Uh-oh... Should I freak out?

[maluminas]

Hello everyone!

So after a long Canadian hibernation (aka contactless-carwashes-that-do-a-craptastic-job-but-they-get-the-salt-off-at-least) I finally decided today to get my car back into shape. I started with washing the exterior, and what I found while drying it off scared me. It probably has a name, but I'll call it a rust pimple...



As you can see it is about 2mm big and right above the license plate. When I bought the car two years ago (new), the license plate was inside one of those cheap black plastic frames with the dealer name on them. While doing my first full detail I removed the plate and noticed that the frame was pushing the sharp edges of it into the paint So when I put it back on (without the ugly frame) I added rubber pads to lift it off the paint and I touched up the damage with a paint pen.

Well it seems now that my touch-up job didn't do the trick and rust has appeared. Now, this is my first encounter with the dreaded iron oxide and my idea of rust is that it's like a kind of fungus that just keeps growing if you don't kill it fast. So, how do I kill it? Can a paint shop fix it? Should I break down and go cry in a corner in fetal position?

Please help me save my 2 year old paint

P.S. The pic is also a pretty good example of factory orange peel isn't it?

 

[Agfan]

Yeah I'd freak out if I were you. It's time to burst into tears and stomp your feet. Crazy part is that it's like an iceberg. It doesn't look bad above the surface but it's much much worse underneath.
Good luck

 

[oldmodman]

Here's a cheap and not that difficult way of keeping it from getting worse.

1)Take a really sharp X-acto knife and cut out the bad area of paint, right down to the metal and just barely into good paint.

2)Get the smallest bottle of Eastwood's Rust Converter you can and put three coats of it on the bare and rusty metal.

3)Buy a paint pen in your color and paint layer after very thin layer until the paint is slightly higher than the surrounding paint. Then sand it down to match the surrounding factory paint with 3000 grip sandpaper. I cut the 3000 paper into small discs and glue them onto a piece of wooden dowel that is just a little smaller than the disc of sandpaper. After the repaired area is even with the factory paint then polish it.

You are done. And it should never re-rust.

 

[BillE]

Agree fully with "oldmodman"

Instead of Eastwood (which would probably have to be 'mail order'), check your local hardware store for Rust-Oleum Rust Reformer. Comes in a 8oz bottle for about 6 bucks (US).

Bill

 

[maluminas]

Thanks for the help! It's not as hopeless as I thought, I'll see what I can do.