I am restoring a car and have been doing a lot of research into this very subject. Most guys into auto restoration say that it is *always* cheaper to pay a lot more for a rust-free car than to try to restore a rusted body.

The only way to fix any deep rust is to either replace body panels or cut it out and weld in new metal. That is expensive work to have done. You need to get rid of all rust, and a bunch of it could be hiding under undercoating, paint, inner panels, shock towers, you never can tell without fully blasting the paint off and doing a full examination. If there is visible rust in the body there is almost always deeper rust in lots of nooks and crannies and some of it could be structural. Frankly, when it comes to proper rust repair it's usually cheaper to buy a new car.

For lighter rust the rust should be sanded/blasted/wire brushed off and then a rust converter like POR-15 (IIRC) can help. After the bare metal is exposed it should be primed quickly or rust will start again immediately (even if you can't see it for days).

For paints you probably can't go wrong with any of the major brands (Dupont, House of Kolor, etc) and each shop has it's favorite brand. A good auto paint supply will sell top quality primers in spray cans for the purpose of quickly sealing bare metal. Good paint is not cheap.

Reply

Quote Reply

Digg It

Del.icio.us