The Steps To Body Work and Paint Prep
- Thread starter 85 Cutlass Brougham
- Start date
Could you tell me what to do with surface rust when I have no holes? My car looks like its been sanding itself for years as the paint is dry, flat and in some places, completely oxidized. What worries me is the surface rust on the roof edges, over the doors, and various other places. It looks very thin but I still dont want it to return by covering it with something else. I assume I'll need to remover all rust and cover with a POR15 type product, then sand, seal, prime. Any help would be great. Thanks.
What do you do with all of the plastic filler panels that have lost their shape. Mine are starting to have a nice wave effect going on with them.
As for sources of new covers, I don't know of any. You would have to check Ebay for those.
Surface rust needs to be sanded down to bare metal, then treated with acid or Armex blasting to get down to clean metal before priming with etching primer. Don't sand blast the exterior metal because sand builds too much heat and will warp the steel. Which to use depends on how much rust there is. From what it sounds like, you will need to bare metal strip the car in those places because it is likely bad lacquer paint that is causing the issue. I would stay away from POR 15 on exterior surfaces as it is impossible to work with once it dries, and would make the new paint look bad.
Good luck on wavy plastics. I have no way of making them straight again except for replacement. If it's just the fillers like on a Regal, you could try a set of fiberglass replacements and work on getting them to fit well. They would look good, but would also crack if you hit something instead of flexing like stock. I basically count on the fact that they are never straight when new to make them look ok. People do not expect wave-free plastics on these cars, so they are visually acceptable in crummy condition.
Surface rust needs to be sanded down to bare metal, then treated with acid or Armex blasting to get down to clean metal before priming with etching primer. Don't sand blast the exterior metal because sand builds too much heat and will warp the steel. Which to use depends on how much rust there is. From what it sounds like, you will need to bare metal strip the car in those places because it is likely bad lacquer paint that is causing the issue. I would stay away from POR 15 on exterior surfaces as it is impossible to work with once it dries, and would make the new paint look bad.
Good luck on wavy plastics. I have no way of making them straight again except for replacement. If it's just the fillers like on a Regal, you could try a set of fiberglass replacements and work on getting them to fit well. They would look good, but would also crack if you hit something instead of flexing like stock. I basically count on the fact that they are never straight when new to make them look ok. People do not expect wave-free plastics on these cars, so they are visually acceptable in crummy condition.
Good write up but NEVER use water to sand bondo. Bondo will absorb water like a sponge and if your filling any type of rust hole, you would have defeated the purpose of doing so. If bondo gets wet, sand it all off and start again.
Also use a 1 to 2 coats of tinted sealer (any shade of black, white or gray closest to your color) before base and you will not have hiding issues. Plus if you missed any bigger sand scratches, it will hide them and not sink too much.
Everything else was pretty good and well explained. Good guide.
Also use a 1 to 2 coats of tinted sealer (any shade of black, white or gray closest to your color) before base and you will not have hiding issues. Plus if you missed any bigger sand scratches, it will hide them and not sink too much.
Everything else was pretty good and well explained. Good guide.
Sorry for bringing up this old topic, but I have some questions. I am supposed to be getting an '84 Cutlass shell that is completely rust free and straight to replace the rotted out body on my Cutlass.
Since this car is pretty much stripped, I am looking at options for a paint job while it is still apart. From what pictures I have seen of this car, all of the lacquer has faded off. What would I need to do to get it ready to paint? Can I just get it sanded down and hit it with primer, or do I need to take it down to bare metal? I am going to keep it the same color, the car I am getting is the same as the one I have now with out the lacquer. I really want to keep the metallic paint as it came from the factory, because I really like how it looks on this car. What other steps would I need to take to use metallic?
Since this car is pretty much stripped, I am looking at options for a paint job while it is still apart. From what pictures I have seen of this car, all of the lacquer has faded off. What would I need to do to get it ready to paint? Can I just get it sanded down and hit it with primer, or do I need to take it down to bare metal? I am going to keep it the same color, the car I am getting is the same as the one I have now with out the lacquer. I really want to keep the metallic paint as it came from the factory, because I really like how it looks on this car. What other steps would I need to take to use metallic?
If the lacquer is decent then you could get away with just roughing it up. But be advised a lacquer job only lasts a year or two in the elements. They're notorious for fish eyes and cracking after a few years in the sun.
But if it's being garaged and was being garaged I'd say rough it up and spray it if you don't want to spend time on it.
... but these things are usually best done correctly the first time, if it were me I'd sand it to bare metal and get rid of the lacquer. It isn't the 50's anymore :lol:
What do you mean what steps for metallic? It's the same as you would for a regular job. Today's urethane base coat/clear coats can give you just as good of a shine. Find the paint code or take it to a paint shop and see if they've got a match.
But if it's being garaged and was being garaged I'd say rough it up and spray it if you don't want to spend time on it.
... but these things are usually best done correctly the first time, if it were me I'd sand it to bare metal and get rid of the lacquer. It isn't the 50's anymore :lol:
What do you mean what steps for metallic? It's the same as you would for a regular job. Today's urethane base coat/clear coats can give you just as good of a shine. Find the paint code or take it to a paint shop and see if they've got a match.
n8dogg said:
Are we talking about dry bondo?? How are you going to sand bondo with any success without wet sanding (& not going through 15$ worth of sand paper every time)? There's no absorbing sponge action after it's dry... not sure where this came from
Also filler primer is designed to hide bigger scratches, then your sealer on top of that.
since it's just the shell and stripped, to do it right, i'd strip it to bare metal and then hit it with a good 2K epoxy primer, I'm using KustomShops DTM Epoxy Primer....www.kustomshop.com is where you can get it. it's pretty good stuff. then you can bodywork right on top of the epoxy, just make sure you scuff it before you apply your filler. they say that's the best way since bodyfiller is absorbs moisture and with the bare metal sealed with epoxy underneath rusting won't be a problem....i'd stay far away for lacquer anything, that's yester years technology....i'm currently doing the bodywork on my cutlass...after your epoxy and any filler work (epoxy over your filler also) then you hit it with a good 2K primer surfacer, agian I'm using Kustom Shops Polyester Primer, that'll give you a good build and something to block the body straight. after that's done, depending on what color epoxy you chose, Kustom shops epoxy can aslo be used as a sealer to seal the primers before you spray paint, just add some reducer, (following the spec sheet)
If you plan to spray it yourself, be weary of metallics, they are a lil tricky to spray, i'd practice on a test fender or something, the metallic in the paint is heavier than the color itself and likes to sag. you gotta keep the gun moving and make sure you get good even coverage, you don't want it to be heavy with metallic in one spot and light in the other. After you get a even coat over everything, they say to "mist" the paint over that area to disperse the metallic even more and make it more uniform. and use a good 2K paint also, weather it be a single stage or base coat clear coat
If you plan to spray it yourself, be weary of metallics, they are a lil tricky to spray, i'd practice on a test fender or something, the metallic in the paint is heavier than the color itself and likes to sag. you gotta keep the gun moving and make sure you get good even coverage, you don't want it to be heavy with metallic in one spot and light in the other. After you get a even coat over everything, they say to "mist" the paint over that area to disperse the metallic even more and make it more uniform. and use a good 2K paint also, weather it be a single stage or base coat clear coat
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