In this video, I show a case study of how an inexperienced amateur was able to repair and paint the rusted doors of a 1998 Dodge Ram, in his driveway, with no prior experience spraying automotive paint. This is worth watching if you are considering accepting this challenge yourself, because you’ll see several examples of what not to do along the way.
This video clearly shows the good, the bad, and the ugly of DIY rust repair. The result is not perfect and you’ll get to follow along as I climb up the novice part of the learning curve. Professionals generally don’t fix these problems because old trucks are rarely worth the cost of repair, which leaves it to amateurs to experience how difficult this can be.
One of the most critical parts of the task is to have a protected area where problems of pollen, insects, rain, wind, dust, and cold/warm temperatures can mess up the job. I used an old carport tent that offered some protection from wind, though it was far from perfect.
In the end, it was a lot of work, I’m reasonably happy with the result, and I learned a ton about how this is done.
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DIY'ers have the advantage of not having to rush, or be on a factory-production line. Also, DIY types can have the advantage of multiple product reviews ( or extra perspective from other repair channels ) for quality supplies, and procedures.
My favorite quick fix that lasts a long time uses freezer wrap paper and bondo short strand fiberglass reinforcement. Grind out the rust, cut the paper the length of the door, tape it on the door, cut to fit including the wrap around the underneath as well. Lay the paper down with shiny side up, mix enough fiberglass and harder to put 1/4 inch all over the paper, put the paper mix on the door and fold it under and wait. 5 or 6 minutes when the mix hardens, peel the paper off and you have a water tight fiberglass repair job. Drill new holes on bottom to let water out and finish up with regular body work and paint.
Thank you
would it faster to buy a used door?
I really appreciate you sharing this. I'm terrified of doing this same repair on my car but I gotta… oh boy. Thanks so much for showing this
very informative. thanks.
Genuine video of everyday life 😎
I use 2 piexes of angle iron clamped to a work bench and a 2 X4 to make bends in sheet metal.
Use a cheap Flat spray can black or white and speckle paint the door then block sand to find low and high spots in other words a guide coat.
But overall you did a very good job thank you!!
A very clever and modest man – well done – there should be more like you out there .
@10:05 paint the other direction, so the over spray slows down the vaporization of the thinner. Thank you for the great content!