Rust on Jeep Wranglers tends to form around the rocker panels and bottom, rear areas. Jeep Wranglers are off-road vehicles, and so rust forms on their carriage and underside more readily than on road-based cars and vans. Removing rust can be expensive and time consuming, so consider a few different approaches before you start a repair procedure.
Cut out the rust with a metal-cutting wheel or, for small patches of rust, sand the area with fine-grit sandpaper. Wet sandpapers or even an orbital, electric machine can be used.
Coat the remaining rust particles with oxide converter to neutralize them.
Apply a fiberglass based body filler. Automotive Touch Up has a range of example body fillers that can be used in rust-free conditions, when you have cleared a patch for repair. They are fast curing, durable, reliable and permanent and sand down in 20 minutes. Their Premium Filler offers superior adhesion to sanded paint and primer surfaces and costs about $30.
Prime and paint over the area with, for example, a POR-15 (Paint Over Rust) paint. POR-15 is a specially-designed rust prevention paint which can be applied on top of rusted surfaces to stop future rust. Automotive Touch Up supplies the paint codes for all Jeep models, so make sure the paint you select is identical to the paint color of your Jeep to create a professional finish. Their list of paints is ordered by the year each car was manufactured. They supply the paint in ½-ounce or 2-ounce bottles. They also stock paint pens for smaller repairs, aerosols for increased spraying speed and spray gun auto paints.
Add a protective, clear coat to prevent future rusting and weather or salt damage. Rust Master, a UK-based company, offers a bespoke Waxoyl corrosion protection solution that you can purchase at a local repair shop. This works particularly well at preventing rust from returning to older vehicles by soaking into rust and stopping its spread to other areas.
In extreme cases, replace the entire panel. Although costly, this will eliminate the rust completely and return the Jeep to its original state if carried out professionally and to a high standard. There are several companies that offer repair panels at a reasonable cost, such as C2C Fabrications and JC Whitney, whose front panels cost about $65 each.
