Rusty repair question

[htbetz]

What procedure does one follow to repair an area of the paint that has bubbled up and exposed surface rust? The rust has pitted the sheet metal and when sanded leaves a pitted area. Is body filler appropriate? The car color is black so matching the color shouldn't be a problem.

[joehahn]

Bump

I am interested too. I have posted questionsabout paint, resprays, earl scheib, etc, but I am mostly interested in 1 bubbly spot and a few dime size spots just under the chrome trim under the targa rear window. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

Thanks,

joe 68 L

[not_sure]

If the metal is just pitted, you can use a body filler, but if there is a hole then it would have to be patched before body filler is applied. Remember, paint jobs are like everything else, you get what you pay for....

[john walker's workshop]

the rust that remains in the low spots has to be removed totally, or it will come back later. maybe a body shop near you has a small spot blaster that will clean it up. seal the rough area with a metal etching sealer like DP90 and bondo over that. (no bondo on the surrounding paint).

[Rot 911]

Keep in mind once you start sanding or scraping you will discover the rust underneath is generally twice the size of the bubbled up area. If it truly is surface rust with just some pits I would first make sure I have sanded the surrounding area down to good metal, using sand paper, wire brush, dental pick, etc. get out as much rust as you can see. Now spray with a rust neutralizer/primer and let that dry for at least 24 hours no matter how dry you think it is wait 24 hours! Now get some 3M glazing putty also called spot putty. What it really is is primer in a tube, the consistency of tooth paste. Can only be applied over primer, not bare metal. Use that to fill in the pits and bring up the area flush with surrounding area. Can also be primered over, recheck and fill where needed. Depending on how deep the area is the putty takes anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour or so to dry. You can use heat to speed the process up. Primer, sand with 400 wet/dry and you are ready for the color coat.

[joehahn]

Kurt, you make it sound easy. How can you get exact match for your car's color? My wife demo'd the front of her car and the fancy guy at dealer made it look perfect. I am still amazed. Kurt, Southwest between there and here is currently 30 bucks each way. I'll buy, you could come help a brother out???

[Rot 911]

Joe, if you do it on a regular basis it isn't that hard. One morning I backed my 72 MGB into a trailer hitch, leaving a good size dent in the trunk. By the end of the weekend I had pulled out the dent, sanded, filled, primered and painted. Can't even tell the dent was there. As for color matching, if the paint isn't over 5 years old (except red and silver) the paint code will give you a good color match. Anything over that, or red or silver, I take the car, or if the car isn't driveable, a piece like the gas filler cover, to my favorite paint shop where they have a computer color analyzer. They scan the car or part and a computer does a color match. Sometimes you get a perfect match other times it is close, but not perfect.