rust lines?

I recently took off my running boards and there seems to be a rust line outlining where they used to be...It looks like they scratched through the paint and once they got exposed they began to rust. It is nothing serious, im not rusting out, its just a small rust line. Should i just get some touch-up paint from the stealership and cover it up? I also have several chips in the paint on various parts of the car from trail rides. Would touch-up paint fix these as well? Any advise from you "clean car guys" could help.

 

[bmxking5]

Sorry, I'm not a "clean car guy".

Do you have a different color paint on the rockers than the rest of the truck (black, tan, etc)? My opinion would be to Herculine the rockers. Since it see offroad, you can always use some more protection down there. Not to mention it looks pretty darn good too. JMO.

 

[slravene]

If i herc them, can herc ever be taken off? Also how do I do that (i know brush/roll it on) but do i have to scuff the paint? also is herc rubbery like rhino or is it hard/slippery like line-x? (and no, the truck is all one color, green)

 

[BigDave!!!]

if you herculine the rockers will it fill in those little holes or do you have to fill it in before?

 

[bmxking5]

IDK, I've never done it. I used "hole plugs" to fill my holes in though.

 

[BigDave!!!]

thats all i realy want to do is plug up those holes, what are "hole plugs"? i was thinking i was gonna have to use bondo but ive never done body work before...

 

[bmxking5]

I just got some plugs from a body guy at my dad's old work. They are like plastic plugs that fit perfectly into the hole. I really don't know what else to call them. You could try a hardware store or something and ask them for hole plugs, or small plugs to fill in the hole. Sorry for the bad explanation of them.

 

[BigDave!!!]

its ok because i really had no idea how to fill them in so i just kept my running boards on, even though i dont like them. im sure i could find something at a hardware store...

 

[MONMIX]

either method you end up with make sure you sand the rust off compleatly.

Just covering it is the equivilant to a screen door on a submarine.

 

[slravene]

i should even sand the dings? they are pinpoint size, and the lines are very very thin.

 

[MONMIX]

if you see rust, make it go away.
Just make sure you have smooth edges on the paint.
It will take a little bit of work, but well worth it.

 

[slravene]

hmm herculiner is sounding better by the moment

 

[Brett F.]

But what they are saying is that you will still need to sand the rust off first. Otherwise you will have rust eating out your metal underneath the herculiner.