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I will like to start by disclosing that I have no previous body work experience what so ever.
I ask for advise/tips opinions on how to best focus to fix/save my Iroc. I have over the years lost two due to bad rust. I have been at fault for paying much more attention to the Engine/suspension than the body, and have paid the price for it.
I have attached some pictures of my car as it currently sits, to obtain some feedback. I am open to buy tools materials and what ever else is necessary.
To commence, I was going to get a metal brush and clean the areas as much as possible and spray with eastwood rust converter.
Just take the surface rust down to bare metal and paint it, holes=cut out affected area and weld new piece in. The windshield/ttop area, not sure other than weld a small piece in, anything other than that is a hack or a lottttt of work. Doesn't look to bad
Figure out where the water is coming from and fix that first.
Those square patches of jute are sealer covering the body plugs. Heat em up with a heat gun and they will mostly peel off with a putty knife. Any residue left over will clean up with mineral spirits and a few rags.
The black crumbly stuff all around the interior is seam sealer. If it's not already, it'll let water inside the car. It should scrape off really easy, follow up with mineral spirits. Reseal with fresh seam sealer.
For what a clean, zero rust body cost out here on the west coast, why would you bother? Just get a clean body, have it shipped to you, and prevent the rust from ever starting.
Thanks GD for the heads up. I have looked around but have not found many T5 TPI which is what I want (currently have)
As for applying POR15 should I sand the floor pans down to the bare metal? Also I purchased POR15 patch to fill the holes. Have identified 3 of them roughly the size of a quarter. Is that a safe bet to keep rust out? Rest of the floor pan and trunk is solid.
POR15 works really well within the narrow confines that it is designed to work. If you have very rusty metal, you can knock off the loose scale, slather on the POR15 and it'll keep it from rusting further. However, if you have a rust hole with paint around the outside, it'll probably stick to the rust around the hole, but you can bank on it peeling off the old paint.
Por15 is a little better than sticking some aluminum ducting tape over a hole and smearing some Bondo over it. It's basically a band aid. I ended up removing a lot of the POR I applied to my project. The "right" way to do it is to clean the metal around the rust until you get shiny steel. Cut away all the rot. When all the rust is gone, make patches from clean steel, and weld them in. Anything short of doing it right, is just a variation of tin foil and chicken wire covered in Bondo.
I will evaluate between getting a welding machine and giving it a shot, or going to a shop. Also I'm think us using the POR Patch around the plug holes to seal them good. Should I apply the POR 15 before the Por Patch or vise versa?
Should I apply the POR 15 before the Por Patch or vise versa?
I haven't used the POR Patch, so I wouldn't know. I'd imagine they have detailed technical data sheets for their products on their website. I'd read them and follow them to the letter.
I followed the directions on the regular POR15 can, without using any additional products, and based on results, decided it wasn't really for me. It'll cover up rust, and it'll stick to rust, I'm just not convinced it'll stick to anything that isn't rusty metal. Perhaps their prep solution or media blasting would help it adhere. I know that if you apply POR15 to shiny clean steel, or existing paint, you can spray it loose with a hose. But it did work great on a pitted battery tray.
