looking for a a DIY rust removal guide for sanding painting and clear coating old rust spots on cars.
i could give ya a quick rundown on what i do that has worked well for me:
first i cut out the really bad areas completely.
then i use a dremel and “grind” down the questionable area around what i cut out.
then i grab some galvanized steel(i have a crapload left if you need a bit if your in the area) and tack weld a patch in for the part i cut out. if you did not cut out ignore everything said so far except my second sentance.
from there i use a brush-on rust converter/inhibitor from pep boys…comes in a little white bottle and looks has blue/orange lettering on it. i use a dollar store toothbrush to paint it on. let the coat of it dry as directed and i usually apply at least 3-5 coats until its pitch black. once thats all good and dry i hit it with some 200 grit paper.
then i hit it with a thin coat of fiber-reinforced bondo.
sand that down with 80grit
lay a thin coat of glazing putty once im satisfied with the bondo work
let that dry REALLY WELL…prefferably in the blazing sun
sand that with 220grit, then with 400
spray with dupli-color high build filler primer
let dry and wet sand with 800grit
paint base color
let dry and wet sand with 1000 grit
lay clear
let dry WELL
wet sand with 1500 grit
buff it the next day for perfection.
i will make a quick thread on this with pics this week if people want me to, as im just into a rear quarter fix on a buddy’s 91 civic hatch. post up if anyone wants me to do this.
hey nick, woudl you mind me stopping by and u taking a look at the body. the one side has real bad rust damage and id like to know what you think i should do to fix it. thanks for the write up as well.
I’ve seen nicks (focusinprogress’) work on his uncles civic hatch rust and he helped me do my calipers which were all rusted b4 so just giving him a thumbs up on that stuff, he knows what he’s talking about, the civic looked great when he was done…
BTW… This is Jon Andol (In case u didn’t know) long time no see
the only type of rust that you don’t have to cut away is rust that formed on a bare panel … any rust that formed under paint and bubbled the paint will most likely come back
anytime metal has heavy pits, you most likely WONT get all the rust out of the metal, its dug into the panel like birdshot in a tree trunk, the best bet in these cases, besides replacement, is to scrape, wirebrush, grind off the highspots,
any patch panels should be totally welded in, except in areas where the panel was previously spot welded along a seam
example: replacing a cab corner - spot weld the pinch welds as they were, weld the other edges in solid, but do so in short stretches
best bet for welding is single tack welds until the seam is solid,
say you have a rectangular patch, tack the corners, then the middles of each side, then start splitting each section of open seam with another tack weld, until you have no seam left to weld
if you can, hold a wet rag around each tack weld AS you do it, the farther out from the weld the heat gets, the more that panel will warp for you. the other option is to have a blow gun nearby, or a second person manning the blow gun , as soon as your tack weld is done, immediately start cooling the panel so the heat doesn’t soak out further
if you rush, you’ll warp the hell out of the panel, no matter how carefully you try to rush
the less crown the panel has, the easier the panel will warp - middle of a door
higher crown panels will warp less - the aforementioned cab corner
best primer to use on rust repairsis a brand name epoxy primer
best way to seal a panel against new rust is to use said primer after grinding the welds BUT BEFORE you do any fillerwork … thats right, metalwork, primer, THEN filler, that a coat of primer over the filler
this has a very big advantage … filler absorbs water, ater causes rust. so what happens if your repair later gets chipped or scratched ? water gets at the filler, soaks thru and down to the bare metal, and causes rust again
anything else ya wanna know ?
did you really just say tack weld galvanized
^ why not, it is rust resistant and the only problem with welding it is the gas it gives off from the reaction when welding
anytime u replace a section of metal w/ galvanized, your supposed to remove all the galvanized coating, primer and paint dont stick to it well
o, thanx for the tip, i looked at the roll again and its too thin for my liking anyway
in this months Hot Rod magazine there is a good guide to DIY rust removal. They show the different steps for the various kinds of rust damage.
Oh yah, I had galvanized poisoning one time. I was sweating silver. lol
word. saw that ish. and the 302948209384092843 chevy parts.