6 Simple Answers: Is Surface Rust Bad On A Car?

Rust doesn’t suddenly appear on a car. It is a process that begins with exposed car body metal and moisture and air settling in the body to cause rust.

Rust starts small at the surface level before it escalates to scale and penetrates.

Rust is something every car owner should dread, but is surface rust that terrible on a car?

Quick Answer

As a general rule, surface rust isn’t bad on a car because the rust hasn’t damaged the car’s metal and structural integrity, making the car still safe to drive. However, it can ruin the car’s beauty and if not fixed on time, can worsen and become a problem.

Surface rust basically stays on the surface, is no threat, and does no significant damage to the car.

It’s not a structural problem on cars; therefore, you can keep driving your car with surface rust around and have nothing to worry about.

More details on this are discussed in the article. Continue reading to know whether you should leave surface rust unattended.

Table Of Contents

Is Surface Rust Bad On A Car?

Rust occurs on cars on different levels; surface, scale, and penetrating.

While rust on cars is a threat, are all rust types bad on a car?

Since surface rust mainly stays on the car’s surface, is it okay to keep driving your car?

Quick Answer

As a general rule, surface rust isn’t bad on a car and isn’t threatening; it often occurs as a result of paint breakdown on your car due to UV damage, climate, and other factors, and since it only exposes the surface, your car is still safe to drive.

Surface rust mainly ruins the car’s aesthetics; however, if left unattended could be a much bigger problem.

Some research was done, and answers were collated from different sources to back the above claim.

Why don’t you read some yourself below?

Sources	Is surface rust bad?
Popular Mechanics	Surface rust is just on the surface, appears in the form of paint nicks, cracks, and scratches, and can be easily fixed. Surface rust is never a problem structurally, and you can even dismiss it for a long time, depending on the metal’s thickness and alloy composition, before the rust goes beyond the surface level. However, you should correct surface rust as soon as you see it while it’s unthreatening before it worsens and mostly requires a paint job.
Car Fax	Surface rust is common on cars and occurs when a chip in the paint job exposes the metal. However, this isn’t a problem because it is relatively inexpensive to repair, requiring sanding, painting, and a clear-coat finish to cover the metal. Surface rust isn’t bad until the rust goes beyond cosmetics and affects the car’s structure. Until then, it’s safe to drive your car, but it’s best to fix surface rust before it escalates to another level.
Raybuck	Surface rust isn’t bad on cars and only affects the top layer of the car’s body panels, appearing as nicks and chips in the painting. While there is no problem with surface rust, treating it at this level is the most straightforward process, and you get more satisfying results treating rust at this level than when it spreads further and affects structural parts of your car.
AutoGuide	Surface rust is sometimes called cosmetic rust because it makes the car ugly, but it isn’t much of a big deal. As a little patch or paint bubble, it exposes the car’s metal to the air, water, and other contaminants, but it isn’t a cause for concern because fixing it is quite easy. As a whole, it isn’t much of a headache and a problem you can fix in your garage.
NAPA	Rust, at the surface level, isn’t bad and doesn’t compromise safety. The damage is mainly cosmetic; however, since rust is infiltrating, it can become a problem if left unattended.
Endurance Warranty	Surface rust isn’t bad, primarily cosmetic, and is often a chip in the paint job. When rust is still at this stage, your car is still in good shape; however, rust can deface your car and mess with its value.

As you can see from above, surface rust isn’t so big a deal. It appears as a chip on the car, paint bubbles, and exposed body panels.

At this point, the main problem surface rust causes are cosmetic; it ruins the car’s aesthetics.

This is why it is the first stage of rust, and since rust is in stages, letting surface rust progress isn’t in your best interest.

Sure, surface rust is safe, but it doesn’t mean you should relax.

Rust is infiltrating and is a silent killer that won’t stop worsening until the problem is dealt with.

While surface rust isn’t bad, you should attend to it very quickly, so it won’t cost you more.

