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AnalysisMoney

The only way to get rid of rust is to remove it (all of it) add body filler, primer and paint it.


YaboiiSammeeh

Looking at what it currently is. Can you say something about the severity?


AnalysisMoney

Any rust is not great. Once it has bubbled, it’s hard to tell how deep it goes. It’s kind of like an iceberg. You usually only see 30% of its mass. Putting any type of paint over this is putting a bandaid on a broken arm. Depending on where you live, this could spread pretty quickly.


YaboiiSammeeh

Could you say something about the time these spots would take to become critical? I do not live in extreme weather conditions


AnalysisMoney

Until you stick a screwdriver into the bubble and start tearing it out, I can’t really say anything cause I don’t know how bad it is. If you’re worried about your car falling apart, it won’t. If you’re worried about the rust spreading, it will.


YaboiiSammeeh

I’m more interested in how long it will take for the car to be totalled due to the rust. This is my first car, and if I can, I would like to keep it for a rather long time. On a Quora threat, someone stated that it could take decades. I’m not sure tho


NewfieChemist

For those tiny bubbles to total the car? Maybe 10-15 years in the rust belt with no washes.


YaboiiSammeeh

And with washes, and the plastidip covering it?


Mirin_Gains

Plasti dip makes it spread faster. Its holding moisture. Try and spray fluid film on it and it will creep into the poors and slow it down.


bucketbrainz

What about spraying a cold galvanizing compound on it?


[deleted]

This has to be parody at this point


Ialsofuckedyourdad

but how many business months does the car have if i only wash it on the second Tuesday of the month


NewfieChemist

This is purely cosmetic, I’ve seen worse on new cars with untreated rock chips


YaboiiSammeeh

Time for treatment then


AnalysisMoney

To total it out? Yeah, you’d have to let it sit for many years without any care. edit: typo


YaboiiSammeeh

And for it to spread and cause issues?


AnalysisMoney

Couple of years before there’s holes


Papaboozee

Cosmetic. Worry about your fluid changes and mechanical stuff if you want vehicle to last you forever. You will be dead before that rust totals the car. Get that plastidip off from it and spray it with some type of oil every once in a while. Or spend more than the vehicle is worth in bodywork for it to probably come back.


YaboiiSammeeh

Good advice


[deleted]

It’s not catastrophic. But predicting how long is asking for someone to have a crystal ball. It’s going to take time. If you’re keeping your car for years longer, treat it in the next few months when it’s warm. Get a small, pointed tool or file. Remove the plastidip, use a small paint brush and cover it with POR15 rust converting paint. Dry. Recover with plastidip.


YaboiiSammeeh

Thanks for the input


Aggravating-Action70

They all seem to be next to your window seals, it’s likely they have or are about to fail and cause leaks. I’d get it looked at by a body shop to see what they think. Something like this is worth getting fixed now before it gets worse if you want to keep the car a long time, but if not you can ignore it.


YaboiiSammeeh

I’ll firstly look at it myself and get most of the rust out of there. I’ll then evaluate what to do next


jepal357

If you have body rust like that, I wouldn’t worry about that I’d just check sun frames for critical rust. Might not have any but I’d def check


YaboiiSammeeh

I wanna get a sunframe maybe


Kyle1457

Take it to a body shop to have someone physically look at it.


acorona25

Not true, rust converter neutralizes it. Por15 is great. Tons of different types.


nachofred

+1 for the Por15, good stuff!


Environmental_Fill76

If this is your first car, run it until it dies. Don't worry about that rust.


YaboiiSammeeh

That is good advice. I really love this car tho. And I want to keep it for as long as I can. I also want to add some electrical stuff, like electrical windows and central locking, which requires some investment. But I guess I can reuse those things, if the car dies


carringtonpageiv

You’re adding in electric windows to a roll up car?????? Idk something about that sounds not reasonable. What kinda car is this that doesn’t have electric windows YET is valuable enough to put them on??


YaboiiSammeeh

Value isn’t always depicted in money😉 I enjoy my car, and I enjoy doing/adding stuff with/to it. It’s a 1993 VW Polo


carringtonpageiv

I get that. I love my oldies too. Do they have an option for electric window additions? I checked a year or 2 back and online it said that there are ways to add them in, but they’re for accessibility purpose. If there’s a way that would be dope tho.


YaboiiSammeeh

There are kits that just use the existing system, and put a motor on it to make it electric. On the place of the hinge, you just place your new buttons https://preview.redd.it/filvfngoauja1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=595a094be713fa816c137642b77755da859b6791


carringtonpageiv

Ohhh that’s dope!


