Was body work done on that door?

 

As far as I can tell, no.

I’m familiar with “Bondo bubbles” and this isn’t what’s happening.

 

If the paint is somewhat porous, it will rust from the outside in. Take a small knife/scrapper and see how deep the bubbles go.

 

I’ve done bodywork
before and really don’t want to aggravate the bubbles that are there right now until I’m ready to fully deal with it.

Chances are it will go away through.

You can literally pack in fiberglass and Bondo on lower body parts, but you can’t do that on a flat panel door at the midsection that actually has working mechanical and electrical inside of it.

So in an effort not to replace the door, I will probably use POR 15 to just convert and strengthen the rust that is there and then possibly build up a thin 1/8 inch layer of fiberglass over that.

It will be noticeable but perfection on a 20 year-old northern van is not something I aim for.

At least silver paint does not have any depth of sheen to it,..Unlike darker colors.

 

I myself have had a rust bubble about a foot to the bottom and left of my driver’s door handle, about the size of a dime. Sounds like the same as yours. In the six years I’ve had the van, it hasn’t gotten any worse or had the paint chip off and expose the rot beneath. Yours will be alright, I’d focus on sourcing that weatherstripping instead.

 

At least silver paint does not have any depth of sheen to it,..Unlike darker colors.

I myself have had a rust bubble about a foot to the bottom and left of my driver’s door handle, about the size of a dime. Sounds like the same as yours. In the six years I’ve had the van, it hasn’t gotten any worse or had the paint chip off and expose the rot beneath. Yours will be alright, I’d focus on sourcing that weatherstripping instead.

We 3 have silver vans. I've done a ton of prevention and repairs of the body 2 years ago. It's holding up.

SILVER is one of the top two colors for our vans.

My girl is a southern bell, but the north has taken its toll on her. I had to do something to not loose her. It all started on the bottom of the lift-gate and the lower edges of the front doors.

There are several silver generic paints out there that are nearly a perfect match or a match standing 10ft away.

https://www.chryslerminivan.net/threads/rust-repairs-using-marine-techniques-for-seawater-ships.181972

 

You're still guessing until you remove the door panel and take a look. Then the guesswork will be no more. Might be a piece of foam holding moisture? There's poor ventilation inside of door/body panels, are all drain holes clear. You likely need some Fluid Film in there to arrest further rust.

Good luck matching metallic silver. Over time it will look like a two tone vehicle. Ask any Body Shop. A trip to the boneyard for another door?

 

Not much of noticing a two tone in silver. Only attribute is the new paint has less reflective gloss. For a 20+ yo van, I can live with this.

When dried,

Used a 4-inch roller with the small tiny rolls. To get under the molding and mudflaps, used a Harbor Freight chip brush with a steady hand and only paint on the tip of the fine hairs.