This thread is relevant to my interests.

 

Update,

So I stopped by a couple different body shops to get estimates. One body shop said they wouldn't touch it. Mmmm, ok.

The second body shop said they would sand out the rust, bondo the bad areas, sand, and prime the area and leave unpainted for $472. Then I can go over it with Herculiner if I want to.

The third shop gave me an estimate of $1400 to cut the panels out, reinstall, bondo, prime, and repaint. I really don't want to have to pay that much to fix this rust though.

Really what I would like to do is find someone that will sand out the rust, bondo/fix any problem areas, then repaint for less than $600 but having some trouble finding someone who will do that.

 

Could always do it yourself. As long as that rust isn't all the way through yet (it doesn't look like it -- pop the door trim off?), you can take a grinder and wirewheel that rust off, put bondo on, sand it nice and smooth, primer and repaint. And it'd cost you pennies compared to what a body shop wants.

I'm doing my trucks back fender and the doors (like yours) sometime when its nice out. It'll be my first time as well.

 

Do you have access to a welder or know someone who owns a welder? If possible,do the bodywork yourself and have a body shop paint it. Thats whay I'm doing.

 

Umm, it is borderline. It doesn't look that bad but in some spots it is worse than others. The inside of the door pretty rusted out.

 

Unless your in love with experimenting and DIY, have a trusted shop do it. IMHO
on an otherwise nice looking truck like yours...bedliner paint will look silly and reduced the truck's value. Although it's been over three decades, I worked my way through college in a family owned collision shop and a DIY job is usually very apparent.

Not always, but frequently when we saw rust like that it's because the small drain holes in the door are plugged. And that means it's rusted from the inside-out. Not just surface rust. You can "herculiner" it but not even that will last.
Did you ask about getting a good used rust-free door and having it painted to match?

 

or you could just go to the scrap yard and buy two rust free doors for like $300..... look on craigslist or ebay.... bondo on the edge of anything is a bad idea...the stuff is okay to fill very shallow imperfections but that it and down that low once you get a rock chip it will suck up moisture....and thats if it doesnt pick it up from the door runoff water...in any case I still say herculiner has held up better than anything but the zero-rust as far as rust preventitive coatings i used and zero-rust is not ideal for outside of body panels...it doesnt really ever harden... plus the epoxy is waterproof...remember I removed 3 month old bondo from the same spot as your rust that had failed already even though the truck was repainted and clear coated so whatever you do dont use it there in the interior area of a body panel ok...when prepped right.

 

uh? you know this is a what 9-10 year old pick up truck right? its not a collector car.... The herculiner will add to the trucks useful life and help be a more suited and practical way to seal and guard the lower rocker against chips and rust.... he only needs to do the lowest 5 inches not up to the molding line where it looks questionable... hell thats the look on many never trucks with plastic rocker protector panels.

And the rusting from the inside out was addressed in my very first steps with I cleaned and sealed the lower interior panels with zero-rust (industrial por 15 equivalent) like I said mines been through a rough buffalo winter with lots of road salt and no sign of any rust at all...most body shops wont touch it because even welding in replacement panels wont do much to stop it from rusting again due to door design ..you have to seal the problem areas right most body shops just want the easy money work...I also mentioned removing all the rust and not hurculining over it...which would be very bad.

 

Yeah, I know it's a 10 yr old truck. But in otherwise decent shape with near average miles it's still worth fixing right. If bedliner paint on the door looks fine to you...OK. But on the OP's truck, IMO, it'll reduced it's value and is a poor ghetto alternative. And if it's not surface rust, it won't last long anyway.
Correct. Many good modern shops now are strickly Collision Repair Shops. Many won't do rust repair. First, it makes no sense to have an expensively trained collision tech doing that work. Like going to Med. School to be a High School Biology teacher. But regardless, it's labor intensive to it it right, and even then you still can't guarantee it. It's a no-win situation for the shop. They have to charge alot, can't stand behind it and invaribly the customer is unhappy when the rust returns and tells his friends. So many just don't do it.
Must easier, and cheaper in the long run, IMO, for the OP to just look for some solid used doors and have them refinished to match.

 

looks like you could prob poke thru that with a screwdriver.....