Here's the paint-stripped...
Here's the paint-stripped rear panel of the Starliner that needed to be repaired. Notice the rusty, pockmarked area on the right-hand side near the taillight.
We've done a number of rust prevention and repair stories in the pages of Street Rodder over the years, and it always remains one of the hottest topics on Internet forums and among chatter between hot rodders, restorers, and customizers alike. There are many different options when it comes to repairing rusted areas, from replacing the area completely with a patch panel to neutralizing the area with a chemical process, such as Por-15 or Eastwood's Rust Encapsulator. But, while the options to tackling such areas are vast, the goal remains the same: to treat the affected area so the rust does not return and cause future damage to the surface.
The procedures and processes used can oftentimes be fairly obvious as to what it's going to take to repair the area. For example, if cancer has set into the panel and it has literally eaten holes into the steel, it's fairly easy to assume that the entire area is going to need to be replaced with fresh material. There are, however, some instances where there's just a bit of surface rust residing on the surface of the steel after the paint, primer, and filler is stripped away. A quick pass with a wire wheel is sometimes all it takes to remove the rust and yield fresh metal. More often than not, though, the rust has had some time to attack the metal, leaving craters and pockmarks in the surface. If the damage is not too far gone, repairing these areas can be almost as easy as the steel wheel treatment.
We were getting in the way again recently at Cotati Speed Shop, where the crew had just begun the bodywork on Paul Boschetto's '60 Ford Starliner. The lower portion below the trunk and between the taillights suffered from a slight case of rust and the related pockmarking, but the steel itself was still in good shape and didn't warrant a patch panel. It was decided to use a spot blaster to attack the rust and clean out the pocked area, since a wire wheel wouldn't have penetrated into the small crevices or removed all the cancerous rust. Once all the rust was removed, the panel was then treated like any other area of the body, skimmed in filler, with the high and low spots addressed and prepped for paint. The treatment was simple, effective, and could be applied to any area of a body or chassis where rust exists but does not justify any further drastic actions.
After all the trim and taillight...
After all the trim and taillight assemblies were removed, the entire area was wiped down with DuPont Final Klean to get rid of any dust, grease, oil, or other debris that would inhibit the repair.
Since the repair was going...
Since the repair was going to be reserved to the back panel between the taillights and under the trunk, the surrounding area was taped off so as not to be affected.
A spot blaster was used to...
A spot blaster was used to clear the rusted area and bring it down to fresh, bare metal. This ensures the likelihood of any rust reappearing at a later time is nil.
Here's the area after being...
Here's the area after being treated with the spot blasted. Notice the rust is now gone, leaving only clean, bare metal behind.
With the metal prepped, it...
With the metal prepped, it was time to start spreading some filler. Rage Gold is a great lightweight filler that goes on smooth and is easy to sand.
The pockmarked surface was...
The pockmarked surface was filled first to ensure that any surface imperfection was treated before the rest of the panel.
A quick pass with a block...
A quick pass with a block and some 120-grit sandpaper knocked the filler even with the surrounding panel.
With the pockmarked area treated,...
With the pockmarked area treated, another pass of filler was made to the entire right side of the panel and then sanded down just like the smaller area. ed down just like the smaller area.
Once sanded, a few high spots...
Once sanded, a few high spots could be picked up as areas where the metal surface broke through before the surrounding area.
A guidecoat will give an even...
A guidecoat will give an even better impression of how straight a panel is. Applied in either a wet form, such as an aerosol-applied paint (left) or a dry form, like the 3M Dry Guide Coat on the right, a few passes with a sanding block reveal any high and low spots that may need further attention.
The high spot was a bit higher...
The high spot was a bit higher than desired, so it was gently knocked down ever so slightly with a pick hammer.
One more layer of filler was...
One more layer of filler was applied and blocked out before being wiped down with lacquer and enamel cleaner.
The reason it was wiped down...
The reason it was wiped down was to remove any dust or debris from the surface so it could be inspected for any pinholes in the filler. These can often be much larger underneath the surface than they appear, so it's a good idea to pick them with a small pick to ensure they're completely exposed so they can be treated properly.
Small pinholes are easily...
Small pinholes are easily filled with a layer of Easy Sand.
Once filled, the area was...
Once filled, the area was lightly sanded to ensure the added filler didn't actually "build" on the surface but simply filled the pinholes. Here, you can see the pinholes now that they're filled.
One more light block pass...
One more light block pass ensured the entire panel was nice and straight. From there, it was on to the paint booth for some gloss.