All,

I am ready to address some surface rust in my trunk. In looking thru a variety of threads on the subject I have a couple of questions.

First the problem area:
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These are some of the tools I have, various brushes (steel/stainless steel/brass), Wire Wheel, Sanding disks, and air tool.
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And from APS Tower Paint, two rattle cans, one of 1K Etching Primer, and one of 1K L80E Custom mixed paint:
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My goal is a short term rust abatement, prior to a more full scale respray in the coming years. I belive I have to:
-use the brushes and wire wheels to remove all the rust scale and paint from the area(s) I need to address (feather the edges to blend in with the good paint?)
-clean up the area.. What to use prior to laying down the primer, just denatured alcohol, or some more specific product for pre-paint.
-lay down a couple coats of the etching primer (how many coats?) , (How long to wait before color, 24hours?).
- lay down a couple of coats of the color (how many coats?)

- not sure after that what I need to do to blend or buff the painted surfaces with the original paint.

If I'm missing any important steps, please let me know.

thx, Turk

Looks like the Rust at the Back will go all the way though after you start

The brushes will knock the tops off the rust cells and leave the deep conical pits of the rust cells still active in the metal. You need some ospho or another acidic rust neutralizer to both etch some of the rust out of the pits, and to neutralize it to a blackened neutral state. If you don't, it's coming back real soon.

And I agree that the rust is probably deeper than you realize.

Someone was selling replacement panels for $75. a short while back. Try searching the classified ads to see if he still has any left

Found the thread, it was otto

Click Here

Thanks guys,

It sounds like I'm in for an unpleasent surprise... I don't think I'm ready for panel replacement at this point, but if it that has to happen in the future, I'm certainly willing to do that.

In the short term, can I clean it up as well as possible and then try neutralize and maybe encapsulate?

I've been reading mixed opinions about Por15, so I'm not sure what may be the best option.

I'm missing one of the plastic plug's in my trunk rail.. I haven't seen them for sale, but I'm hoping to find a replacement:

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Mark, every time I see your avatar, I expect to see you say "Boy, you going about it the wrong way, let me show you how its done!"

Maybe remove the seam sealer and have that rear most area sand/media blasted. Then you'll have a better idea on what's going on. Overall the paint looks real nice in the trunk. Another area where water gets in is where the outer seal meets the rear engine lid/trunk area seal. If it's missing dum dum by the wiring harness and other side, water will get in. If you plan on driving it in the rain after it's fixed, keep the foam pad out. Good luck with your fix. Nice car!

... I say, I say , boy ...

Do you have a sand blaster? You can take duct tape and heavy plastic and mask off the trunk, insert the sand blaster in the plastic and blast the rust without making a mess all over the shop and car. You don't even need a hood over your head to do it. When your done, unmask the area and vac up the sand. Then use your metal conditioner per the instrucitons of the product label before priming and painting.

3m makes a great paint stripping wheel that will take you down to bare metal quickly. Do the surrounding area to make sure you get it all. I like them better than the wire wheels. Once you've done that you can assess if you'll need to weld in small patch(es) that you can fab yourself, or find a repro or used piece if the area is big enough to warrant it.
Clean up the metal, treat it with ospho, weld, prime and paint.

Check yer longs, too.

I so agree. Even a cheezeball HF blaster (not the spot blaster, the 5 gallon tank type) is light years better than all the sanding/grinding/chemicals in the world. By your 5th job, you've spent that much on disks alone.

Yea, I spent some time looking at them today, may have to run over to HF, and see what they look like. My issue is space... Not sure my wife is down with my idea about adding a third bay to the garage... (Maybe I can start with a carport, and then just 'finish it'...)

Is this the one your talking about:


http://www.amazon.com/3M-9099DCNA-Large-Pa...r/dp/B00004Z4DV

Don't waste your time with silly wheels and wire brushes. If you have compressed air get a small sandblaster and do it like I said. It will be done in ten minutes and it will last an other 30 years. If your capable of doing the paint stuff in your garage and don't want to tackle the blasting bring it to a body shop and hire them to just do the blast part.

The problem with wheels and brushes is they do nothing for the rust in the pits. BTW: the wheel you posted is for paint removal. You could try to use it on surface rust but again the issue you have is too far gone for that.

Sorry, hope this isn't taken as a high jack, but I think it applies. What would typically be used to fill the pitted metal - assuming area isn't structural to warrant patch panel and rust was removed and treated. Would most of you cut and weld a new piece? Fiberglass or plastic filler? What about this stuff?

http://www.eastwood.com/metal-to-metal-fil...th-hardner.html

I don't want to mess with lead, but I feel I'm missing something...

The seam sealer should come off. I did the same repair and found rust behind the seam sealer.
I'm pro Por15. I have repairs that are 10 years old that I'm having a bitch of a time getting off during my restoration.
But like everyone has said they have to be covered. Anywhere it was exposed to sunlight it breaks down.

I don't have space issues, but I still push the hulk out of the garage for blasting. A light breese is an awesome advantage when blasting. Even if you have a seperate space for blasting, the dust in the air makes it real hard to see sometimes. This isn't a problem outside.

Oh, and if you stop by your local ACE, they'll have a whole inventory of rubber plugs. One of them will fit in that little hole.

I like Rick's method of cordoning-off the area with plastic. To retain visibility, stick the nozzle from a ShopVac in the 'bag', but use a variac to slow the motor down.