Rust repair help needed

[Merkur]

I have sanded down, applied a good rust converter and filled a small area on the top of the wheel arch of my car. I am now ready to apply several coats of primer and paint before polishing.

The questions I have are:
a) What do I use to clean off the old wax in the surrounding area and prepare it for painting? Laquer thinner, denatured alcohol?
b) Once the paint has dried, what grade wet & dry do I use to level the paint before polishing? 600 then 1200? Then do I use rubbing compound before polishing? Any tricks to feathering the edge into an existing painted fender?
c) Are there any good online resources for spray painting 101. I am using an aerosol this time, but may buy a spray gun in the future.

Thanks! This is a great site and an excellent forum.

Paul

[4DSC]

Welcome to Autopia Paul.

I'm a bit of an amateur for body repair, but here goes....

Alcohol would probably work fine for cleaning the area. It certainly strips wax.

Probably wet sand with 600 and then 1200. I don't know for sure since it's been years since I did this, but that does not sound unreasonable if the surfaces are not too uneven. 1200 would probably be too fine to start off with.

Be careful what "rubbing compound" you use. I wouldn't use the Turtle Wax stuff anyway. Stick with 3M or Meguiar's products because they're more clear on what grade of sanding scratches they repair (the 3M does anyway). In practical terms, "compounding" and "polishing" are pretty much the same idea, but with different intensities in people's minds. They both involve the use of some kind of polish (of whatever strength) to gently abrade away the paint, which is why I don't like to distinguish between them (and I think many here don't either...). Hopefully thinking of it this way makes the concept a bit simpler.

Sorry I don't know much about the blending and spray painting questions.... The only tip I can give you for spray painting is to not let the initial spray fall on the car. Start spraying onto the masking paper or whatever and then move onto the area you're painting. This way the ugly blob of paint that comes out initially doesn't end up on the car.

HTH

[Merkur]

Thank you very much Brian. Very good guidance. It has given me the confidence to take the sandpaper to my show car this weekend.

Any other tips are welcome.

Paul

[fusionnv]

Originally posted by Merkur
I have sanded down, applied a good rust converter and filled a small area on the top of the wheel arch of my car. I am now ready to apply several coats of primer and paint before polishing.

The questions I have are:
a) What do I use to clean off the old wax in the surrounding area and prepare it for painting? Laquer thinner, denatured alcohol?
b) Once the paint has dried, what grade wet & dry do I use to level the paint before polishing? 600 then 1200? Then do I use rubbing compound before polishing? Any tricks to feathering the edge into an existing painted fender?
c) Are there any good online resources for spray painting 101. I am using an aerosol this time, but may buy a spray gun in the future.

Thanks! This is a great site and an excellent forum.

Paul

Allcohol works, but it might be a bit harder to remove other items on the car beisdes wax. Depends I on what u put on and what other people has put on to wash the car. You can look for a painting prep spray. Most paint stores that sell auto paint has something like that.