Hello guys. Great to be here, and thank you for reading. I'm looking for advice on how to repair rust spots on the surface of my paint job. I need to sand it down, repair, and paint. What supplies do you guys prefer? What grit sandpaper? I have a 5" Dewalt orbital sander, I was thinking: rust spots on misc areas on body bubbling up the paint, size of a quarter wax remover and cleaner 80 grit 240 grit etching primer filler 80 grit 240 grit 600 grit primer 3x paint 2x clear 2x wax Is that the correct order? Are there any tricks anyone wants to share? What paints are preferred? Is there another thread on here that has this info? Thanks everyone.
Somewhere on here there is a thread where Hugger describes his process. Usually there is a reason that a bubble forms, and it's not good news. Likely bondo/rust underneath it. Think carefully before proceeding. How far do you want to go? Don't wake up tomorrow with your car completely disassembled in your garage. It happens. Here is one thread with a bunch of info: https://www.v8buick.com/index.php?threads/my-plan-on-painting.287213/#post-2367720
Yeah, there could very well be corrosion behind the panel that is causing the bubbles. If so, you'll have to cut out the bad metal, replace it, and treat the repair to stop the corrosion process.
Thank you for the link, that's what I was looking for. Great info. What my end goal is to fix the little rust spots myself and then get her painted at the end. I'm looking to fix the problem area that don't need the metal to be cut out. I'll leave that to a pro (never welded anything yet). I was going to stop after the primer stage and just wait for the whole thing to be painted. But I like to tinker so I wanted to tackle the small rust myself.
Yes I wouldn’t be scared to try to sand out rust spots. If you can get to bare metal without breaking through the panel then it’s a win! Prime and bare metal after you are done each day or it will flash rust.
Hate to say this, but looking at the feathered edges of paint and primer it needs to be stripped to bare steel….. the whole car, there are too many paint jobs on it, I counted 8 paint jobs, your going to have issues with those paint edges reacting to the solvents of primer and base ( lifting) ESPECIALLY if your using a lacquer based spray bomb primer. On the issue of your bubbles, it’s caused by rust underneath the paint, a lot of times you can sand the paint to bare steel and think “ I’m good, no rust” but take a pocket screwdriver and poke at the area, chances are there’s a tiny pinhole in the steel, it’s rusted from the backside and made its way to the surface, and the moisture just keeps going, hence the bubbling, it’s pushing the paint off the steel. I’d wait till your ready to have the car down for awhile and have it done professionally.
You’ll need a grinder, welder, and 18 gauge metal sheet, and metal working skills first. For your surface rust you’re gonna have to strip it, dip it or sandblast it all off and start from scratch, there’s no blending can be done with that many old coats of paint and primer.
Mark Im on that......... Sand Sand Sand Sand been doing that for months.... I debated S blast,, The only guy that I would trust to blast tin he died,, I can blast iron, Tin is a different story.... Even thought about trailer it down to Salem Ore for a acid bath $2500 ... Sanding won I'll have more money into the sandpaper than I will into the rest of the material.... IIRC I got $2900 in the paint box,, $ 400+ in 80 grit and barely a dent in the paint....( I know the shop where my car is at is using some of my 80 grit on other cars also no biggy )...... At this point of time Im waiting for more Paper... I like the purple paper,, other colors I can get but they don't cut as well... FWIW the layers of paint on my car are the hardest 2 experienced body men have seen.. Not me Im not a body man just sander and the guy that says son of a bitch a lot......
I sand every car that I strip to steel, it’s a TON of labor, and a lot of paper, but it’s cheaper than blasting. Blasting IS nice for tight spots, but as soon as it comes back from the blaster you have to get epoxy on it ASAP. Blasting IS the way to go if you have the cash.
