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how to take care of rust pits?

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Old Sep 23, 2013 | 05:53 PM
  #1  
Gsoleski's Avatar
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how to take care of rust pits?

I'm going to start grinding off some rust in the next few days and i'm wondering what to do with any rust pits if I find any. Body filler? is there a primer that will cover it in a few coats? That's the next question, what primer should I put on bare metal to seal it again? It only has to last till spring because hopefully then I can get the car painted. Also what type of disk for the grinder. I have one now that looks like a sponge that's cut in half or should I get the wire wheel type? Any input is appreciated
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Old Sep 23, 2013 | 06:42 PM
  #2  
ZsTransAm's Avatar
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Re: how to take care of rust pits?

Originally Posted by Gsoleski
I'm going to start grinding off some rust in the next few days and i'm wondering what to do with any rust pits if I find any. Body filler? is there a primer that will cover it in a few coats? That's the next question, what primer should I put on bare metal to seal it again? It only has to last till spring because hopefully then I can get the car painted. Also what type of disk for the grinder. I have one now that looks like a sponge that's cut in half or should I get the wire wheel type? Any input is appreciated

Personally I like to use a 36 grit disk on a mini angle grinder and then a sandblaster to get the rust out of the pits. I know some guys use the wire wheel, that can help too. If you have pits then you really need to use the sandblaster. If you don't get every speck of rust out it will come back. If you fill over pits that still have rust in them then the rust will grow and pop out the body filler later on. There are products that 'freeze' the rust that can be painted over... I can't speak for how well they work but I suppose thats an option of you don't own a air compressor for a sandblaster. You can use a little body filler or glaze to smooth out the area after you've sandblasted before you prime. I don't recommend and primer out of a can, its all garbage in my opinion. The best option for priming is a light coat of self etch primer and then 3 coats or so of 2k primer, though you could skip the self etch if you wanted to.
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Old Sep 23, 2013 | 10:26 PM
  #3  
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Re: how to take care of rust pits?

if it is not a top panel then I would sandblast it out or if it is a top panel you need to use SEM rustmort apply and wait 48 hours then sand with 320 grit sandpaper then apply epoxy primer it is water proof and will hold up for years if needed you can try to sand or grind them out but if you leave any rust in the pitts it will come back to bite you
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Old Sep 25, 2013 | 04:47 PM
  #4  
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Re: how to take care of rust pits?

Originally Posted by Mirror Image
if it is not a top panel then I would sandblast it out or if it is a top panel you need to use SEM rustmort apply and wait 48 hours then sand with 320 grit sandpaper then apply epoxy primer it is water proof and will hold up for years if needed you can try to sand or grind them out but if you leave any rust in the pitts it will come back to bite you
Becarefull with rust converters and epoxy primers they dont mix well. Rust converters have zinc that can bubble your epoxy.
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Old Sep 25, 2013 | 05:24 PM
  #5  
Mirror Image's Avatar
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From: Birmingham Alabama
Car: 1991 Firebird convertible
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Transmission: 4L60E
Axle/Gears: 342 Limited slip
Re: how to take care of rust pits?

Originally Posted by jmpowie
Becarefull with rust converters and epoxy primers they dont mix well. Rust converters have zinc that can bubble your epoxy.
Yeah I have been told that and they said if I was concerned let it dry for 48 hours not 24 I have been using it for 20 years never had a problem and I also wash it down with water before I prime
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