- Apr 9, 2012
- 938
Hey guys! I'm thinking of starting a project this summer involving my Avalanche. Like most I see on the road in the Chicago/NWI area, most of the 02-06 Avalanches are riddled with rust cancer on the wheel wells. About 4 years ago, my paint above the passenger side rear wheel well bubbled up and its been getting worse and worse from there. It's gotten a bit bigger since Winter has started to pass (hopefully). So far this particular wheel well has rust, while the others are still in tact without any major signs of rust, however my driver side rear rocker panel has been fully eaten through and taken by rust. A small part of the driver side rear corner panel behind the cladding is starting to show some surface rust as well.
Basically, I know nothing about clear coat, paint, and body work. Are these things something I can tackle myself at home? The rocker panel repair doesn't have to be pretty since its pretty much covered by the running boards and rear door 90% of the time. However, I do want to try and see if its possible to patch up that rear panel. I did find an exact full body panel for that side from a salvage yard in Texas that I was going to try installing myself, but after seeing how many welds are used to hold the thing to the body I dropped that plan. Most of the body shops in my area gave either outrageous quotes, or told me to just let the truck rust out completely since its not worth putting the money into. Personally, I feel it is worth putting money into since the miles are low enough, and just not wanting to deal with another car note.
I've attached images of the problem areas, I'm well aware of the rust coming back but if I can at least hinder it that would be great. The frame has some ugly surface rust, which is another project this summer to try and clean it as best as I can before doing fluid film or POR it before winter.
Basically, I know nothing about clear coat, paint, and body work. Are these things something I can tackle myself at home? The rocker panel repair doesn't have to be pretty since its pretty much covered by the running boards and rear door 90% of the time. However, I do want to try and see if its possible to patch up that rear panel. I did find an exact full body panel for that side from a salvage yard in Texas that I was going to try installing myself, but after seeing how many welds are used to hold the thing to the body I dropped that plan. Most of the body shops in my area gave either outrageous quotes, or told me to just let the truck rust out completely since its not worth putting the money into. Personally, I feel it is worth putting money into since the miles are low enough, and just not wanting to deal with another car note.
I've attached images of the problem areas, I'm well aware of the rust coming back but if I can at least hinder it that would be great. The frame has some ugly surface rust, which is another project this summer to try and clean it as best as I can before doing fluid film or POR it before winter.