Hey there!

I am set to start working on the body defects on my shark, but looking for pointers as I have never done this before. I have a couple rust spots on the main body above the door trim on either side that need be to taken care of. They look to be surface rust only, but there is no telling until I get the trim off the main body and take a look.

Anyone have pointers on taking care of these guys, or links to site that detail what should be done?

Thanks!

 

Body work looks deceptively simple ......... I would recomend that you go to Pick A Part or a bodyshops dumpster and buy borrow a damaged hood fender door take it home and experiment ... sand grind fill prime and paint it !!! Then look at the finished product and decide if you should start fixing your 928 . If you do not intend to paint your 928 yourself you probably should NOT try to do bodywork . What you would do , the primer you would use probably would not help the painter or save much money and might actually cause more problems work for the painter . Find the nearest Maaco or Earl Schieb and go look at cars they have painted .......they will tell you which ones had the owner do the "prep" work typically they look HORRIBLE . Minor defects imperfections easily hide in primer BUT shoot on a glossy finish coat and it looks like the "house of Mirrors" at the county fair .... I really do not want to discourage you from "learning " bodywork just suggest you learn on something which has no value to you . It is a bit like cutting your own hair .... looks easy . How hard can it be ? In many areas there are Adult Education classes to learn how to do bodywork .

 

Thanks Jim! I certainly understand you feelings there. I am certainly not taking on the whole car or major work. The visible sections of the spots themselves are very small, running from the channel under the trim and onto the roof section. Maybe 2" long and 1/8" wide. I had planned on starting on the spots under the trim pieces so if I muffed something up, the trim would hide it.

 

Cobey,
Your car has a "touch" of cancer. What shows is often just the tip of the iceburg. Miss a spot and all the work is done in vain.
There are several requirements to qualify as good body man. You probably have too many teeth and are too often sober.

 

LOL. Thanks Ernest, I'll take that as a compliment.

 

So are you trying to do spot repairs, or a repaint?

As Ernest said, if it has rust showing through the paint, that means that there is probably more rust under the paint, that has not leaked through yet...

Bodywork is easy, yet hard to get looking perfect.
There are books out there, at the auto parts stores, that are pretty comprehensive.

Some body shops will not get in there and fix all the small details.
They will just prep it for the new paint.
So if you do it yourself, and really strip it down,
you will probably get a much more thorough job done.

Sometimes the best bet, is to do all the bodywork yourself,
and get all the rust fixed, and get the car stripped down,
and really address all the problems. Then prime it,
and then take it to a body shop, and have them do the
final finishing and smoothing...

But if you are just trying to fix 1-2 small rust spots, I'm sure whatever you do,
even if it is not perfect, will look better than rust! So go for it! You will learn
a lot, and it will get you prepared for doing the prep work when you really
get it painted...

 

"But if you are just trying to fix 1-2 small rust spots, I'm sure whatever you do, even if it is not perfect, will look better than rust!"

Exactly. And, I want to try and nip it in the bud before it spreads any more.

 

Cobey,

One thing, always take your time.

My biggest continuing project with my car is the nose repaint. I have sanded off the clear, paint and primer coats and have begun the primer work. I paint and then sand until everything looks good and then I give it a guide coat. It's essentially a flat black coat that when sanded will reveal where the low spots are. I have hung around the auto paint and bodywork store (there is one in Dublin near Franky, Luigi's & Johny's Pizza... the next shopping center west) to get some pointers and advice.

One thing that you have going for you with your car is the color. It's white without a clearcoat. Mine is silver with a clearcoat. I bought my materials (paint, primer, clear) through PaintScratch.com and since it was going to be for a bumper they mixed the flex agent into the mediums. I have experimented with a few small spots and the color match is spot on. They have the paint specially mixed for them by a place in San Leandro. You can get it in pens (for touchup), spray cans and tins. I bought it in spray cans.

I am convinced that the prep before and prep after (painting) are the crucial steps. Besides, if you mess up you can always take it to someone. I have purchased the various compounds and polishes recommended by the pros and in my experiments so far I can achieve a really nice looking result. I really think it is something that the average 928 owner can do, it just takes patience and a willingness to learn something new.

