Thumper89

I need to get rid of some rust on the side of the Cavalier.Its only on the doors,but I am useless for the most part when it comes to bodywork.

I'm looking for someone who would be willing to walk me through it.

LBKC has offered,but hes got his hands full right now.Another guy offered to do it for me for $40,but he wants to sandblast the spots first,and now everyone is telling me it will warp the metal.

Can someone help me out here instead of giving me runaround?

Logan??How's about you?...hehe

You can sort of see how bad here in the first pic..

http://www.pbase.com/8trackboy/my_cavy

[ March 30, 2004, 10:07 AM: Message edited by: 8TrackBoy ]

Buffdaddy

You might be able to find a set of doors for that car around somewhere.

When I was driving my cutlass, I got a set of mint doors for $300, and they areprobably twice as hard to find in mint shape as doors would be for the J-body's.

It might cost a little bit more than DIY, but to get a set of mint doors and then repaint would probably end up costing you a lot less than getting it done at a bodyshop.

bigunner1

hey aaron, is that rust all the way thru the metal, or just on the surface? if you could tell me that i can definately help you, as i work in a bodyshop. sure the all the bodymen at work laugh and say "your just a dumb painter", which i guess is kinda funny, but i used to to dirty stinky messy bodywork before i was just a dumb painter [img]smile.gif[/img]

AAAAAAA

iTrader: (7)

I have the same problem with my truck.... rust.

So this weekend I took out my trusty grinder and grinded the metal till all the rust was gone. Then I used some bondo to cover it up, them some tremclad vehicule rust paint to finish up the job.

Defenetly far from professionnal, but looks a lot better then rusted.

Ill tell you right now, you need to grind away at the metal to get ALL the rust out or else it will just come back. Be it with a sand blaster, or with a grinder (grinder does one hell of a job and it does it quick! But its not nice and even and it cant go into those little corners).

I tried sand paper... if you see rust before painting over it...be it just a little, it will come back out after a winters time.

Mark_ab

If you're looking for a generally cheap, simple, DIY method, it was somewhat explained already. Grind off your rust spots (assuming, of course, that this is merely surface rust and it is not going through the panel itself, that's a different story) with a grinder, stripping tool, whatever. Do a decently larger portion than the rust to ensure that there aren't small specs of the cancer elsewhere. From here you'll want to lay down (paint) a layer of rustproof bondo primer. This will ensure (help would be a better word) that the rust will not form beneith the bondo and aid in the adheasiveness to the metal. Slap on your bondo, sand until you're satisfied. If you want to do the prep work yourself, you can, if not, get the body shop to do it (be warned, they do charge quite a bit for labour, and they usually have a minimum time to work). If you want to prep it yourself, keep in mind that this is the most important stage if you're looking for good, seamless results. I can help a little bit there, if you need it. I'm not an autobody person, but I've done my fair share of it on some unkind body styles.

Ranger_Custom

iTrader: (2)

I would suggest getting a door panle bottom from somewhere like www.crosscanadaparts.com or if you can't find one there, you can buy a universal panel from CT which will do the same job but requires a bit more trimming. You cut out the current door bottom and replace the entire piece. This way you have only fresh metal and no chance of re-appearing rust if painted properly. This is the next best thing to a new door. You do need to have access to a welder though or take your chances with cold-weld. Also, I would take a sandblaster over a grinder anyday because it takes away only the rust and not a lot of metal like a grinder. With a grinder, you need to take the metal all the way down to fresh metal which leaves the area thing and prone to warpage whereas sandblasting leaves a thicker but pitted surface to be filled later.

Thumper89

Yeah..as far as I know its just surface...Do you live in Calgary?

I also like the idea of putting new metal in...I can get that cheap cheap from work...but I dont have a welder at my disposal so makes it kinda difficult...

Thanks for all the input guys...keep it coming..

Xiph0id

iTrader: (1)

Yeah..as far as I know its just surface...Do you live in Calgary?

I also like the idea of putting new metal in...I can get that cheap cheap from work...but I dont have a welder at my disposal so makes it kinda difficult...

Thanks for all the input guys...keep it coming.. </font>[/QUOTE]He is in Cold Lake.

Get a grinder and the bondo stuff. That'll be your best option.

X

bigunner1

a grinder will work fine, but you should use a 24 or 36 grit grinding disc. not a grinding wheel. BUT, i would not use bondo, bondo is porous and no matter how well you clean all the rust off, its still there and will come back. cutting it out is the only way to stop(severely slow it down) it. once it is all ground down nic and clean, i would tap down all the metal in the area, and just use fiberglass, since you might already have some. just keep laying on the resin and mat until you build up the surface to where it should be. then finish it with bondo. OR you could pick up some 3m (which is by far the best i/we've used) Panel Bond. its basicaly a metal glue, it comes in a twin tube pack. just squeeze it out, it automatically comes out in even amounts, then mix it up like you would bondo and lay it like bondo. it gives you a working time of about a half hour so you can take you time laying it on smooth, and cures in about 24. then you could finish with bondo as well. i changed my cab corners last winter, cut the old ones off, welded the new ones on, and finshed with panel bond. same thing when i shaved the door handles, tack welded the corners, and squeezed the panel bond all around. if you do buy new metal you could glue it on with this stuff too, so you dont need a welder, just a bunch of clamps. sorry bout the lenght [img]smile.gif[/img]