Rust on rear wheel panel--suggestions on fix needed

[TAAM]

My 2007 4runner limited has rusted on the exterior panel just in front of the rear wheel. See photo/attachment. aside from some rust on the curved wheel housing (which I can remove), there is a thin strip/moulding that seems to need replacing but I am not sure about how to go about finding/crafting such a thin section (bondi?). Anyway...if anyone has ideas on how to deal with this. I would be open to suggestions. I have done some rust removal, repainting etc..on some other areas of this ancient vehicle. There is no such rust on the other side of the vehicle interesting enough. The door area is all intact with no rust either.
Anyway...open to suggestions. Thanks.

 

[ArthurKotb]

You can take it to a Toyota body shop and get an estimate. They will tell you what needs to be done. I just had all my fender flares and mirrors painted on my '04 and it was $2K. They had to remove the front bumper to get the front ones off, which added to the bill. (They said later models were built differently.)

The estimate is free and you'll learn from it.

 

[Hungryhawk]

If you are a DIY person I suggest wire brushing and scraping the rust areas. There might be rust under paint, so explore the visible edges of the rust with scraping.
Now the most important part-chemically neutralize the rust. Do not just paint over it.
I like Ospho (on line, Walmart etc) its a acidic chemical that acts as a rust killing primer. It does not affect sound paint on sound steel.
Let soak a day, repeat as necessary. I usually brush it on with a bristle brush.
Wear face & skin protection and apply where needed.
Supposidly not required but I use a clean nylon bristle brush and water as last step. Sometimes there are white deposits from the Ospho, which wash off. Let it dry then you can prime & paint.

 

[TAAM]

You can take it to a Toyota body shop and get an estimate. They will tell you what needs to be done. I just had all my fender flares and mirrors painted on my '04 and it was $2K. They had to remove the front bumper to get the front ones off, which added to the bill. (They said later models were built differently.)

The estimate is free and you'll learn from it.

Thanks. Yes...this is a consideration. Given that the vehicle is still pretty good shape despite 239,000 miles.
More information from the estimate would be helpful. I have some rust on the bottom of the tail gate too.
Thanks again...

 

[TAAM]

If you are a DIY person I suggest wire brushing and scraping the rust areas. There might be rust under paint, so explore the visible edges of the rust with scraping.
Now the most important part-chemically neutralize the rust. Do not just paint over it.
I like Ospho (on line, Walmart etc) its a acidic chemical that acts as a rust killing primer. It does not affect sound paint on sound steel.
Let soak a day, repeat as necessary. I usually brush it on with a bristle brush.
Wear face & skin protection and apply where needed.
Supposidly not required but I use a clean nylon bristle brush and water as last step. Sometimes there are white deposits from the Ospho, which wash off. Let it dry then you can prime & paint.

Yes.. I have done some simple body work before, so it's possible. Getting ALL the rust is such a challenge. I'll look up the Osopho material. I do know from experience that even a tiny bit of rust remaining will be come problematic. I was wondering about the strange 'bead like' strip that was on the top of the metal. Not sure how to go about replacing that.
Again, thanks.

 

[ArthurKotb]

Can that rusted part be removed? It might be easier to just get a replacement and have it painted. That's quite a bit of rust and like you said, if you don't get all the rust (a very high probability) it's going to return. I had some parts of a travel trailer that had rust and I spent several days sanding, priming and painting with Rustoleum. The rust was back in 2 years.

I just had all of my fender flares and the 2 mirrors removed and repainted by a Toyota body shop. It was $1900 but it looks really nice.

 

[TAAM]

Can that rusted part be removed? It might be easier to just get a replacement and have it painted. That's quite a bit of rust and like you said, if you don't get all the rust (a very high probability) it's going to return. I had some parts of a travel trailer that had rust and I spent several days sanding, priming and painting with Rustoleum. The rust was back in 2 years.

I just had all of my fender flares and the 2 mirrors removed and repainted by a Toyota body shop. It was $1900 but it looks really nice.

Well, I might give it a try on my own, but of course if that is not successful, then the shop might not want to touch it. I am intending to head to an autobody shop and see what they think. As you note...getting all the rust is/can be very problematic.
thanks again.
tim