My car is new to me but it has seen some pretty rough times outdoors and is by no means a show winner. It has its share of mismatched finishes (primer black hood, repainted front fenders w/o IROC stripe, IROC stripe elsewhere, peeling clear coat everywhere). It also has several surface rust spots that someone tried to cover up. I'm not ready to repaint the whole care as I am working on the mechanical first (LS/T56/rear swap). My question is, what is the best way to handle these spots? Clearly someone already half-assed the fix once. I want to prevent the body from rusting as it is a solid body aside from the surface stuff. I do have a compressor and paint gun but have never attempted large scale painting of a car before. Picture attached is the largest of these spots located on the B-pillar, about 2" in diameter. Sorry for the rain drops but hopefully its clear that there is clearly rust in the spots. Thanks

Slice

 

Surface rust will turn in to fa full blown rust hole given enough time. Now's the time to stop it from spreading. Sand the rusty area and the area around it down to bare metal with 80 grit on a DA or similar tool. When you see nothing but clean silver metal, prime the area with good automotive primer. It should be okay for a little while but remember. primer is a temporary fix and if it's left without a top coat, surface rust will reappear.
Good luck with the build and keep everyone posted. We like seeing folks breathe new life into these cars.

 

Leave it alone until you're ready to repaint.

 

Scrub the rust with ospho and a red scotch brite pad then seal it up with some paint. Should last a long time like that