Lots of paint questions

[cbbest]

I have crossed the line...

Last Friday, I drank two 12 oz. bottle of courage and began a tear down of my car to prep it for paint. How fun.

Here are the details. My car is a white '69, very little rust (more on that later), very original (I'm second owner) and will be restored as a daily driver. My plan is to strip the car of all trim, windows, Etc, repair any rust, and deliver to a paint shop for body work and paint. Here in San Diego, it is almost impossible to get a body shop to look at a complete paint, much less and old car that might have "surprises" lurking under windows, lights, Etc.
Doing it this way insures my trim doesn't get lost or damaged, I can rehab the trim before it goes back on, and maybe save some money as well.

Some questions...

Can anyone recommend a good shop in San Diego or Orange county? Any suggestions I should look out/for as I get estimates on this? A 5K paint job is not an option right now.

I have pulled the fenders to do some small rust repair on the bottom rear corners. This may prove to be a bit tricky as the fender is double walled here. Anyone ever do this fix? Is it possible to find a rust free fender, or is this the norm for 33 years. If I do replace the fender, will I have issues fitting it? Other cars I have worked on replacement body panels never seem to fit quite as well as the original.

One fender also has some rust in the light bucket. The damage is in an area that will not be visible. I can buy a new bucket (app $100) and weld in. Worth the effort? I know some repop parts don't fit well enough to even bother. Not sure if that was the case with these cars, and if anyone has some experience here (good or bad).

Seals. Most of the rubber on this car is in remarkably good shape, and I am temped to reuse some of it. I have had some bad experiences in the past with repro seals, and not sure if I can afford OEM. Can any one recommend a source/brand they have first hand experience with and feel the quality is good? How about that guy always selling window seals on E-bay. Any good?

Surface rust. Car has lots of paint chips. I plan to sandblast, then treat with petrulium jelly? Good enough?

Body rot. As I mentioned above, not much but needs to be done. On a previous car, my approach was to remove any severly damaged metal, grind the rest of the area to bright metal, patch with a weld or fiberglass, seal it, and if possible, modify things so it doesn't happen again. Comments?

Any comments would be greatly appreciated...

Cb

[craign]

Cb,

I am sure the 912ers at www.socal912.org can help you out.

Craig

[wwwcad]

There are some good experiences related by 912 owners at the 912 registry regarding paint at http://www.912registry.org/restore/paint.htm

Check it out.


Bill

[Duke]

When replacing the headlight bucket, be sure to measure carefully the original position of the bucket otherwise your headlight ring will not fit properly. Some body shops do not understand this. 1/8 inch error makes a big difference.