Bodywork Questions.

Ok, I know I've asked a lot of questions here lately, and I thank you people for all the answers. The car is running great. Now I've got some bodywork and performance questions.

I live in WV, which means lots of road salt. I also found out a few moments ago that the person that had it before me decided the best way to fix rust was to cover it up in packing tape and paint it... The rust doesnt go all the way through, so I'm going to sand it down and spray some rust converter onto it. Then next week I'm going to sand the whole thing down and have it painted...um, I guess I'm asking how bad the rust under a 17 year old car usually is. Is it worth it, or is she just going to buckle in half the next time I hit a rock?

Also, there's this imitation soft top/vinyl/rubber/ whatever thing on the roof. It's all shredded up, so whats the best way to fix it? Is there just metal under it, possibly painted?:2cents:

Replace the roof cover, it is painted under neath but will be deteriorated by the glue holding the fabric on. Only you can tell how bad the rust is, it will not stop without cutting out all the affected areas.

So the can of Dupli-Color Rust Fix won't do anything? "stops rust on contact" "turns rust into black primer" ...for $8 a can it had better do something, lol. Wouldn't surprise me though, that seemed to easy...

Thanks about the info on the top, I'm gonna pry up a corner and see how bad it is, if it's to bad I'll just recover it in something.

**LOL's for down below**

I know that this is completely off topic but when I read "only you can tell how bad the rust is" it made me think of "only you can prevent forest fires."

I live in WV, which means lots of road salt. I also found out a few moments ago that the person that had it before me decided the best way to fix rust was to cover it up in packing tape and paint it... The rust doesnt go all the way through, so I'm going to sand it down and spray some rust converter onto it. Then next week I'm going to sand the whole thing down and have it painted...um, I guess I'm asking how bad the rust under a 17 year old car usually is. Is it worth it, or is she just going to buckle in half the next time I hit a rock?

I'll bet down in WV they don't use as much salt as they do here in NY:lol: You're lucky if the rust does not go all the way through. If you're going to sand the car all the way down and have it painted next week,why don't you wait until then to do everything all at once? it might save some time and money. The trick with eradicating rust is you pretty much have to get rid of all signs of it. Some people use sand paper, while others opt for sandblasting,( handy when there is a lot of rust to take care of.) What I would recommend is putting the car on the lift and checking the underside thoroughly. Rust can damage the frame components and cause structural problems. I had a '97 Venture with structural problems caused by road salt and the vehicle would not pass our state safety inspection because of it. If the underside appears to be okay then you should be all right and just take care of the surface bodyrust.

I'd love to take all the body panels off and sandblast the whole thing, but alas, I've only got about $300 to deal with. I'm also on a gravel driveway, so unless I go to a store parking lot it's kinda hard to see under...hey...I just got an idea...:grinyes: I'm also trying to do this on my days off, I work 4am to 2-6pm, yeah...lots of hours all for $6 an hour...but all that's for a different forum, lol.

Well...nobody will paint it for under $1000... I've taken care of all the rust, it's not bad under the car the worst spot is inside the driver side back wheel well, they missed the rubber coating somehow and I can see the back seat stuffing...:banghead: I just ripped out all of the rusted crap I could, sanded it down to shiny metal, and coated it in truck bed liner. No bondo needed...it's a 17 year old car, no need to be perfect, just less rust. I didn't have any visible rust holes. Everywhere I could see rust I sanded in 80 grit and sprayed with the rust fix, now I'm gonna sand in 220 and prime it then in 3something and prime again...


Now the question...how to paint it? It's white now, but I'd like to have it black. If it was a little car I'd do it in spray paint, but she's got some large flat areas that don't go well with spray paint...and black shows everything...? Any tips? How about an airless Wagner Power sprayer? Lowes has them starting at $60, the smallest compressor I'd need is over $200, then other tools.