It was bound to happen, I do live in Ohio....

Tinworm...after a long winter of salty commuting, Im seeing some rust poke thru the paint over the rear arches on my 99 Infiniti G20. Its really light at this point, and I want to stop it ASAP before it becomes a real problem. In a perfect world, Id grind down the finish until I got clean metal, re-prime and spray the fenders. The issue is that its a 99, and Im sure the paint is faded, so the new spray wont be a match to a new mix of that paint code. Add to that its got a pearl coat in pretty good shape, so good luck matching that too. Is there anything I can do to stall the rust from the inside of the fenders? I just need this car to hold out a few more years and still look ok so I can trade it in for a grand or three in may 2014 or 15.

LINE-X the whole car.

See if maybe Ziebart can get in there, or maybe you can with spray bombs and that little straw.

It would probably be cheaper to buy a different car than have Line-X spray it, I was quoted $650 to Line-X the floor of my Miata.

Rare that rust goes from the outside in...Most likely what you are seeing is the advance scouting party of rust from inside the panel.

In reply to NOHOME:

agreed. Thats why Im wondering what I can do from the backside of the fender without wrecking the otherwise very good, bordering on great finish. Its been garaged for a majority of its life, so she looks pretty clean overall. Im sure someones got a shark-pee-and-gingerale-esque recipe for halting steel cancer in its tracks, right?!?...RIGHT???

Rust is impossible to fix properly. If you remove the rusty part and weld in new metal, you've got to get to the backside and treat the metal properly, or you'll just have rust again. There's a reason rust is called cancer. It never seems to be removed.

Personally, I can't see it being worth $1-3k now as a trade in, let alone in 3-4 years, no matter how nice of shape its in. Maybe in private sale, but around here I've noticed that old nissans and their luxury counterparts aren't worth a whole lot.

A new fender or cutting out the afflicted metal and welding in new are likely the only options to really fix it. But seeing as its a 12 year old car in the rust belt, there's a good chance that little bit of fender rust isn't all that's hiding. As far as paint matching, you're again right it probably won't unless you respray the entire car.

I don't know about the 99 G20, but I've had a heck of a time finding the correct shade of white paint to match my 91 Sentra SE-R. I have a similar situation, but fast forward 8 years. I've already replaced one front fender ($75 from NAPA for a primed bolt-on part). The other may need help soon. And various areas patched by the previous owner a couple of years ago have become visibly rusty again over this winter. I figure the body has another year (it did take a sticker), maybe two left in it. Which is sad, because the motor and other mechanicals are in excellent shape, and it's a fun car.

As for the paint, how about creating a two-tone effect and only painting the lower half of the car.

In my recent lookings on CL I noticed a number of G20's listed for sale in Ohio recently.
http://cleveland.craigslist.org/cto/2275951627.html
http://cleveland.craigslist.org/cto/2274741154.html
http://akroncanton.craigslist.org/cto/2275964697.html

In reply to skierd:

2 years ago, I was told by a salesman at a 'yota lot that with the mileage and body condition, it would window sticker at $8k on the lot, and maybe 4-5 for trade in. Im adjusting for a 6 year gap, so Id say $3k has to be the ballpark if she looks good and I keep the miles low. Right now its just on daily work commute duty - about 500 miles a month, so its staying low. I am sure that if I can keep it rubber side down for a couple more years, I should be good. A low mileage SR20 is worth its weight in gold, especially a week or 2 before race wars

In reply to jrw1621:

I thought about a 2 tone job, but on that body type, Im not sure it would look right. I am thinking that since the base is a creamy white, I could probably get a $500 Maaco spray job very close in color that would also keep the jambs, engine bay and trunk from looking mismatched, and just forgo the pearl clear. She needs a little body work anyway - a small ding in the rear quarter needs popped out, grind some metal, add a patch or 3 and prime it myself...who knows, but thats why I wanted the forums opinion.

In reply to jrw1621:

oooooh
ok... this one hurts:
http://cleveland.craigslist.org/cto/2274741154.html

that beats mine in mileage...I wonder what that salesman was thinking? ok, I guess I need to realign my perceptions with that pesky reality thing everyone keeps talking about

I am thinking I would just drive it into the ground and enjoy the ride.

If you can get to the backside of the panel, any of the rust preventives will help your case; wax-oil rust-guard or even good old engine oil.

If the backside is treated, the oily stuff seeping out the front will make the car look dirty in the area of the paint blisters since it gathers dust. However, it will slow the damage down considerably.

NOHOME wrote: I am thinking I would just drive it into the ground and enjoy the ride.

Prolly this. Its an autotragic, and I keep beating on the gas to force downshifts, trying to get it to grenade, then swap in a proper gearbox. eh who knows what I will do. Perhaps I can talk SWMBO into letting me snatch the SR20 out in a few years, sell the roller, and drop the mill into something lighter...

4cylndrfury wrote: I can talk SWMBO into letting me snatch the SR20 out in a few years, sell the roller, and drop the mill into something lighter...

Sounds like in a year or so, it'll be lighter all by itself.....

*NOTE: The following comes from someone who lives in Texas and thinks rust is what the yuppies pay extra for at trade days because of the "patina".....

Couldn't you take a couple of cans of rust paint (from Krylon to POR15) in aerosol form, some straws from old WD40 cans and just stick it in every crevice you can find and saturate the inside panels? It wouldn't stop the rust forever, but would probably slow it down enough to get a few more years out of it. For the part that faces the world, prime it with the same stuff and just use touch up paint?

This stuff supposedly works pretty good an isn't too expensive: http://zero-rust.com/

-Rob