Brus

Thank you all for the positive comments. I'm relieved that it is done because they are spreading salt on the roads in my neck of the woods. Happy New Year!

I was advised not to use a clear coat as it might make the blend stand out more. The pics were a little difficult because of sun glare but I wanted to post some finished photos. Yea body work can be a pain but my main goal was to eliminate the rust...for good.

Thanks for the thumbs up! Here are photos of the fenders painted and back on the truck. By methos109 at 2011-12-29 By methos109 at 2011-12-29 By methos109 at 2011-12-29 By methos109 at 2011-12-29 I think it looks good now but will look better when polished out. Some of the issues I ran into were rusted bolts. The 4 10mm bolts used on the mud flaps sheared off with a 1/4 turn of a wrench. I had to drill these out and re-tap. By methos109 at 2011-12-29 The bracket on the wheel flare where they bolt to is only available with a new wheel flare which is $387.00 dealer price! I used stainless machine screws and washers here. The 10 mm bolts used on the bottom of the fender suffered the same fate as the bolts for the mud flaps. I could get on the back of these with vise grips and work the remainder out and chase the threads. I only broke one wheel flare clip and managed to find extra clips at a junk yard just in case. I also bought some more from the dealership to have extras on hand. I put dielectric on the flare pins so in the future it will make wheel flare removal easier. Job done!

Next I applied 3 coats of POR15 Silver rust sealing primer to both sides and covering the rust that has been converted. I filled the holes from the backside with 2 layers of fiberglass. The fiberglass made the lower panel much stronger and, more importantly, won't rust! The POR15 was also brushed on the backside of the fender where the wheel flare is attached to help prevent future rust. By methos109 at 2011-12-28 By methos109 at 2011-12-28 By methos109 at 2011-12-28 I used Tiger Hair instead of Bondo to fill and smooth out the outer surface of the fender. This was sanded as well as the surrounding area feathered out with 60 grit sandpaper and ended with 1500. I used a filler primer and this was wet sanded out to 1500 as well. By Methos109 at 2011-12-28 By methos109 at 2011-12-28 I purchased 2 cans of matching paint from an auto body supply store and spot painted the repairs and the match turned out well. Finally I will wet sand with 2000 grit and polish to blend the paint with the original factory application. Is a good idea to keep an eye on this area and keep it free of debris. There is hardly any drainage so I will use a vacuum to keep it clean and dry.

Lots of debris hidden in the fender that needed to be cleaned out. By methos109 at 2011-12-28 After grinding the rust under the wheel flare on the right fender this was the result. By methos109 at 2011-12-28 I used a rust converter to neutralize the rust. By methos109 at 2011-12-28 By methos109 at 2011-12-28 By methos109 at 2011-12-28 By methos109 at 2011-12-28

I'm still the original owner of a 96 XE and have been chasing rust on the body for the last few years. The lower front fender is a problem area as debris builds up behind the fender and does not dry out. Rust out is the result. I just purchased an 2001 LE with 87,000 original miles, well serviced and in very good condition. The only real issue with the truck is rust on the lower fenders so I wanted to get on it quick before winter really hit and it only got worse. By methos109 at 2011-12-28 Of course upon examination it was worse than it looked. I started with the drivers side fender and removed the wheel flare, step rail.... By methos109 at 2011-12-28 By methos109 at 2011-12-28 and then the front fender. By methos109 at 2011-12-28 By methos109 at 2011-12-28 The right fender was almost as bad and needed to be removed as well. There was considerable rust hidden under the wheel flare. By methos109 at 2011-12-28 By methos109 at 2011-12-28 By methos109 at 2011-12-28 By methos109 at 2011-12-28 By methos109 at 2011-12-28