RUST! Help!

[GMCMOOSE]

Hi folks, I have a 2000 GMC Sierra 1500 SLT. It’s beautiful & has many years of life left in her. I’m starting to see a tiny bit of rust/paint bubble in the rear wheel well & along the bottom of the door. What can I do to stop it before it becomes really noticeable?  Thanks

[MatthewRJensen]

Hi folks, I have a 2000 GMC Sierra 1500 SLT. It’s beautiful & has many years of life left in her. I’m starting to see a tiny bit of rust/paint bubble in the rear wheel well & along the bottom of the door. What can I do to stop it before it becomes really noticeable?  Thanks

Unfortunately, those are extremely common places where rust forms on this body style. They generally rust from the inside out on the rear fenders, and rocker panels/cab corners. You can use a rust converter and paint over it, but you may eventually need to do some body work and weld in new rockers, cab corners and sections of bed side above the rear wheel wells. It’s not a big deal, it’s very common on these trucks and as long as you have a welder, you’ll be able to do the body work yourself.


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[GMCMOOSE]

Thanks!

[reardiff]

Wow, you have a 19 year old truck and just starting to see a tiny bit of rust... Whatever your doing keep it up. I had a 2003 but the rocker rust got so bad I could stick my foot in it a few years back, now I drive a 2017.  Original owner and would have like to kept it a few more years for sure but once it starts it goes fast.   But I live in IL where the salt is absolutely horrible in the winter. 

[GMCMOOSE]

Yes, I know I’m lucky. I bought this truck from the wife of an old timer who passed away. This guy took immaculate care of it. It’s got 140,000 on it & I only do 6000-8000 a year. It’s got so much life left in it & I want to nip this rust in the bud. My brother has one same year & the rust is terrible. The wheel wells are all rusted & jagged. I don’t want to see that happen to mine. We’re in NJ so we get our share of salt. 

[09avalanche]

Here in Ontario rust belt to combat the tin worm alot of us who care have our vehicles oil sprayed or I use a company called Krown do a yearly spray treatment.I swear by this product if it's applied by a competent applicator.

[greatmizzou]

If you remedy it and keep it clean it wont spread that bad.  I knocked out the rust bubbles in my rocker, powerwashed the rust flakes out and hit it sporadically with a wire brush and wheel.  I then sprayed a ton of black rust reformer into the cavity and its been pretty stable so far.   I make sure to powerwash the cavity every time i wash my truck to clean out the gunk.

 

my wheel well started bubbling and I tried the same but not so good results because the wheel arch has layered steel.

 

Your rockers are sturdy but since its a full frame truck its not critical from a collision standpoint.   

 

Use this opportunity to ensure the frame is clean and reform rust there as well!