A little rust starting to show
 

I've had the car now for five years. When I bought it it had a low cost re-paint on it. Rosewwod Metallic (brown) which eventually I'll get around to do when I have an extra $8,000
In the mean time I'm beginning to see some small signs of rust appearing in places where the paint is chipping ie. trunk lid corner and top right fender.
Any suggestions on what I can do to to get rid of the rust and cover it up?

Regards
Barclay
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1981SC Coupe

Sand...Prime...paint...

I'll add POR-15 to that list. It works extremely well. I've repaired spots on my BMW and they've made it through salty Cleveland winters. Use the clear POR-15, it brushes on smoother so it should be easier to work with.

Mark

x2... What makes POR15 special is that it's not a conventional paint.

Unlike regular paint it cure because of the presence of moisture. That's why you have to decant an appropriate amount of paint from the tin and then re seal the tin as soon as you can afterwards... Preferably with some cling wrap between the lid and can to prevent the lid being clued shut forever. I store my unused POR15 in a fridge. They also make a thicker version that comes in a tube. Excellent for filling voids and cracks in tar coatings. I've even used it to repair vinyl trim that has cracked.

The history of such paints goes back a few years. Similar products have been used in the marine industry for decades. The technology is not new but now it's available to everyone.

It's a great product. I've used it on several different projects and I like the way it looks and feels after it cures. You can sand it afterwards and then use the tie coat primer to prepare it for a regular top coat. You do really have to top coat it because it's UV sensitive. If you don't it it will become powdery and whitish in colour. Although the protective properties aren't affected it can look unsightly.

I hope this doesn't sounds like a paid advert but over the years I have used many different paints to restore cars. By far POR15 is the best product for protecting metal. There are other products on the market that do a great job of protecting steel but only POR15 is the moisture cured type.

The name comes from the term "Paint Over Rust"... But to be honest I wouldn't feel comfortable painting over untreated rust.

I used Por-15 on the floor pans of my VW Things and 10 years later still looked great.

Barclay-

The answer depends somewhat on how large the spots are, how nice you want it to look and how long you plan to wait until you do it right...

If the spots are small; chip sized, I would suggest a light sanding, primer and touch up paint. Paint can be applied with the small Q-tip like swabs from Griot's Garage. After the paint has dried, sand it with 400/600 to make it flat. Keep in mind that while you can color sand the touch up paint it will still be noticeable that the paint was touched up.

If the spots are larger; coin sized, you will need to sand, fill, primer and paint. For small areas I like Metal-2-Metal as it doesn't absorb water and is harder than other fillers so you can use it on edges. You'll need to spray the paint, either rattle can or small air gun. Sand with 400/600 to smooth it out. Don't expect the color to match exactly. You'll likely see several spots of different color where you did the touch ups.

If the spots are larger and deeper than just surface; you need to cut the rust out, repair, fill, primer and paint. At this level, it would be best to paint a whole section of the car, i.e. the whole fender or hood.

I'm not a huge fan of the POR-15 products for the outside of the car as they are UV sensitive and can be tricky to paint over. POR-15 is fantastic for other areas of the car like the underside and trunk areas.

Good luck.

Its important to remember that if you see a little rust, its only the tip of the rustberg. Get on it.

And +1 for POR-15

I'll give the Por-15 a try

Thank you
Barclay