Rust on my K1500
August 30th, 2010, 5:47 PM
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Rust on my K1500
I just got my hands on my grandfathers 1998 K1500. Its been sitting in his garage for the past 4 years and only has 65k miles on it since he bought it brand new. Any way, ive noticed a good amount of rust on the frame but no holes that i can see. I recently discovered rust bullet and would love to clean up the frame and get some rust bullet for it. The problem is that im an amateur when it comes to auto repair and would rather do this the right way by getting everything out of the way as best i can so i can really clean up the frame. Ive only had the truck for a year and already loving it and i want to make it last as long as i can. Anyone have some good advice for an amateur that would like to learn all he can about this truck and how to take care of it?
September 6th, 2010, 9:55 PM
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Well my friend, welcome to what I call the "Neverending fight against cancer".
I have a 1991 Silverado, and I too am trying to maintain it and keep it running as long as possible. My father bought it new in 1991 and sold it to me in 2005 with roughly 88,000 miles on it. It now has 134,000 miles on it, and the fenders are rusting some. I dremel it out, use bondo, primer paint, and cans of spray paint touch up from the Auto stores. This is a once a year process, that I generally do in the summer each year before fall so that it is at its best for winter.
It is a 4x4, and my other car is a Camaro, so it is my winter ride throughout the snowy months here in Ohio. I do have a few tips for you from my experiences that may help you make yours last long too.
First things first, if yours has those god awful chrome lips around the fenders like mine used to, get rid of them right away. Those do nothing positive for the truck. They allow dirt and water to sit between them and the fender and contribute directly the rusting. Had I realized this sooner, I would have taken them off years ago. They have five screws each and can be removed with a phillips head screw driver or drill bit. Might be a bit tough if any rust has set in already, but in the long run you are MUCH better off without them.
The fenders will look better without them anyway (assuming yours has them) they looked modern in the 1990's, but look old and tacky nowadays anyway.
Use a dremel tool and grind the rust out, even if you have to put some holes in the frame. Grind out all the orange and dark red stuff that comes off as powder. Get to where the edges are just clean metal. Then get some wire mesh like you'd use for a screen door and stuff it into the holes. Buy a bondo kit from the auto store.
Bondo is a gray paste that comes with a tube of red cream. When you mixe a few drops of the red cream to the gray paste it will set up hard within ten minutes. Because of this, you only want to use a little bit at a time. Mix it up on a board and use a plastic applicator, then fill the holes with it and smooth it out as much as you can as you apply it. This may take a few times of mixing and applying, depending on how large a space you are filling.
The next step is using a sander or sandpaper to smooth the bondo out to where it is flush with the fenders. (This is usually after you let it set up overnight) Then cover the whole area with a rust preventing primer spray paint. Let that dry for a few hours, then apply the color coat of spray paint that matches the color of your truck. I usually apply one coat, let it set for a few hours, then again with a second color coat for good measure.
At this point you'll be good to go for seven months or more without any troubles. Then at around 9 months to a year you might start seeing small signs of rust again. You just repeat the steps above. However, the repeat "surgeries" are usually less and less invasive each time and require less work each consecutive year as long as you keep up with it.
Good luck, and let me know if you need further instructions or help.
I have a 1991 Silverado, and I too am trying to maintain it and keep it running as long as possible. My father bought it new in 1991 and sold it to me in 2005 with roughly 88,000 miles on it. It now has 134,000 miles on it, and the fenders are rusting some. I dremel it out, use bondo, primer paint, and cans of spray paint touch up from the Auto stores. This is a once a year process, that I generally do in the summer each year before fall so that it is at its best for winter.
It is a 4x4, and my other car is a Camaro, so it is my winter ride throughout the snowy months here in Ohio. I do have a few tips for you from my experiences that may help you make yours last long too.
First things first, if yours has those god awful chrome lips around the fenders like mine used to, get rid of them right away. Those do nothing positive for the truck. They allow dirt and water to sit between them and the fender and contribute directly the rusting. Had I realized this sooner, I would have taken them off years ago. They have five screws each and can be removed with a phillips head screw driver or drill bit. Might be a bit tough if any rust has set in already, but in the long run you are MUCH better off without them.
The fenders will look better without them anyway (assuming yours has them) they looked modern in the 1990's, but look old and tacky nowadays anyway.
Use a dremel tool and grind the rust out, even if you have to put some holes in the frame. Grind out all the orange and dark red stuff that comes off as powder. Get to where the edges are just clean metal. Then get some wire mesh like you'd use for a screen door and stuff it into the holes. Buy a bondo kit from the auto store.
Bondo is a gray paste that comes with a tube of red cream. When you mixe a few drops of the red cream to the gray paste it will set up hard within ten minutes. Because of this, you only want to use a little bit at a time. Mix it up on a board and use a plastic applicator, then fill the holes with it and smooth it out as much as you can as you apply it. This may take a few times of mixing and applying, depending on how large a space you are filling.
The next step is using a sander or sandpaper to smooth the bondo out to where it is flush with the fenders. (This is usually after you let it set up overnight) Then cover the whole area with a rust preventing primer spray paint. Let that dry for a few hours, then apply the color coat of spray paint that matches the color of your truck. I usually apply one coat, let it set for a few hours, then again with a second color coat for good measure.
At this point you'll be good to go for seven months or more without any troubles. Then at around 9 months to a year you might start seeing small signs of rust again. You just repeat the steps above. However, the repeat "surgeries" are usually less and less invasive each time and require less work each consecutive year as long as you keep up with it.
Good luck, and let me know if you need further instructions or help.
September 16th, 2010, 8:49 PM
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Hey LoneCynic I just got a 97 Silverado with 186,000 miles that is in surprisingly good condition(Almost no rust except the tailgate) I just wanted to say thanks for the tip about the chrome fender lips. For some reason it didnt occur to me that they are the reason im starting to see rust bubbles on my truck. thanks again!
-Chris
-Chris
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