Rust battle and Plastidip chaser *Lots of Pics*

[Jester4kicks]

So if you saw my last thread, you know I was concerned about some rust that was forming where the lift gate handle chrome trim contacted the paint on the lift gate itself.

So today... the battle was on!

For those that missed it, here's the damage before I started.

Here's some better pics of the trim piece after I got it off.

I also found some extra rust at the very top, just above the toyota emblem.

The damage to the paint was actually worse than I thought, but thankfully, the rust didn't go all the way through the panel.

So the first step was to get the dremel out with a sanding wheel and get rid of the damaged areas. I knew I was going to plastidip, so the goal wasn't to make it look good, but rather just to get the rust knocked off to prevent further damage.

Even with the rusted edges off, the chrome was in bad shape throughout... plastidip was a must.

As for the liftgate paint, the biggest concern was stopping further rusting, so I just dremeled the nastiness off that too.

The rust seemed to have "leaked" into the surface of the surrounding paint. I used some wet sandpaper to try and clean it up, but I don't think the end result is going to be that appealing. I'll have to approach that later. Again, the goal today was preventing any additional damage.


First coat!

Second coat on!

Fast forward to 5 total coats and back on the liftgate!

I'll try to get more pics tomorrow with better lighting.

 

[stanleybb50]

Looks like I was wrong about the trim piece? If I'm reading/seeing correctly, it's steel covered in chrome and was rusting too?

This is an excellent post, and I appreciate you taking the time to document! Its also great to see what the blue Runner (like mine) will look like with a plasti dipped garnish there. Looks great!

Wonder if the gun metal color plasti dip could look good? Maybe I'll try that to be different?

Did u follow a guide or write up to figure out how to take it all apart/etc? If so, do you mind sharing what you followed? I have a Haynes manual - maybe I can follow that when I do this.

And I wonder if throwing a coat of clear over the plasti dip would be a good idea or not.

Keep us updated on how it holds up if you don't mind as well. Good work.

 

[blue4run]

I have the same issue maybe not as bad but I need to get on it soon!
Would like to see how you deal with the tail gate.
Keep us posted.

 

[Jester4kicks]

Looks like I was wrong about the trim piece? If I'm reading/seeing correctly, it's steel covered in chrome and was rusting too?

This is an excellent post, and I appreciate you taking the time to document! Its also great to see what the blue Runner (like mine) will look like with a plasti dipped garnish there. Looks great!

Wonder if the gun metal color plasti dip could look good? Maybe I'll try that to be different?

Did u follow a guide or write up to figure out how to take it all apart/etc? If so, do you mind sharing what you followed? I have a Haynes manual - maybe I can follow that when I do this.

And I wonder if throwing a coat of clear over the plasti dip would be a good idea or not.

Keep us updated on how it holds up if you don't mind as well. Good work.

I just browsed a bit on ggogle for general information about rust repair. It was generally all the same... sand it off, cut it off, etc... bottom line, get it off there and then put something over the area to prevent further exposure.

The plastidip instruction came from watching a few videos on youtube about plastidip, how to apply it, and how long to wait between coats.

The fun thing about plastidip is that there's very little reason not to just go for it. Worst case scenario, you spend some time peeling it off and you're back to where you started.

 

[Gatafly]

The rust you sanded off from the tailgate will come back unless you use a product like POR 15 over the bare metal before a top coat.

 

[stanleybb50]

I just browsed a bit on ggogle for general information about rust repair. It was generally all the same... sand it off, cut it off, etc... bottom line, get it off there and then put something over the area to prevent further exposure.

The plastidip instruction came from watching a few videos on youtube about plastidip, how to apply it, and how long to wait between coats.

The fun thing about plastidip is that there's very little reason not to just go for it. Worst case scenario, you spend some time peeling it off and you're back to where you started.

Cool Thx. I actually meant for a how-to on getting the hatch taken apart to get at the garnish. Was it pretty easy?

And don't worry about the other POR15 post - you should be ok. If it comes back, it'll be because of the factory design/rubbing issue.

 

[Jester4kicks]

Cool Thx. I actually meant for a how-to on getting the hatch taken apart to get at the garnish. Was it pretty easy?

And don't worry about the other POR15 post - you should be ok. If it comes back, it'll be because of the factory design/rubbing issue.

Oh, I just went off the Haynes manual. It's a little tricky, but not bad. There's a rubber grommet you have to remove on the left side in order to access the far left nut. On the right side, there's another grommet that the electrical wiring runs through. Disconnect the line, push the grommet loose through the hole, and pull the entire connector through with it as you pull the whole thing away from the liftgate.

And I guess I have no choice regarding the POR15. It's already covered up now, so I'll just keep an eye on it.

 

[Jester4kicks]

Oh, and I got some more pics today with varying degrees of light and angles. Pardon the dirty car.

 

[stanleybb50]

Looks good. I'll have to tackle this and the under carriage soon. Then off to Zeibart! I want this baby to last a very long time...