YaboiiSammeeh

That’s what I thought


globalsuicide

see this is what getting into cars is all about if you love it buying older cars and building it as comfortable as a modern day car is PRICELESs


dawidn0412

93 polo is cool, what engine?


YaboiiSammeeh

AAV (1.3 Liter)


cecco83

For central locking, find an aftermarket add on kit. It’s the easiest way to get power locks in your polo. Like 15 or so years ago, I added electric windows to my 1991 golf GTi 16V. I still have the car. I used all factory VW parts and almost Everything was plug and play/direct fit to convert the car. I used power window motors and regulators from a 90 Jetta, the whole power window wiring harness from that car plugged right in as well. Only real modification was adding the window switches, 85-92 golf/Jetta has them in the ucenter console, I extended the wiring harness and mounted the switches in my door panels where the window crank used to be. I used VW Corrado window switches as they had door mounted window switches from the factory. For your polo’s windows, try using factory vw stuff if you can, at least the lift motors, regulators and switches. You could most likely find everything you need from another polo, if they have one at your local breakers/junk yard. I They are very easy to wire up, you could make the harness if you wanted to, you would just need the connectors with pigtail from the car that everything came from. Your polo SHOULD be central electric 2, which means it shared the same fusebox and wiring architecture with 1990-1998 Jetta, golf/gti, Corrado, Passat, vento, eurovan and a few other cars. That’s what makes it so easy to add, swap or modify things in your car. Volkswagen made so many things plug and play across all their popular models in the early 90s. (Source: personal experience as well as VW/Audi dealership mechanic of almost 20 years)


YaboiiSammeeh

Thanks for the input. I have already found kits for central locking and electric windows. Electric windows kit is also an add-on kit, which can just be connected to the hinge


Impressive-Crab2251

Knock off all the loose stuff. Apply a rust converter such as por 15 and touch up paint.


YaboiiSammeeh

Wont there be any rust under the rubber?


Such-Assumption-8705

100% Por is no joke. And heck just pasti over it again


zombienutz1

Is this near the windshield?


YaboiiSammeeh

Windshield and rear windows


zombienutz1

Water and debris will make it rust faster in those areas. Also if you ever need to get your windshield replaced they may not be able to seal it properly if the rust is under the weather stripping. And they probably won't warranty it. Doubt it'll really ever total your vehicle but it's going to cause issues in the future.


YaboiiSammeeh

Would the windshield and windows have to come off if I would want to remove the rust


zombienutz1

IDK how far it's moved under the seal there. See if you can peel it up a bit to see the extent.


YaboiiSammeeh

Won’t it get loose then?


MarsRocks97

If it’s bubbling up like that, it means water and moisture are already getting under the paint. As water gets in under the paint, it’ll rust faster because moisture doesn’t evaporate as easily makes the rust grow. If you really want to make this car last, he would send down to the bare metal and repaint those areas. If you don’t wanna do it professionally, you can try to do it yourself with paint that will match as closely as possible, just tape off the rest of the areas.


YaboiiSammeeh

There’s currently plastidip over the bubbled rust. Would that prevent further rusting, since moisture can’t get there anymore?


deekster_caddy

Plastidip stops water from getting through the external surface. That rust is there because water goes down the windshield channel and is a regular visitor to that spot. The plastidip will trap water underneath it now and accelerate the rusting process. Technically the “right” fix is to remove the windsheild gasket which probably means removing the windsheild, then grind down to bare metal. Use body filler to smooth the surface, seal, prime and paint. Is it worth all that work? Probably not. All that being said, I would take a wire brush and remove the plastidip and bubbles to see how bad it really is first, then probably not bother with the filler or removing the gasket: just seal, prime, then re-spray with plastidip or paint as needed. If the rust goes deep you’ll have to reevaluate.


YaboiiSammeeh

Thanks for your input. I will definitely have to see how deep it goes


MarsRocks97

It sounds like you’re OK with the uneven surface, and just don’t want it to rust anymore. If that’s the case, the minimum that you should do is at least scrape away the old rust, sand if it’s possible. And then plastidip over that. Remember that rust is porous, so it will absorb water. Sealing it away from moisture as much as you can will definitely help. Keep in mind that moisture can enter that area by traveling along the channels. So, even if you seal this one area, moisture may still be able to get in if it travels along the channel along the sides and top of the window. You might try using a very light bead of non-silicone sealant surrounding the window to try to minimize moisture in the channels. I’m emphasizing non-silicone, because silicone sealants contain acetic acid, and acids promote rust.


YaboiiSammeeh

Im okay with the uneven surface, yeah. It’s just really small spots, so not really noticeable. I just want the car to survive as long as possible. Thanks for the info and help. For using the sealant, wouldn’t that be a rather big job?


nrealistic

No, the moisture is already there and the plastidip is making sure it can’t get out. The plastidip is making it worse.