In addition, surface rust isn’t a big problem, making it an easy fix.

Most surface rust can be treated at home and requires little effort and money to get rid of it.

However, if left unattended, it can cost you more than the money; it may threaten your car’s safety and, ultimately, yours.

Of course, you shouldn’t let surface rust stick around till then.

Should I Worry About Surface Rust?

As mentioned earlier, rust infiltrates, and surface rust, if left unattended, can become a bigger problem.

The issue you will have to worry about will go beyond the car’s cosmetics.

While you may be able to handle your discoloration or uneven paint job, it’s unlikely you can handle it when some of your car’s parts don’t function well.

Is surface rust bad on all levels, or is there a limit?

Quick Answer

As a whole, you should worry about surface rust as soon as you detect them on your car because further neglect can cause damage to the car when the rust progresses to scale and penetrating level.

Generally, surface rust is negligible; however, you shouldn’t do that because neglect may cause you to be unaware when the rust progresses.

Therefore, you should treat the surface level quickly and save yourself some unnecessary spending and risks in the future.

Generally, these are signs to watch out for to detect surface rust on time:

Bubbles In Paint

One of the signs of surface rust is when there are bubbles in the paint job on the car’s body.

Are bubbles on the car’s bonnet or at the bottom of the door?

While these may not look threatening, you should fix them quickly while they’re still on the surface level.

Water Puddles

Surface rust could be budding on your car if you have wet car floors from hitting water puddles.

Road salt is a thing, and this is a warning sign to always check your car after hitting water puddles. You can quickly detect surface rust and treat it quickly.

Nicks And Scratches

Another sign of surface rust is nicks and scratches on your car’s body panels. When there’s a nick or scratch, it signals that your car’s body is exposed.

Continual exposure can be a problem, but if it’s still a nick or scratch, you can quickly cover it up with quality painting, and your car is safe once again.

Exposed Metal

This could pass as the most dangerous warning sign that you should treat surface rust quickly.

When your car’s metal is exposed, there’s room for moisture, air, and other rust contaminants to attack your car.

Slowly or quickly, rust will attack and spread into the metal. Therefore, you should treat this with urgency.

Brown Stain On The Fender

Brown stains on your car’s fender also indicate that you should worry about surface rust.

This signals that rust is penetrating its way into your car’s body and needs immediate attention.

You shouldn’t wait till surface rust progresses to another stage before you fix it.

Fixing rust at that stage is the best way to save your car and prevent yourself from unnecessary repairs.

Do I Need To Remove Surface Rust?

Rust isn’t your car’s friend. If anything is a sign, it’s how it ruins your car’s aesthetics.

However, surface rust is often beyond aesthetics because it can lead to more serious rust issues. With that in mind, do you need to remove surface rust?

Quick Answer

As a general rule, you need to remove surface rust from your car because progressing surface rust can result in scale or penetrating rust and cause structural damage to your car.

The beginning of car rust problems starts at the surface level; therefore, you need to curb that quickly to prevent serious problems.

Here are ways on how to remove surface rust on your car:

Sand off the rusty part and cover it with paint.
Use a rust remover or inhibitor on the rusty area.
Use a body filler to cover up dents and holes.
Always seal off exposed metal with primer and paint, and wax the car for optimum protection.

Conclusion

Surface rust isn’t problematic at first, but it isn’t a pass for you to neglect it.

If you do, it can escalate to scale or penetrating level and cause structural damage to your car that will cost you money to fix.

Therefore, whenever you notice surface rust on your car, you should promptly fix it, and protect your car from further rust attack, because while surface rust may not look harmful, it’s the beginning of more serious rust problems.

Key Takeaways:

Surface rust isn’t bad.
Surface rust is mainly cosmetic.
Surface rust can progress to scale and penetrating stages if not removed.
Exposed metal, paint bubbles, water puddles, irregular painting, and brown stains on the fender are signs of surface rust.
Surface rust can be fixed easily at home.