Need Advice: Fender Flares? Rocker Panel Guards?

[kxdan01]

Hello fellow GM Truck Owners,

I have a 99 GMC Sierra 1500 Z71 Ext. Cab, I have had it for several years & really like the truck & plan to keep it for the foreseeable future. I bought it from the original owner, a family friend, knowing it lived an easy life, it currently has 114,000 miles & still looks very good, just as nice as my 06 GMC Sierra 2500HD Duramax which is an extended cab & the same color- basically identical, except for 2 issues, and I really want to fix these issues.

They are simply 2 issues regarding rust, the passenger side fenderwell above the rear wheel has some rust and the driver side has some on the bottom of the body on the rocker panel(I think this is the correct term) & it is about 2"-4" wide and extends from the rear of the drivers door & underneath the extended cab door area, you can't see it unless you are on the ground such as you would be while working under it, or if I'm washing it, etc.

I don't think any of the 99 Model Year Trucks do, not any I've seen anyway.

I'm a competent mechanic & I'm really confident in doing mechanical things, but I must admit, BodyWork has always intimidated me, I hate to paint & I'm honestly not very good at it, I've painted a few Motorcycles & they came out good but as you know totally different.

I'm wondering if it's possible for me to treat the rusted area above the rear wheel so that it won't rust any further, then I could cover it up by adding a set of Factory GM Fender Flares like my 06 2500HD & 03 Silverado SS, I know they'll fit & they'll cover up the rusty area, I've just got to treat it and/or seal it or whatever is Best so it doesn't spread. The rest of the entire bedside is perfect on the outside & no more rusty areas anywhere on the interior of the bedside/fenderwell. I know this isn't the proper way to do this, I should cut it Out & Weld in Another Panel but I don't want to do that because then I'll have to paint it & all of that, Please help me with a plan to kill & cover up this rust, I'd greatly appreciate it.

As for the rocker panel area, I've seen the rocker guards & "body armor" type of stuff made of diamond plated metal or something similar on lots of Jeeps & Trucks that like to go off-road, I'd be happy to add something like that to my truck's rocker panels, or whatever the proper term is for the lowest part of the truck's cab, I could add it to the bottom of the bed too so it'll look right if necessary. So, does anyone know of a way to kill the rust so it won't spread, I hate to cut it out or remove the rusted area of the body panels but if it's absolutely necessary I will, but I remember a painter friend telling me about something he used to basically kill rust & seal it so it doesn't spread, but I can't get in touch with him, so does anyone have any advice on this, and does anyone know of an Aftermarket Manufacturer that Makes something to put along my rocker panels, or if not could anyone suggest something I could go buy & fabricate it to make it work, I don't know how I'd bend it properly, maybe some advice on that too if possible please.

I know this isn't the most conventional way, but it's ok with me if it works. The Truck is absolutely perfect otherwise & doesn't have any rust anywhere else, I don't know how it happened, it was perfect when I bought it several years back and it's only had the rust for about 2 years or so,

Any Advice or Help with what I need to buy to fix this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for your help, I apologize for the length of this post, I wanted to make sure I fully described it, and I searched here & googled this type of stuff but couldn't find any results that were consistent at all. I really would like to solve this without cutting & welding, although I can do that part, it's the painting & clear coat, & blending it, etc. the paint on the truck is perfect everywhere else, just keep that in mind please. Thanks again and I look forward to any response(s) about this annoying issue! Thanks Again.

[RyanbabZ71]

Post up a photo

 

You could most likely treat with a product like POR15

 

 

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