So, I have my rocker panels off for inspection of my longs. On the passsenger side rocker panel there was some surface rust on the inside of the panel (you can wipe most of it off with a cloth.).

My car is not going for a full tear-down restore for another 3-5 years. In the meantime, I was considering painting the rocker panels. Can it simply be painted with a can of Rustoleum? Mine are black (flat black?)

I'm sure the proper job is to sand them down and completely remove all the dirt, rust and paint from both sides of the panel, prime and then paint. This is one of those "while I am there" jobs but I don't want it to turn into one of those "hey let's put the car on jackstands" jobs because you know that jackstands are like crack cocaine for 914's.

IIRC satin black is what most people use. Definitely easy to pretty them up with a can of spray paint. No need to take all the paint off but it really doesn't take long to hit 'em with some steel wool or sandpaper (outsides as least) and then a tack cloth just to get a good clean painting surface. You'll be glad you spent the extra 10 minutes or so.

Thanks. Yeah, just want to pretty them up a bit and get the insides of the panels painted since they are not painted from factory.

I had mine powdercoated semi-gloss black. Should never rust and debris doesn't seem to stick to it easy. It is also very durable resisting rock chips from stuff being kicked up by the tires. Had the bumpers done to match as well for durability reasons.

That's a great idea. Do you have any pictures to share?

I've used rustoleum satin black before, worked just fine.
I'm not sure if they have a color in their professional line that may spray better.

Sorry, no pics yet. I've had the car since 2008 and it has yet to hit the road. Still waiting paint. Just been gathering parts and preparing all the sub-assemblies.