Picked up this 84' TA with a damn near imaculant interior (with the small exception of the headliner, easy fix though). The exterior needs a rust issue fixed on the hatch. There are a few places on the car that have a small amount of surface rust. I'm not body work expect (internal engine my thing) but I guess it's time to learn. Whats the best method of removal for surface rust? This rust has not eaten through the metal.

 

Is it just the decklid? Find a replacement at the junkyard. You will probably have to take it off anyway to address any rust issues on the underside and reseal it.

 

grinder, 3m roloc wheels work good high grit sand paper 80 or lower. 80 g is a good grit to go to bare metal has enough scratch left behind for epoxy primers to hold well. 3m rolocs are good for tight areas, jst be sure to get it all off and the treat it with epoxy primer or a acid etch. products like picklex is a good converter to use also this would be on the bare metal. before primer.

jeff

 

I'm in the same boat, my blue '83 has 93,000 miles and is in great shape except for the paint thats falling off and surface rust everywhere.

 

Is that white one in the pic yours? It's exactly like mine with the exception that mine has T-Tops. I cleaned up the interior real good and replaced a few worn peices and parts, I also recovered the headliner. The back seats are riped a little but it's just bure to sun hitting it for 20 years. Body work begins this weekend, I took pics I'll be posting soon on my vehicle projects website. GM's are new too me right now. I just sold my 2 year Ford project. It was a 5.0L H.0 swap into a Ranger.

 

Sandblasting is the only way to get ALL the rust out of the little pits. If its dark... its rust. You can get a very cheap spot blaster siphon type for 20 bucks and litterally stuff the pick up hose into the bag of sand and blast the rust spots. Be careful though it will mess up your glass real quick so cover anything you don't want blasted. Silica sand 32 grit is best or otherwise known as "glass bead" and can be purchased at any construction depot for bricks/stone etc for five bucks per hundred pound bag.

If you grind or sand it will only remove the worst of the rust and not dig it out of the little pits which only buys you time before the exact same spots rust out only next time it will be worse cause there is less metal there after the first repair. Good luck.

 

Yep, except it's silver and not white. Post some pics of yours, i'd love to see it!

My blue one,



And yes the headlight motors do work lol.

 

Hah, when I got mine the one headlight worked and the other one didnt, I fooled with the good one and now it doesnt work. Go figure. I'll snap some pics this afternoon of the whole car.