now while they are still available. Then I wouldn't worry about it for a few years as long as it is parked inside and not left to the elements. In the future you'll have the panels available if needed when the car gets stripped or you can sell them if not needed.
Some of us have restored rotten sheetmetal when there was nothing much available from the aftermarket and that's why we give the advice that we do. No one ever stripped panels with rust bubble damage and then remarked "there isn't as much damage as I thought there would be".
You will find damage to the wheel arches and outer wheelhouses as well. Pretty much guaranteed. I would expect the trunk drop-offs not to be perfect either. Once you take a can opener to any car, the fun always multiplies.

Went through this with Baby Blue in 1985. No decent reproduction panels available at the time, and the driver's side of the car had small rust bubbles in all the usual trouble spots. Shop did quality metal repair, and then I filled all the repaired spots with motor oil. When the car was stripped down for new paint last year, everything underneath was still good, with the exception of some small rust spots where the front portion of the quarter panels were joined to the rockers. Right side of the car was in perfect shape with new metal because of an earlier sideswipe accident.

 

[1966Canuck]

I have a few bubbles and wrinkles at 58 years old but from 10 ft away my wife still says I am a real catch.Maybe I will save up for a full cosmetic do-over but for now I am going to let the odometer keep rolling.

Drive on brother.... Drive on !

 

[68BabyBlue]

I have a respect for the smarter members of the forum, eldubb 440 and 1 Wild R/T, but....
I have some small bubbles in my car that have stayed about the same for almost 10 years now. They are below the quarter windows in my '70 Charger above the rocker panels slightly. I don't drive in the rain and the car is stored indoors. Humidity isn't high here. I don't see the problem with waiting until it gets worse or when you are in a spot where you need to fix body damage and repaint another area. I'm holding off for that...If I get in a bender, I'll take the plunge and fix any and every flaw and repaint the entire car.
That is just me though....

I had the same experience with GTX number three, a never wrecked, original sheet metal car that was always garaged.