the guy i bought my del sol from painted over the fiesta green with silver spray paint. then i think he tried to wax it before the paint fully set, so there are swirls in the paint and it looks like crap.
instead of simply painting over it again, i want to do it right.
i want to go for a gun metal color that will match my wheels, without spending the money to have someone else do it for me.
i also have a slight amount of rust and previous bondo work that was done bad that i want to fix with metal not more bondo. ill have pictures soon, i want it to be as clean as possible. i do live in ohio but this is a summer only car so it wont see salt.
tips would be greatly appreciated!

 

these show the rust, bad bondo job, and swirls in the paint. he removed the antenna (so i dont have any radio stations) and the spot where he filled it in is rusting now.
i would rather fix the rust on the driver door rather than replacing the whole door, then the key will be different and thats annoying.

 

Can't you replace the door and keep the current lock mechanism?

I would consider repainting the car if you want a decent result.

grtz

 

Car needs to be repainted. You can see what condition the green is underneath but I don't think you'll be too pleased with it. First step: strip off that garbage paint. See the true extent of the rust damage before you make a decision on that.

This is why I shudder when I see people trying to 50$ or rattle-can paint job.

 

i considered a new door because the driver side handle isnt connected, the connecting points broke. so its being held on with tape right now and i might just deal with the different key because its pretty bad!

 

yeah its pretty bad. i have some experience painting cars and doing a good job so i think i might be able to do a better job than this clown.
so paint stripper on the whole thing?

 

I'd strip mechanically personally. Use a DA sander.

 

alright thank you!

 

Sand blast that sucker

 

strip down to bare metal in sections

 

^

 

ummm dnt strip it to bare metal.

what you need to do is this
Get a DA sander and 80 grit discs 80 grit the entire car down to the primer/sealer (under green)
Areas that have rust you will need to take down to bare metal.
Junk the door
In the rear 1/4s you may be able to get lucky and not have to cut/weld in new panels. but you need to take off all filler paint to see whats under it

 

where the random rust spot in the middle of the 1/4 is where the antenna used to be... too much drag....
i am planning on getting rid of the door, and im gonna have to re-fabricate the rear fenders because my wheels tuck a lot and theyre already rolled (where there is actual metal not bondo) and hopefully lower the front to match the back and do the same.
thank you so much for your advice!

 

shocker911: im assuming that same method would work with any car, and i have some small rust spots on my jeep that i want to fix before winter. my question is how do i match the paint color perfect? its a light blue sparkle from the factory, its behind my del sol in my display picture. ive looked for the color like in spray paint form but none match.

 

you would have to blend the area that you did the body work in. I personally HATE HATE HATE blending areas. only place that you might be have luck in finding your paint in a spray can http://www.automotivetouchup.com/ i have used them and have had good luck.