I have rust spots on the side,front bumper and along the bottom sides of my truck....can a guy fix this himself or does it need to be done my a pro?thanks

 

it depends on how bad the rust is, if its just surface rust you can sand it down and hit it with touch up spray paint just fine, however if it is deeper the only way to stop it is to cut out the rusted portion and weld in a new piece of metal, IMO its usually easier to just replace the panel in that case.

 

C'mon.... no guts no glory!!!!
It's not from a D, but anything is possible.
Bob

 

I agree but not every one has access to (or knowledge to use) a welder. In my opinion it's easier (and cheaper) to weld in (or have someone else do it) new metal than replace the whole panel

 

cheaper, maybe, depends on which panel it is in and even then, only if you can weld,

easier, definitely not, unbolting a panel and bolting in a painted one is about as easy as you can possibly get

 

it depends on the panel as for how easy it would be to take it off

 

very true, however getting a nice clean weld that is also strong enough to be smoothed in so it doesnt show is even harder

 

strongly agree with that one...reminds me of my welding days in high school.

 

Surprisingly it's not that tough to do with a little practice. In the case of my Mustang, there was so much rot on the unibody parts of it that I had no choice but to cut and weld pieces in. Pretty much any panel is available for it, but in the case of the doorpost shown the amount of work to patch was far less than the $$$ and labor to replace the post. It's also a hobby and labor of love, not a daily driver!

A cheap mig welder is good enough for the average user (mine is a used Miller) and I do a lot of fitting with paper templates before metal is ever cut. The tighter you get the fit the easier the weld is, and the less grinding to be done afterwards.

Still, if you can get a bolt on panel in good shape you ar FAR ahead of the game! Bottom line.....rust sucks to repair no matter where it is!

Bob

 

FWIW,

Welding is a bad idea, if you drive in the winter. Reason being, you heat the metal and burn the paint or other protective coatings on the back side that you cannot get to (rockers) This, eventually leads to rust again. Not an issue with replacement bolt-on panels, obviously.