Idiots guide to body prep and defeating rust

[EEM]

I've never done this before and before jumping headlong into it, I want to know how to do it right. Basically my car needs new paint, pretty bad, the clear coat is pealing off everywhere. The idiot who had it last did less than a half assed attempt to paint it. Now, I don't have the money or the time to paint the whole thing now, but there are some spots I want to fix on the body to make it look a little better. There are a few rust spots that have gotten a little bigger in months time and I want to get rid of them before they get worse. So, please tell what I need to do to do this correctly.

Thanks!

 

[99StangKid]

To do it right you would need to cut the rust spots out and weld in a patch or the half ass way to do it would be to slap some bondo on her and get a couple cans of spray paint.

 

[EEM]

I don't think the spots I have would need to be cut out at this point, I think they're mainly still surface rust. Should I start with sanding? If so, what type of sand paper should I use?

 

[mustangdave]

It sounds like you have a very bad situation. If you have rust showing through the paint, then the car was not prepped properly for paint. Prep is over 90 % of a paint job. There could be major rust hiding under there or just a few spots, but the fact that the clear is peeling indicates that the painter didn't know his ass from a hole in the ground.

 

[68rustang]

sand it until the rust is gone, spray it with an etching primer, skim coat with bondo, sand it smooth, repaint whatever color you want. The rust does not need to be cut out unless it is pin-holed.

 

[EEM]

Any recommendations on what to sand it with?

 

[68rustang]

sandpaper, if it is light surface rust then 80 grit would probably be good for getting the rust out. If it is more pitted then maybe use a wire brush on a grinder.