In this video, I show a case study of how an inexperienced amateur was able to repair and paint the rusted doors of a 1998 Dodge Ram, in his driveway, with no prior experience spraying automotive paint. This is worth watching if you are considering accepting this challenge yourself, because you’ll see several examples of what not to do along the way.

This video clearly shows the good, the bad, and the ugly of DIY rust repair. The result is not perfect and you’ll get to follow along as I climb up the novice part of the learning curve. Professionals generally don’t fix these problems because old trucks are rarely worth the cost of repair, which leaves it to amateurs to experience how difficult this can be.


One of the most critical parts of the task is to have a protected area where problems of pollen, insects, rain, wind, dust, and cold/warm temperatures can mess up the job. I used an old carport tent that offered some protection from wind, though it was far from perfect.


In the end, it was a lot of work, I'm reasonably happy with the result, and I learned a ton about how this is done.