Rookie Paint/Rust ?s

[apocalypsegrrrl]

I just got an '82 HJ60. It has some surface rust and paint flaking, especially on the front of the hood. I need some advise quick before it gets worse.
1. What's the best quick fix solution to get it through the winter without getting worse? Can I just paint over the rusty spots with rustoleum or something? I plan to get the whole rig professionally painted next spring or summer.

2. What can I expect to pay for a decent paint job with some rust removal?

3. What do you guys do for an undercoat treatment?

Thanks!

 

[Wildman]

Rule #1 (and most would agree) You get what you pay for with a paint job.

Quickie maaco jobs are like $500, but last much shorter than a $4000+ job. I would find a shop you trust, and see if he can fit it in on the side (or for cash) If its not your daily driver. Look over some of his previous work, ask for pictures, etc. Some guys have built some realy cool cars/trucks.

As for your existing problem, if your serious about repainting, just sand it down to bare metal, removing ALL of the rust. Then use a good etching primer to cover the spot, paint with your choice of matching paint. I always try to match brand names paint and primer, Rustoleum is good stuff.

 

[apocalypsegrrrl]

So here's the total limit of my personal experience in this field: when we moved into our house we found an old claw foot tub totally buried in the back yard. We dug it up, and I decided to plant flowers in it. It was completely corroded. I tried to grind the rust off, but there was no end to it, so I finally just bought a quart of rustoleum and painted right over the rust. I expected it to fall apart pretty quickly, but after 5 years, that paint job looked like the day I did it. Some guy came along and payed us for it and put it in his house to use for its original purpose. So what happens if you just paint right over rust?

Also, when you say a "good" paint job, how much disassembly does that actually entail? Are we talking external only, or do they get the inside of the body too?

A few years ago, I took a motor cycle tank in to get sprayed. One guy quoted me $300. Another guy charged me $50 and it looked great to me, so I'm kind of confused about what the $250 difference is.

Sorry if I sound clueless, but why try to hide the truth?

 

[gray]

If all you want to do is to stop the rust now, and then do it right next summer, you can use Bullet shield or POR-15; if you cannot find that, go to AutoZone advance auto, etc, and get a RUST CONVERTOR; comes in a ?white plastic bottle with a little brush attached to the underside of the cap; you just brush it on; looks like crap (unless your rig is already tan/brown), but it will kill the rust until you can do it right.

Make sure it is the Rust Convertor; got to read the bottle very carefully; there are a few products that may say Rust stopper or treatment; some of those are more like a clear laquer paint that just prevent air from getting to the rust. The Rust Convertor actually forms a chemical bond with the rust, stopping it from growing. Anything you do however, is better than nothing; even spray paint from a rattle can will slow down the rust for awhile.

You could touch the rusty spots with the rust convertor, then mask off the nose of the hood, leaving 4-5 inches uncovered, and then spray any color, close to your original, or black, or whatever as a complete strip across the nose, at least for now.

I used some of the rust convertor 20 years ago, yes, 20 years ago, on a brand new FJ62 inside the door where a line of rust started when it was only a few months old; looked at it last night; looks exactly as it did 20 years ago; did not spread a bit.

Good luck

 

[apocalypsegrrrl]

Thanks for the advise. I spent some time poking at it today, and it's not as bad as I thought. I think there was some kind of sticker or something across the very front edge of the hood, that got taken off and it had rusted a bit under there so the PO spray painted it. The spray paint is coming up a bit, but it's not as deep or as widespread as I thought. I'm going to work on it this weekend. Hopefully I won't screw it up too bad. I just don't want to do anything that will make the professional paint job more difficult/expensive: recovering from my hack job, you know.