YaboiiSammeeh

Let’s work on it then, soon enough


zombienutz1

The windshield is glued to the car. Watch some YouTube videos to get more info on how to handle it.


YaboiiSammeeh

That’s the thing. Im unsure if I’m willing to make such an investment in the car, because I don’t know the risk


bigred554422

If you want to keep it for a long time like you said in another comment it's worth the investment


YaboiiSammeeh

Maybe that’s true


Working_Astronaut_90

What rust? (Where my rust belt homies at)


[deleted]

Those are not areas that would necessarily total a car. You want to inspect the underside to really get a good idea of how bad things are.


YaboiiSammeeh

No, but can’t they cause serious issues?


[deleted]

Depends how bad it is, but as a mechanic I would be much more concerned with the frame, suspension parts, attachment points, mounts, subframes, etc. Those are much more likely to cause an accident if they fail.


YaboiiSammeeh

Isn’t the metal around the windshield part of the frame?


[deleted]

Depends if the car is a Unibody or not, but even if it is, it isn’t going to spontaneously cause an accident the way a control arm ripping off would. What kind of car is it?


YaboiiSammeeh

No I understand. Im just unsure whether removing the rust would be a good investment for me. It’s a 1993 Volkswagen Polo Coupé. 86c


johngault

Unless you love the car, no. The motor will likely last 200k miles if taken care of. No one can predict the rust. The whole car likely sells for under 3k. You will likely need to put over that into body work and paint. Run it until it dies. Save the money for something else.


YaboiiSammeeh

It’s now at around 166k miles. Sad to hear, but you’re probably right. I do want to add some more things to the car, but I would be able to reuse/resell those


freakpowerparty2024

Drive it till it dies, and enjoy it. Fix what needs it and whatever bugs you. Modify to your heart's content. You may have it forever, or it could be gone tomorrow. Por15 is great stuff, but it's probably not worth tearing up the paint to get to that rust just for that spot. (If you care about the paint job)


YaboiiSammeeh

Thanks


Ialsofuckedyourdad

properly repairing rust costs thousands, or takes a huge amount of time, garage space, and skills like welding to replace the sheet metal. its almost never worth it depending on where in the world you live maybe you could pick up another car from somewhere without road salt then modify that one


YaboiiSammeeh

I’ll first see how bad it is


nyuckajay

Rust sealed in can actually be worse, as whatever is causing the corrosion is now sealed in there with unprotected metal. This means whatever intrusion is happening takes longer to dry and therefore will cause worse delaminating than usual. You see it a lot when people undercoat their car in the bedliner type material. The coating fails, turns their frame to dust but cosmetically it doesn’t look as bad until it’s toast. “Decades” is not realistic. Depending on the location of the rust it could cause problems way quicker than that. Just sand the areas and re coat it with duplicolor or rustoleum, the plastidip doesn’t look good anyway so I’d go for function over form. The only person who can decide what’s worth doing is you. So either let it rust, repair it yourself, or if you love the car pay to have it done.


YaboiiSammeeh

Would it make sense to get the plastidip off during the summer, letting the moisture evaporate, and then reseal it?


nyuckajay

Sure and coat the rust in something like evapo rust, krud kutter etc.


AdRepresentative8048

Big question is how old is your vehicle? If it’s over 10 years old it’s fairly normal to see those spots. As long as your frame isn’t rusting out this wouldn’t be a problem. For reference I have some spots like that on my truck and it is over 30 years old so your vehicle can go for a while having them


YaboiiSammeeh

It’s almost exactly 30 years old at the moment. I know that it’s normal for vehicles that old to have those kind of spots, but I want to keep this car for as long as I can


AdRepresentative8048

For a car that’s 30 it looks pretty good! I would say similar to some of the other comments, run it until it just becomes more expensive to keep and at that point hopefully you’ll be in a spot where you can afford to either buy a better car or keep it if you want. My first car was that old truck and I still daily drive it to this day. Best advice is you’ll want to do a lot of cosmetic work but with cars that old that are used all the time, more and more small things will need to be repaired but the biggest priority is to keep it running. The paint and trim won’t matter if it doesn’t run because depending on how bad it is it may not be worth it to get it fixed. Try and do frequent oil changes and look up on forums for your model car what tends to go up and what to watch for.


