So my Cherokee showed surface rust on the doorsill area and the bottom of the doors...I'm really scared about having to get new doors, and then a whole new paint job! I'm a jobless highschool kid but I can't stand to watch my baby rust... Does this look sand/grind-able and rattle-cannable? Or maybe sand as much off as possible and then use some of that "rust converter" stuff? HELP! I've searched but I don't know what to do about the doors/doorsills

 

Pics...Some looks worse than it is...Some mud/salt on there at the moment

 

The door is probably not worth saving. The rust starts on the inside then works its way out at that bottom seam. For the sill, I'd sand blast it then coat it in POR15. You could try to save the door by blasting the seam and coating in POR15.

You can get the POR15 starter kit for a decent price and will have everything needed to take care of the sill.

 

A lot of vehicles end up with rust there due to water always being in that area it seems. If you treat it now it'll probably be ok for a long time. I can't really see your second picture but for the bottom of my doors on the inside I sanded them down a little, sprayed a rust cover/primer over it and then coated it with a thin bed liner spray. Just make sure you dont plug the holes for water to drain.

 

Thanks guys, yeah...It just kills me that it's not warm enough to fix yet...And I don't know how many more times they'll need to salt the roads again before spring weather. Chance of a bit more snow next week...

 

Where do you live? And mine on the inside of my doors looked just like yours when i bought it a few months ago. Just clean and prep then paint. It didn't take me long at all to get the inside of doors painted. I did it in my parents garage since it was January when I did it.

 

That's encouraging news about the doors...Southern Maine haha...It is warming up finally...I've been ready for spring ever since we used an ice shack heater and like 20 candles for heat and light Christmas morning due to power outages for a few days...

 

well I mean I guess I can at least wash the Jeep today to see where I'm really at, as well as get any remaining salt off. I'll try to really spray the underside of the Jeep, too

Edit: Or not. It's gonna snow tomorrow and my parents won't let me wash it in the driveway because the driveway is a hill made of dirt and washes into the road...I (literally) don't have the money to go to the touch-free car wash, and it's going to be a snow/rain/salt mix tomorrow. Yay.

We tried to stop the rust halfway through winter but dad just wanted to prime, not paint (said it was too cold), so the rust doubled. He says it takes "a long time" for rust to spread or eat, and keeps assuring me that we'll fix it eventually. I just don't want it to get to the point where I can't hide it easily. Like I painted the rockers black to stop the spread. But I'm worried it'll spread up the front fender (it's starting right above the bumper) and up the doors (starting at the very bottom) to the point where I have to paint so much black that it doesn't even look like a Classic, or, since it's white, it'll show up like patchwork or cow-like.

Anyone know how much a full re-paint would cost at a shop? Or just cost to paint one front fender and the doorsills and bottom of doors and hatch?

 

I think your making this a much bigger deal than it is, rust is fairly slow, it's not a fast acting thing. And you can't afford a car wash? Don't you guys have those wash it yourself ones? If not why can't you just park it in the yard and wash it? Best thing to do to avoid the rust and slow it down is gonna be washing that jeep a lot. Just wash it as much as you can tell its warm enough then tackle the rust and fix it.

 

Well, he has said he's a poor high school kid, this is probably his first time dealing with a rusting car. Gotta give him some credit for being smart enough to recognize he has a problem and trying to get ahead of it.

 

Indeed this is my first time dealing with rust, as my parents just buy brand new (yet boring) cars every few years/95,000 miles. I can't wash it on my lawn because I'd get stuck in the snow...There's still probably a foot or 2 in some places...Also I live on a hill with a dirt driveway that washes out when it gets wet...Lol I can "afford" a car wash...But I don't have the money yet...haha I work for my parents on weekends and save some of the money they give me for lunch...That is my income for now. Probably getting a job within the next month or 2!! Oh and we're not "poor." I, personally, am pretty much broke, but my mom is a genetic counselor and dad supervises about 40 people at his job haha.

 

No offense meant, I said you were a poor high school kid, not that your family was poor. Fwiw, most high schoolers are poor, that's because high school is supposed to make you smart not rich.

 

Just clean the salt off and spray the inside door bottom down with oil. Once rust starts, its almost impossible to stop. I doubt its worth buying new doors and repainting. If your doors are already rusting, you probably have rust in other areas as well. Check your undercarriage. Brake, fuel lines, trans lines, rear leaf spring mounts.

 

I'm 17 and don't have a ton of money and this is what I saw when I pulled my carpet. In total I had 7 places where it rusted through. I cut out the cancer and used some sheet metal, rivets, and a good automotive sealant and patch it all up. I had several areas that looked similar to yours and what I did was cleaned it really well with a wire wheel and a flap disc in some areas to get down to clean metal and then used a rust converter/reformer on any pitting or unclean metal and then I bedlined the floor. If I were you I'd clean it up well and use some rust converter and the bedline it. It should last you a good while and shouldn't be too expensive depending on what tools you already have access too.

 

If you want to drive an old car, you should get familiar with the rust. It will be like an old friend who always calls you on a regular basis. Well yes it is frustrating at first bu you will get used to it. There are tons of things to do against rust, and fortunately cherokee isn't really that hard to work on.

Btw, black-white XJs usually look awesome, think about it. I painted mine black and I'm very happy I did it. No rust is coming back and the jeep looks way younger.