Full Vinyl Top

[uwantbreadbai]

It's best to apply it to anywhere that you break through the paint/primer and into the bare metal, even if you are gonna be Priming/Painting the area again right away, just for the extra insurance against corrosion, and the eventual flaking of the paint that will follow.

And yes, it does take a heckuva lot of primer and sanding, to get that Glass-Smooth surface we all crave.

Well I took the body down to the metal at one part and left it and the next day there was something like a surface rust, or corrosion on it, is it okay to just sand that off? And I bought some krylon rust eliminator and primer (both in one) to spray over it (because I hadn't visted the forum yet ) will that work well? Btw did everyone take there's down to the metal?

[LTDMan83]

Random question - is primer-sealer the stuff one uses for a "primered" paint job?

Most of the time, if you are just spraying it over the factory paint. For a slightly better finish it's best to use High Build Primer and then a Sealer Primer on top of that.

Well I took the body down to the metal at one part and left it and the next day there was something like a surface rust, or corrosion on it, is it okay to just sand that off? And I bought some krylon rust eliminator and primer (both in one) to spray over it (because I hadn't visted the forum yet ) will that work well? Btw did everyone take there's down to the metal?

Yep, just sand as much as you can off before you begin Priming. With the Krylon Rust Eliminator, you won't have to worry about getting it all, just the majority of it. The krylon will convert the rest to Black Primer.

[86GmLsCoupe]

The finish on the car has the gray factory E-coat or whatever they used like that at the time, the pinkish higher build primer on that and then the paint itself. From what I've heard and dealt with the factory primer gives great protection if its still there. I would remove the glue and rust and then use a primer/sealer over that to give a stable surface. When I was having work done, someone suggested taking the whole car down to bare metal but the car is 20+ years old with minimal rust and replicating the factory corrosion protection would be hard and expensive for me to do so I went the scuff sand round for the majority.

[uwantbreadbai]

Did you guys take off all of the glue and wool stuff, because I'm finding it hard to take it off by the edges where the chrome trim went.

[uwantbreadbai]

I got an estimate from maaco for the body work and paint, it was $883 and some change. I think it was because of this.



Any suggestions?

[1987cp]

Uh ... fix the rust yourself or get a friend to do it? :p Seems some guys say not to have Maaco do bodywork for you anyway, just bring it in pretty much prepped and ready to shoot and it'll turn out pretty decent.

[uwantbreadbai]

Uh ... fix the rust yourself or get a friend to do it? :p Seems some guys say not to have Maaco do bodywork for you anyway, just bring it in pretty much prepped and ready to shoot and it'll turn out pretty decent.

lol yeah I meant any suggestions on how to fix the rust.

[1987cp]

aaaah. Guess I assumed the usual method is to cut it out and replace with good metal. :p If it weren't way back in Indiana, I might be able to volunteer some metal I had cut off a car at a 'yard that I'm pretty sure as good ... no clue how soon I'd be able to get to that stuff, though, might be weeks to months.

[LTDMan83]

Yep, either cut out the rusted area and weld in a patch piece, or take it to a Bodyshop and be prepared to pay out the @$$.

I don't trust maaco personally, I've seen too many crap jobs come out of there, that were actually considered as acceptable to send back out the door, by the people who worked there......

[uwantbreadbai]

I don't have a welder though, what kind would I need to do it?

[LTDMan83]

A Tig Welder works best for this kind of work, but a Mig will work if you have a little more welding skill. I wouldn't recommend attempting it yourself if you don't have any welding skills though. It will only end in tears.

[1987cp]

I just bought a Lincoln "Handy MIG" kit from Sears for $300, includes everything you need for both FCAW and GMAW (MIG). Haven't gotten myself a gas cylinder yet, but once I do I hope to see if I can manage sheetmetal welding in a controlled manner.

Of course, there are methods of joining sections of body panel without welding. The Eastwood Company sells a little kit where you flange the metal and drill or punch holes, then apply some special adhesive and secure with rivets. Might be awfully complicated to use that system on that part of the car, though ....

[uwantbreadbai]

okay, another question I have is, when I took the car to maaco they said that the areas where there was old bondo, would show through. So how would I make that not happen?

[1987cp]

Again, I'm not the bodywork expert around here, but if you make sure the Bondo is solid and there is no moisture in it and no rust hiding underneath, and then make sure it's smooth and finish contouring with glazing putty and primer surfacer sanded to about 500 grit, followed by primer sealer also sanded to about 500 grit, it should all be good. Rule of thumb seems to be that if looks good before paint, it'll look good after paint, and of course vice versa. I do know NEVER to apply paint directly on top of Bondo - I've done it, and guess what? There's no paint there now, and I may need to eventually dig out all the Bondo and redo the whole thing. If you've seen the pics of my painted front bumper project, I spent about a gadzillion hours on that with spot putty and primer-surfacer and a whole lot of fine-grit sandpaper (got shots of some of those steps too), and while suitable for my needs for what it is, it's still nowhere near good enough for a serious paint job.

[jessefortune]

i just bought a 91 gm with full vinyl with no tears ill get pics tomorro