Paint Job at A Stand Still

[jikelly]

So, I've had this whole summer to get my car painted and I have not done one thing to it so far. Probable I've been playing Halo too much but really that is not the reason why I haven't started on it.

It comes down to the fact that I'm a big yellow chicken. So I've done some paint stuff before. Previously I stripped my car on down and primed it with plans on spraying the top coat at a later date. Well that never happened and that was years ago. So now I need to strip the car on down again to deal with the rust that has built up. No problem I can do that, but when I go out and look at my stang my eye catches sight of the rust holes in my wheel opening and lower quarter panel and I just go in the house and turn on Halo.

The last time I filled the holes with bondo. Like everything I read said the rust came back with a vengance, and the problem areas are now much worse. What scares me is the proper way of repairing the quarters since I don't know the first thing about welding.

I do have a coworker who said that he would be glad to help me weld in new sheetmetal, but it will be a learning experiance for both of us. He is an art major and he has welded metal together to create sculptures.

Well what do you guys think I should do? Should I...
A. Take my car to a shop
B. Suck it up and try and do the repairs with my coworkers help
C. Go at it with the proven failure, bondo
D. Go play some more Halo

I'll add that I am not sure I have enough money to pay someone to repair the rust in my quarter panels. I have the primer already, but I have only another 400 bucks or so that I can spend.

 

[66StangFastback]

Im in the same predicament as you with my 66. Same rust problem except my rear quarter panels are bashed a little bit and 1 of them has had bondo laid on too thick so it cracked. That with a little dent in the back and a few door dings, we asked a paint and body shop about it. They said for them to do body work and paint it would be 6 grand. Needless to say were going to buy tools and do the body work ourselves, then have a pro paint it. I wouldnt try to fill the holes with bondo again, because I have heard if not sealed properly bondo just wicks up dampness and accelerates rusting. If you want it to get done I wouldnt play much halo. That leaves A and B. I would choose A first, have them give you an estimate on how much it would cost to get new panels and have them patched in. If its possible in the amount of time you want it to be done in then go with the shop. If its too much money Id say give your co worker a chance and see what you guys can do.

 

[bnickel]

jikelly, go to Graphic Paint and Body on 19th street just east of the interstate to get a quote on repairing the rust spots, my guess is it would be about the 400 you have maybe a bit less. he painted my car and does good work. another alternative would be to use fiberglass instead of bondo, just cut all the rust out first and treat the area with a rust inhibitor like ospho, you can get it at home depot i think.

 

[Redfire 05]

I went at it hard core with rust inhibitor, but I must have done somthing wrong. That said the repair did go 3 years before I started seeing rust again in the same area. That might be because I didn't get the car painted. Hey bnickel I will take my car by the shop you suggested tomorrow and get quote.

 

[jikelly]

Okay so I got a quote from Graphic Paint and Body. 4400 for a complete paint job, and 1400 to replace my quarter panels. The guy was really cool and I was impressed by his knowledge and the examples of work they had done there in the past. I would love to drop my car off with them for the repairs and paint, but my financial situation means that I can't at this time.

So I guess it's plan B, although there are some por 15 products that I could repair the holes in the panels with. I know welding is the proper way, but I could do a quick dirty job (it will actually not be quick at all) and start saving up to have it professionally done in a couple years.

Actually that was the initial plan when all this started so many years ago. I kinda screwed that all up by still being in school. They keep telling me my education will pay off, but I'm starting to think someone pulled a fast one on me.

 

[bnickel]

i was actually just suggesting to get a quote from Jim to do the repair on the quarters, just the rusty spots, he can do patch panels too. i use fiberglass on my floor pans and it really works pretty well, a lot better than bondo.