How to Fix Rust Spots on a Car
There are several resons why youmay be concerned about rust spotson your car. If you are going to try tosell it, any apperance of surfacerust will drive down the re-saleprice considerably. If you plan onkeeping the car for a long time,then you want one that looks niceand that wont be falling apartaround itself.
If you have surface rust that hasdeveloped from chip paint,or even rust that has started as the result of the broken paint surface over a dent,you can take a few steps that will have your car looking great again in on time.Just because your car is old doesnt mean that it has to be a rust bucket.
Prep The Rusted Area:
The best way to begin preparing the surface is with an electric hand held grinder.Use a 150 grit sanding wheel to begin creating a smooth surface. There will bea definite drop off point where the paint has been chiped away. You want to usethe sanding wheel to level that surface so that you cant feel the differencebetween the painted surface and the unpainted surfaces with your fingers. Try it withyour eyes closed to see if you can really feel it or not. Use the sanding wheel toremove as much as the rust as possible, but dont get frustrated if it wont take itall away. The next step will take care of that.
After you have removed as much rust as you can with the metal grindingwheel, then it is time to hand sandpaper. I recommend 150 grit. This isgoing to be used to remove eny last stubborn rust spots and to perfect thetransitionthat you have created between the painted edge and the bare metal. Takeyour time and do a great job here. This is the step where you will make or breakthe quality of your finish.
Prime And Paint:
Begin taping the area off. I would reommend useing the blue painters tape that isavailable at most home inprovement stores, as is does not have a sticky residue whenremoved. Begin with a high quality auto body primer. The key is to apply very thincoats instead of trying to use one very thick one. Paint builds with is strength bybeing applied in layers. Apply three thin coats of primer, waiting about 10minutes between each one. After the thrid coat has been applied, let it sitovernight so the primer can fully cure.
When the primer has dryed, take a piace of 150 grit paperand very lightly hand sand the area. You are not trying to remove eny paintbut simply ensuring that the surface is smooth. Make sure that you knock downany dust that may have accumulatedin your primer coats while they dried.
The paint, just like the primer should be applied in very thin coats. You shouldusually use three coats, but you may find that four or more gives you a deeper looing finish.