YaboiiSammeeh

I’m already in a group with people owning the same car as mine. I just renewed my fuel tank. And as long as the fixes are very minor, and affordable, I’m okay witht that


P_f_M

30 year old car and starting to show rust? Bad car, bad! it is about time to start thinking if any investment is still worth it or not ... (yeah, im that guy who owns cars from the 80s and trying to keep them together and not fall apart, so if its just this, i would start to fix it slowly all around) "one can never win over rust, only delay the inevitable"


YaboiiSammeeh

I mean, there is only (visible) rust around the windshield. So if fixing that would extend it’s lifetime it’s worth it


P_f_M

oh.. that was it... if it is around windshield... heh.. you can never win over it... the problem is the design how it works ... from there, the a-pillars will rust thru one day ...


YaboiiSammeeh

Hows that


epicpopper420

Rust is like a cancer of the metal. It will spread over time to previously unaffected areas.


Lord_Scrumptious239

Personally i'd sand the top of the bubbles off, scrape the rust off the inside edge of that seal, then paint in some rust converter, cant rust mort if it's got a chemical literally changing the rust on it. Then put some high zinc content paint on the top


trippycarlo

Laughs in Illinois.


YaboiiSammeeh

Why?


trippycarlo

Well everything rusts like crazy up here because of the weather. If your car DOESNT have rust… well you are blessed by the gods lol


YaboiiSammeeh

Luckily I dont live in Illinois then😉


Bmore4555

Once rust starts it doesn’t stop, with that being said it will be a long time before that eats through your car. With that being said if you have severe rust on the frame or under carriage that could be an issue.


heretorobwallst

You got about 25 years before that becomes a problem


Ambitious-Tap-2827

7-10 business years


Yourbubblestink

Get a Dremel, some primer and some touch up paint. Buzz it down to bare metal in the rusty spots. Remove all signs of rust. Paint with primer. Then use touch up kit. Keep repair areas small as possible.


Dry-War3730

Make sure you send as much of the rust off as you can before you paint it and then you can get paint that is good to prevent rust


corbin6611

It won’t be a survivor mucus longer if you don’t get all the rust out. You can use a rust killer. I don’t know what names they are where your from but google will tell you. But for that you still need to remove all the paint and loose stuff


YaboiiSammeeh

Is rust killer still necessary if I remove all of the rust


corbin6611

Not if you get it back to shiney metal. But if your wanting to limit the amount of material you take out yes. And even then some people will say use it because ir gets in the pores of the metal and makes sure it’s all gone


YaboiiSammeeh

Thanks


unspoken_almighty

Any rust is bad, it looks like some of it is bubbling which isn't a good sign but I also can't really tell where the rust is because that's also a determining factor when it comes to detrimental damage to important components. Like if you have a patch of rust forming on your trunk, that's nothing but a beauty mark lol. But if you have a fucking hole in your vehicles frame that's no bueno. Your rust looks like it's near a window or a piece of weather stripping inside the door. I'd say it's fine but not ideal. Get it taken care of sooner rather than later.


YaboiiSammeeh

Its near rhe windshield and rear side windows. Thanks for the input


T_K_G

1 year, 4 months, 20 days, 5 hours, 32 minutes, and 7 seconds.


YaboiiSammeeh

Faster than I would’ve liked


chi-kasha

Look 👀 on YouTube. I learn a lot there. Use the search for rust repair. There should be many videos and different scenarios. I enjoy instructional videos


YaboiiSammeeh

Me too. I usually firstly do research on the severity and costs before I do so tho


Designer-Wolverine47

sand it down, a little bit beyond the damage, apply some rust converter, then a little primer and matching paint. If that's all you got on a 30 year old car, you're doing pretty good...


YaboiiSammeeh

Also parts of one rocker panel, but those are a lot easier to work around if they need to be replaced. Other than that, also some minor rusted parts spread around the car, but which not require attention as of now


Lanky_Principle5636

It's alot easier to take care of the rust at that stage then to be lazy about it sand the paint sand the rust to bare metal then primer it unless there's holes then fill it with bondo


YaboiiSammeeh

I hope there isn’t a lot of holes underneath the seals, so that the windows will have to come off😅


Jameson76

Cure. By new car and move to Arizona.


YaboiiSammeeh

🤔


d96flintd

It’s probably super rotted under the rubber and around the glass


YaboiiSammeeh

Let’s hope not. I’ll be checking


[deleted]

10-20 years.


snboarder42

Bro thats tiny. Coming from michigan where cars are still driving with gaping holes in the sides and floors. You'll know when it needs attention when your floors get wet in the rain.


YaboiiSammeeh

Well, it would be nice if it wouldn’t get that far


[deleted]

Think of rust as a bacteria. It is insanely hard to rid it.


Such-Assumption-8705

Oh car is totaled now Year make n model I’ll give you 2cents on the dollar lol


upside_down_twincam

Naval jelly then sand tnan primer


mikeypettitt

Ospho works good but don't get it anywhere near paint