I've got some surface rust along the bottom side of one of my doors, and a few bubbly spots around the wheel wells, and some other random spots. I plan on having this car painted, but that won't be until a few years down the road. Right now I'm more worried about the lack of cylinders under the hood.

I want to get rid of the rust and prevent it from coming back till I get the car painted, but I've read that if I just leave the spots with primer on, in time, the water will absorb in and cause problems. This car is kind of a project car and won't be driven on rainy days and certainly not during winter, but during summer, will be parked outside where rain can get at it. So, I want to fix this rust without having to worry about the primer absorbing in moisture. Should I spray on some cheap paint or clear coat over the primered spots, or sealer, or what? I was considering sanding down the whole car, then spraying primer over the whole thing, but shooting a coat of clear, so that atleast the car would be uniform and I assume water proof. Good idea or bad?

When I get this car painted, I plan on bringing it to a good shop who will do all the prep work as well as the painting, so should I not be so concerned about the quality of materials I'm using now? Right now I have some spray primer in my possession, can I stick with that or should I go with an epoxy form?

Sorry for the multiple questions and long topic, but thanks for any help!

 

Get ride of it, and buy one with more under the hood without the rust!! Rust is a never ending battle

 

No this car has sentimental value, besides I really don't think that it's that bad off, I don't need to get rid of it. Worst case scenario, I could just go find a rustless door panel and I'd be all set.

Anyhow, I think I'm leanin towards primerin the whole car and goin with a coat of clear over that. In a search I did someone mentioned doing that, and I think that fits my needs fine. When doing so, can I use the spray can primer or should I get the epoxy primer?

 

Look into POR-15. $15 and some paint & sandpaper should get a decent fix to your problem.

http://www.por15.com/product.asp?productid=301

 

if u want to keep this car then u should get out that rust now before it gets worse> in like 2 year it will be alot worse so get it all out now. grind down the rusted spots, use some por15, prime it, water sand it and just spray that area. as soon as u r finished that area buff it out. depending on your paint shape now and how well u buff it u might no even be able to notice the touch ups. but a lil off paint on certain angles is alot better the rust spots

 

My advice is to deal with it ASAP. Since its surface rust its not that big of a deal. Its when the rust goes all the way through that you have a problem on your hands. Use a wire brush to scrape the rust off. If it bubbling under the paint, scrape the paint off, then scrape the rust off. I know it sucks to mess up the paint but its better then letting the rust keep eating your car. After the rust is totally gone you can just seal the areas with some common spray paint. No need to go primer anything or buy any POR15. The goal is to get rid of the rust and seal off the area from oxygen. The rust on my 89 RS started as a small bubble right above the T-Tops. I kept telling myself I'd deal with it later (at that time I didnt know much about body work). Eventually the rust made its way through the metal and it got way worse. Bad move.

 

I use apoxy primer by ppg its water proof or por 15 whatever is cheaper. As for the wheel wells once u grind it out if there is any little holes and ne rust in between the quarter and the wheel well lip u have to cut it out and get to out or it will come back trust me. Then when your done i would seal all the gaps like the ones in the lip of the wheel well with paintable sealer.

 

Hey thanks guys. Yea I planned on fixing this ASAP anyhow, I just needed to know the best way. I guess now is the time to be thankful that the paint on the car in a lot of places is fading; it's not like I'll won't be ruining an award-winning paint job. I'm gonna go with the POR-15, put a layer of primer on that since I've already bought it, then throw a coat of spray paint or sealer on top. Thanks for the help!

 

What I plan on doing with my car is to do what my cousin did with his '52 Ford when he and I restored it (partially) over the winter. He didn't have to work with any rust, as far as i know, but he used and electric grinder with a cone-shaped wire wheel to strip off all the paint and take it down to bare metal. You could easily do the same with a rusty spot, like I will be doing sometime this summer.

He then primed and painted it after that. He stripped the entire running board this way, so there was no need for filler to level out the paint.

I plan to do the same sorta thing... grind down the rusty spot and surrounding area, apply a little filler to even out the paint level, prime it, then paint it.

 

definitly get the rust taken care of!! surface rust is better then a whole