Does damage to bodywork cause rusting?

DocQuincy

I have a '13 Ford Focus. It has two or three very minor scuffs where you can see the white primer underneath. Surface area wise they are all much less than 1cm2.

Cosmetically, you can hardly notice them so I am not really bothered about getting them painted over. However, does this kind of damage cause rusting? If it does, I am inclined to look into getting the paintwork restored, otherwise I'll just leave it.

We do not live on the coast. I did have a car that had a rusted wing way back in the nineties (it was my first car; I bought it like that so don't know what caused the rusting) but I understand modern cars are more resilient.

Thanks.

neilmcl

It'll only rust when bare metal is exposed to the elements so if it's just the primer you can see then you'll be OK. Might be worth adding a bit of protection from a spray wax though whenever you wash your car. I'd recommend Sonax Brilliant Shine Detailer.

Richard53

If the primer coat is intact, you are OK. For that amount of damage, you could have it looking nearly new with a small tube of touch-up paint. Easy to DIY with care.

Ergates

In theory, if the primer is intact you'll be OK. However if a scuff was sufficient to strip the top coat it might made small holes/cracks in the primer too - which might let in water and... rust.

Probably better to *something* about it - bit it doesn't have to be as expensive as getting the paintwork restored. You can probably get some touch up paint or lacquer from Halfords (or online) for a few quid and do it yourself.

Or just be fastidious about waxing it.

EdGasketTheSecond

If its only on the bumper or skirts; they are plastic anyway so no corrosion.

Deastons

Three people have said it, so I may as well make it four.

If the primer is intact, you should be ok.

Ergates

As 4 people have said it one way, I guess I'd better say it the other:

If the primer *looks* OK you're *probably* OK, but it would still be better to put some kind of permanent barrier in place on top of that. There is a reason why cars bodies have multiple coats of paint, and it's not just to look pretty.

Money_Grabber13579

This may be of interest (or it may not be!) but I saw a Ford Focus a few days ago with a small area on the front where the top layer of paint had clearly peeled away. It definitely wasn!!!8217;t exposed to bare metal as the whole area was still the same colour as the car however, rust spots could be seen, which were starting to show through the rest of the paintwork. So I would get it fixed.

jeradon

Since they are only minor scuffs, you can use touch up paint.

DocQuincy

EdGasketTheSecond wrote: »

If its only on the bumper or skirts; they are plastic anyway so no corrosion.

I didn't think of that. The biggest one, although still small, is on the bumper. The others are tiny, just a couple of mm2.

Thanks everyone for the replies, I will look at doing it myself.

Is the stuff you get from Halfords and do yourself any different to if you went to a body shop? I am not talking about restoring the shape here but purely the paint on top.

The reason I ask is a friend had some similar work done at ChipsAway and it was £156 inc. VAT.

neilmcl

What colour is it?

The Halfords stuff is OK, probably better to get the touch-up paint directly from a main dealer though. Having said that, I've had very good results using the Chipex repair kits and it's a lot easier and quicker to use.

https://www.chipex.co.uk/