Collision & Body Work
Rust repair near you
Rust repair on rocker panels, wheel wells, doors and box corners: bad metal cut out or ground back, then patched, sealed and repainted.
- Time needed
- More than a day
- plan to leave it
- Mobile service
- At the shop
- drop-off
- Shops in Canada
- 1
- doing this work
- Your price
- You set it
- shops bid on it
You set the budget
Shops near you send their bids
1 shop in Canada does this
Collision & Body Work
What rust repair is
Rust starts where road salt and moisture sit: rocker panels, wheel wells, the bottoms of doors, tailgate edges, seams around glass and the corners of a pickup box. A bubble under the paint means the steel is corroding from behind, and the visible spot is usually the smallest part of the damage.
The repair depends on how far it has gone. Surface rust is sanded to bright metal, treated, primed and repainted. Where the steel has rusted through, the bad metal is cut out and a patch or replacement section is welded in, the seams are sealed, the area is primed and painted, and the inside is treated with cavity wax. Filler and paint over rusty steel only hide it, and the rust returns within a season or two.
- For cars, vans and trucks
- Takes more than a day
What does rust repair cost?
It depends on your vehicle and the shop. Post a job with your budget and compare the bids shops near you send.
Get bids
Name your budget. Shops near you bid.
1 shop across Canada does rust repair.
What to expect
Rust repair, step by step
What the job normally covers, what to mention in your request, and the signs that it is time. Every shop says what its bid includes.
The job
What’s included
- Rust mapped by tapping, probing and looking behind trim, liners and seams
- Rusted metal cut out well past the visible edge, or sanded back to bright steel where it is only on the surface
- Wiring, fuel lines, glass and trim protected or removed before any cutting and welding
- Patch panels or replacement sections welded or bonded in, with the welds ground smooth
- Seams sealed and bare metal covered with epoxy primer before any filler goes on
- Filler kept thin, then primer, colour-matched paint and clear coat applied
- Inside of the panel treated with cavity wax or rust-inhibiting oil where it can be reached
- Photos of the rust as it was uncovered, so you can see how far it went
Checklist
Before you post
- 01Ask the shop to show you where the rust stops; the bubble you can see is usually the smallest part of it
- 02Ask whether the repair is new metal welded in or filler over rust; filler alone hides the problem for a season or two
- 03Have the frame rails, subframe, suspension mounts and brake lines checked; structural rust can make a repair uneconomical or unsafe
- 04Ask for the inside of the repaired panel to be treated with cavity wax or oil, and about rust proofing afterwards
- 05Ask what is quoted if more rust turns up once the panel is opened, and who approves it
- 06Ask what warranty covers the repair, including rust coming back at the edge of the patch
Signs
When you need it
- Paint bubbles, blisters or orange-brown stains along wheel wells, rocker panels or door bottoms
- Flaking metal or holes you can push a screwdriver through, most often behind the wheels
- Rust at the seams around the windshield, rear window, tailgate or pickup box corners
- Rust spreading from an old stone chip or a scrape that was never sealed
- A safety inspection or pre-purchase inspection that flagged corrosion to fix
Sound familiar?Tell shops near you what you need and what you want to spend.
Get bidsHow it works
Get rust repair done in four steps
You set the budget and choose the shop. Posting is free, and you pay the shop you hire once the work is 100% done.
- 01
Post your job
Choose the service, describe the job and your vehicle, and set your budget. It takes two minutes and costs nothing.
- 02
Shops compete
Nearby shops that do the work see your request and send their best offer: price, when they can start, what is included.
- 03
Accept the best offer
Compare bids, ratings and distance, then hire one shop. The others are told, politely.
- 04
Talk and get it done
Your conversation with the shop opens right away to agree on the day. You pay only after the job is complete.
Keep exploring
Related services
Rust proofing
Rust proofing with oil or wax sprayed inside body cavities and along the underbody to slow the corrosion that road salt starts.
Auto welding
Auto welding on exhausts, brackets, body metal, frames and trailers, at a shop or by a mobile welder at your driveway or yard.
Paint repair
Paint repair for faded, peeling or damaged paint on one panel or area: sanded, primed, colour-matched, clear-coated and blended in.
Full repaint
A full repaint in your original colour or a new one: prep, primer, base coat and clear coat sprayed in a booth, usually over one to three weeks.
Inspections
Safety inspection (Safety Standards Certificate)
Safety inspection at a licensed provincial station: brakes, steering, tires, lights and body checked, then a safety certificate issued on a pass.
Questions
Questions about rust repair
General answers for drivers in Canada. The shop you hire confirms the details for your vehicle.
Can rust be repaired for good, or does it always come back?
Yes, if every bit of rusted metal is removed, new steel replaces it, and the repair is sealed inside and out. Sanding and painting over rust holds for a year or two at most, because the rust keeps working from the back of the panel. Salt and moisture at the patch edges can start it again, so an annual rust proofing application is worth adding.
Is it worth repairing rust on an older vehicle?
Yes, when the structure is sound and the rust sits in outer panels such as fenders, doors and rocker skins. It is not worth it when rust has reached the frame rails, subframe or suspension mounts, because the repair can cost more than the vehicle is worth and may leave it unsafe. Rust that weakens the structure can also fail a safety inspection.
What is the difference between surface rust and rust-through?
Surface rust is orange dust or scale on metal that is still solid, and it can be sanded off and treated. Rust-through means the steel has been eaten away, leaving flaking edges or a hole, and it needs new metal. Bubbles under the paint sit in between: the metal beneath is already rusting, and by the time paint lifts the damage is usually wider than it looks.
Can I stop rust with a converter or rust paint from the store?
On light surface rust in a small area, a converter or rust-inhibiting primer can slow it if you sand the spot first and seal it under paint. It will not rebuild steel that has rusted through, and it does nothing about rust working from behind the panel. Treat it as a stopgap for a stone chip, not a repair for a bubble.
How long does rust repair take?
A small surface-rust repair may take half a day. Cut-and-weld work usually keeps the vehicle two to five days, because the primer, filler and paint each need time between coats. Extensive rust on several panels can take a week or more, and it takes longer if a replacement panel has to be ordered.
Something else to ask? Once you hire a shop, you talk to it directly in your request’s conversation.
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