Ok, I'm sick of staring at the rust above my rear wheel wells and have decided I'm going to tackle fixing it myself. Here is what I know I'll need to do:

-Take a sanding wheel and sand the rust and surrounding area down to bare metal
-coat with some rust-inhibitor
-spray with primer.

I'm lost on some details though. Is there a specific sanding wheel I should use? I have a pneumatic wheel thingy Also, where can I get the rust inhibitor and primer, and what kind should I be using? Do either of those two products come in a spray can for such small applications or will I have to borrow a paint gun?

Thanks!

 

Doesn't really matter what type of wheel/disc you use. Just keep in mind that the goal is to get rid of the rust.

Sand down to bare metal, bondo if needed, a few coats of primer, wetsand, then depending on what type of paint you will be finishing the area with....you would use a sealer or spray a "single stage" paint on it.

 

I've painted 3 cars now.. I learned a few things along the way.

Try get a chemical stripper. You may overheat the panel with the pneumatic tools and cause warpage.
I would chemical strip the area. Then hand sand the surrounding areas to get it smooth. Then primer. Wetsand. Primer again if needed. Wetsand again.
Shoot with paint and then clearcoat if you require it.

Really shouldnt be too hard as long as you dont have metal holes in the bodywork

 

definetly have no holes in the metal work yet. which is why I want to do this now, before the rust gets so bad that there are holes.

chemical stripper? sounds expensive and dangerous. I'd rather default back to K.I.S.S especially since I've never tried anything of this sort before.

 

oh yeah, are there any DIY rust-removal websites people have gotten valuable info from?

 

When I restored my old bronco I used Por15 http://www.por15.com/.

Not sure if this is overkill or not.

 

Chemical stripping is easier and cheaper than buying a new patch panel because you accidentally go through the metal with the wheel.

 

I have done body work (and poor paint) on various of my British cars, but never any Morris Minors...

I agree with FritzInTN, I like to use POR15.

 

You can buy paint stripper at any auto parts store. Comes in a spray can or brush on for about $4. It does work well, and makes the prep work a little easier, because you don't have to deal with whatever texture you put into the metal surface while grinding/sanding it to remove the rust. While you're at the parts store, you can pick up a small can of 'Naval Jelly'. It's a brush on rust treatment that chemically reacts with the rust and turns it into something that can be easily painted or bondo'd, and keeps the rust from coming back.

-Chris

 

thanks guys! looks like i'll start gathering supplies and doing some reading. i found this DIY website that has a good section on treating/repairing minor rust areas.

 

http://www.autobody101.com is an incredible resource.

I plan on using a bunch of POR15 stuff on my CX as soon as I get the time.