Is there any possible way to ensure rust will never come back under paint with classics or is the thought "rust free" just a pipe dream.

Reason im asking, is I had extensive body work done to my coupe 4 years ago and sure enough I have a very small bump starting near my rear wheel well. Its only noticeable to my self, but it still hurts to know its there after paying a mint for paint and body work.

Anyone else out there experience the same problem?

 

"Rust never sleeps."
Neil Young.

All you can do is slow it down by ensuring the paint is sound and by keeping the car's exposure to moisture at a minimum.

 

Kinda also depends on where you live and what conditions the car is exposed to, like salty roads or heavy humidity and rain. Here is CO, I have a 93 toyota truck, dd, that has zero rust on it, even on some bare metal, only very minor surface rust. No salty roads and yesterday the humidity was 16%, perty dry.

Even with my fresh paint job, I expect about every 10-15 years, a new paint job is in order. But then, I can perfect the body work as needed. You always notice imperfections even after new paint jobs.

 

If metal have been replaced in that area, it shouldn't rust even after 4 years, providing you keep the car free of salt.
Something isn't right with craftsmanship...
If that area wasn't rusted at the time of the resto/paint job, then it's not the shop's fault.
It usually rusts from inside out back there, so it's hard to prevent.

Good luck though. You might as well inspect the whole car and see how big the iceberg really is...

 

When I bought my car back in 1996 the first thing I did was use Loctite Extend Rust treatment. I applied it to my rear inner fenderwells inside the trunk and I even applied it to my floorpans inside the car. Have never had an issue.
I also never drive my car in the rain or snow, so that means a lot as well. See links below:

http://www.jcwhitney.com/LOCTITE-EXT...1250_10112.jcw

http://www.rshughes.com/products/079340_75430.html

 

This really puts things in perspective. Its true, nothing in life is perfect. The car is a California car but im 7 miles away from the beach and we do get some moisture at night. The car is garaged all the time so it helps.