Old Man Minimalist

My Jeep came to me with some damage to the liftgate. It appears to me (not a bodywork guy, but can paint) that it is more extensive then just straightening the bottom lip. I don't have a good pic of the entire part, but the bottom lip is folded in and there are dents around the license plate area and one up on the "post' that wraps around the glass.

My Cherokee is a Texas vehicle and has zero rust. The issue I have in buying replacement parts is that here in Indiana, rust is available free of charge. I found one that I thought was fairly clean but like most things, there are unseen demons below the surface. Once I started working on the rust bubble I was able to successfully uncover some perforations. Yippie!

So the question to the crowd is: do I patch this up, paint it and "send it"? Do I wait and see if a real body person can repair my original? Or do I wait until I can get an absolutely rust free one even if I have to travel back to a rust free area in the country?

Looking for the expert and not so expert input!

Oh, and my plan for this is to be my retirement vehicle so I am going through it bolt by bolt to make it mechanically solid. Mostly factory restoration but with some modifications. No big lift kits, no fancy, dancy suspensions systems and it won't be rock crawling or mud bogging. It may see some overland type travel, forest service roads and the like. As far as the body, though it is rust free, every panel is dented. I was originally going to fix everything and repaint it, but as of now I decided to leave it mostly as it, just do an extensive polish. I just don't like the liftgate and one front fender damage. The door dings, hood dings, rock and quarter panel gashes, I can live with.

Replacement liftgate rust:


Original dents:


Underneath view:

robsjeep

Often a rust free dented panel is a much better choice to install than a even slight rusty undented panel.
In your case the rust bubbles you uncovered are only the tip of the iceberg. What you have there is seam rust, where the folded over seam has rust going on internally. Sure, fix the few spots you uncovered BUT more will likely appear as usually much more of that folded seam has rust lurking under the fold, you cant see it yet, but is will sure as the sun rises, that hidden rust will rise out of the panel.

for your dents, gentle persuasion with a plastic or leather mallet, may be all you need to do, do this with a heatlamp to get the paint warm, as cold paint is more likely to crack when bending.

That rust lid is a can of worms, rust worms. The only way to stop its rust, is to cut out the lower metal near the fold and weld new in, a lot more work than your dent issue on the edge. of course if the frame of the lid is totally tweeked, that is also a big deal.
but that new rusty lid, it is a money pit, it is very likely more rust will poke through, 6 months, 3 years, that I dont know. but it has rot, and only real fix is to cut it out.

have fun

Old Man Minimalist

I have decided to keep the original one and if/when I come across a rust free liftgate, I'll change it. Heck, I may even put an exterior tire/wheel rack on it and cover it up! Not worth the labor and paint/materials to repair the JY one just to now have rust on a rust free vehicle.