Technique & Product Review

[BobbyG]

1999 Dodge Dakota SLT

I noticed some rust beginning to form on one of the body seams underneath my truck that needed attention before it became serious. I ground the area and treated the section with a rust inhibitor known by the trade name; Rust Mort.

Rust Mort is an acid based chemical designed to convert rust to a black or grayish, hard, insoluble, protective coating.

I prepped the area by washing with Klean Strep Prep-All then sanding making it ready for priming and painting. With everything papered and taped, I sprayed 2 coats of primer then 3 coats of color then clear.

My main goal was to repair and paint the area but due to it`s lower location I didn`t color sand before the clear went on. It did come out nice nevertheless BUT what I didn`t realize was some of the overspray had deposited itself on the unprotected surfaces.

Does anyone remember me saying that overspray removal is unacceptable because it`s an admission of a poor preparation, paper and tape? I am here to tell you that my paper and taping obviously fell short of what was required so now I had a mess to clean up..Fortunately, because I maintain the finish, simple claying easily removed the overspray but there was still a lot of work to compound and polish the panels..

Products & Equipment Used

Machines


Makita 9227 (http://www.autogeek.net/ma927po.html)
Flex 3401 (http://www.autogeek.net/flex-orbital-polisher.html)
Porter Cable 7424xp (http://www.autogeek.net/porter-cable-7424xp.html)

Pads - Rotary


Orange Kompressor
White Kompressor

Pads - Flex 3401


White CCS
Gray CCS

Pad - Porter Cable 7424


Blue

Compound

Menzerna Power Gloss POS34A (http://www.autogeek.net/menzerna-powergloss-compound-16.html)

Polish


Menzerna Super Finish PO106 FA (http://www.autogeek.net/menzerna-super-nano-polish.html)

Cleaner


Mineral Spirits

Paint Protection


Duragloss 105 TPP (http://www.autogeek.net/duragloss-total-performance-polish.html)
Duragloss 601 Bonding Agent (http://www.autogeek.net/duragloss-polish-bonding-agent.html)


Getting started I wrapped the exposed areas of the truck to protect it and minimize any additional work due to splatter. I covered the rear wheel and tire for the same reason.


http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1454/medium/Overspray_03.JPG


http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1454/medium/Overspray_04.JPG

As you can see the fuel door and cap area were pretty bad so some Optimum Opti-Clean and a brush made short work of this mess.

Before

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1454/medium/Overspray_01.JPG

After

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1454/medium/Overspray_02.JPG

Clay & Overspray

I could feel a very light dryness indicative of a like overspray. Using Meguiar`s clay and detail spray, took about 10 minutes of effort to remove all of the overspray on the bed side panel.


http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1454/medium/Overspray_11.JPG

Compounding was easily accomplished with my Makita 9227, a Orange Lake Country Kompressor foam pad, and Menzerna Power Gloss POS34A (http://www.autogeek.net/menzerna-powergloss-compound-16.html)

Polishing was straight forward with my Makita 9227, a White Lake Country Kompressor foam pad, and Menzerna Super Finish PO106 FA (http://www.autogeek.net/menzerna-super-nano-polish.html)

Working each section with my rotary really sped up the correction process allowing me to finish the panel with my dual action polisher.

Finish Polishing put the final touch on each panel with my Flex 3401. Using a White Lake Country CCS pad then a Gray Lake Country CCS pad I worked the Menzerna Super Finish PO106 FA (http://www.autogeek.net/menzerna-super-nano-polish.html)to eliminate any swirls or marring creating a mirror like surface.

Once the compounding and polishing was finished I washed the area completely with soap and water then dry the area thoroughly before applying my finish protection..

Protection was so easily accomplished using Duragloss 601 and Duragloss 105 applied with a Porter Cable 7424 and a soft Blue foam pad. This without a doubt was the easiest of any process thus far. Once the products hazed I buffed them to an incredibly high gloss shine. The only way I can describe this to you is the panels appear to have been wrapped in plastic! http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/images/smilies/props.gif

Reflective Shots

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1454/medium/Overspray_08.JPG


http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1454/medium/Overspray_05.JPG


http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/Overspray_091.JPG


http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1454/medium/Overspray_07.JPG


http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1454/medium/Overspray_10.JPG

Silver and most light colors are difficult to obtain dazzling reflective shots but this is the best I could do. I hope you enjoy the photos and explanation....

Thanks for looking! http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/images/smilies/props.gif

[mjlinane]

Great write-up Bobby!!

I also must admit my taping and prep aren`t perfect on occassion. :bonk:

[Concours.John]

Nice write up Bobby. It`s good to see repair tips. I feel it still falls in line with general maintenance.

After all a great finish is easily ruined with an unsightly rust area. Not to mention the damage it does over time.

[Todd@RUPES]

Great job Bobby! :bigups

The truck looks a million times better!

[mustangmikeFL]

Great work! I love the idea of driving up onto some wood to dress the full tire without having to inch the car forward for that last little bit. I think I`ll do that from now on.

[Bunky]

Where did you paint it?

[BobbyG]

Where did you paint it?

Hey Al,

The seam where the side panel and the floor panel come together under the drivers door. It was starting to rust just from age and environment and now it`s fixed....:bigups

[BIOLINK]

Hey Al,

The seam where the side panel and the floor panel come together under the drivers door. It was starting to rust just from age and environment and now it`s fixed....:bigups
Where are the pics?

[Old Pirate]

Looks super there Bobby!:bigups

[BobbyG]

Where are the pics?

I`ll take a few and post them....