Give it a shot. It can't be as bad as having bolts breaking on you... and I have seen that. I would rather do bodywork anyday.

Rob


Image at start of sanding process

 

Painting Bodies:

Rust never sleeps. Remove trim, and find rust creeping underneath. Find rust creeping under paint. Jim is right. That creep is many times worse than you see.

Grind rust down to the bare metal. If it goes through the metal to the other side, cut it out to bare metal,… probably better off to replace that panel.

Prime and paint before it rusts again, e.g. immediately. My Dad told me that a body man told him that water will work it’s way through primer. Maybe there are more sophisticated primers now, who knows? Anyhow never get primer wet. Most primers have a bonding period. Dupont uses at least 2 primers before several base coats then clear coats. The primer should be perfectly smooth and feathered into good paint seamlessly. This may require some spot putty and tack cloths, more primer. As Jim said, any defect will really show. If you think you have reached nirvana, you may be able to get a pro to help you finish it. If you messed up the rust kill, and coat, rust never sleeps. Nobody can help you.

Spraying paint is a whole other world. We are talking air pressures, gun types, orifice sizes, flash times, thinner amounts, flattening agents, coat thickness, number of coats, fish eye reducers, activators, absence of dust, humidity, over-spray, etc.

 

As a reformed bodywork guy (lots of college dollars earned via this brutal method), a couple of thoughts.

I wouldn't use the 928 as an intro testbed for bodywork. Two main reasons, the galvanizing and the two-stage paint. I know what I'm doing, and don't do my own bodywork anymore.

If you're not careful or don't know how, you may do more damage when going after rust by pulling the galvanizing back away from the spot, thus increasing the size of a trouble spot by creating more unprotected area.

Even the cheap shops (Maaco, Earl) have the "really awesome set of tools" I no longer have, as well as the prep chemicals and sealants to manage rust repairs as properly as possible. Once you have rust on a '28, you are through the galvanizing in that area, and it has to be done properly. Even so, it will likely come back--you are buying more time however.

Two-stage paint repair is an art. It is a far cry from laquer you can hose on, orange peel and all, wet-sand, polish, and go. Even the best shops have a hard time blending back without halo effects. Obviously they attempt to do entire panels to avoid this, and still have trouble.

If you have metallics, it gets more complicated. You have to recognize how the flakes are "laying down", and do your best to duplicate. This is dependent on how wet/thick you apply, primer flash time, atmospheric conditions, etc. Not easy.

By the time you bought the proper chemicals, supplies, finishes, tools, etc. in minimum quantities available, I think you would be almost at a wash. The process can be mind-numbing, frustrating, and very difficult to even get small spots to turn out.

Even Maaco knows what they're doing. Make sure whoever works on it knows it's a galvanized car.

Lots of more rewarding projects to take on. For me at least. Good Luck!

Jeff

'87 5-spd
Minor bodywork by Maaco--looks fantastic

'92 968 cab.

Last call for a 914 project--free.

 

Cobey, I just finished my 79 about 3 months ago. I have pictures of the car from start to finish. I f you want to send me a an e-mail I'm sure I can help you out. I probably have pictures of what your car looks like. Its a slow process if you want to do it right. I have a couple of friends that do this for a living, and they helped me out. I did all the bull work and they did all the finesse. Its a labor of love, but well worth it when its done. Don't take any shortcuts or your'll pay later.

 

Cobey,
I agree with Jeff, up to a point, but there is a lot to be said for doing spot work yourself.
That's an odd spot for rust, though.
Is it under the trim or under the door seal?
As with any rust problem finding and correcting the source is just as important as the repair.
Rule of thumb is sand/grind or sandblast 1 1/2 times the diameter of visible damage starting from when you get down to the metal in the primary rust area. This, unfortunately, does not always hold true as the moisture-rust medium- does not stop at the precise edge of rust spot. I believe our esteemed resident sHARk owner in Scotland posted about rust/leaks doing an end run on his rear quarter trim -I think it was on Charbroil- which resulted in more extensive damage to the interior metal surfaces than he had anticipated. This wasn't noticeable till interior trim and carpet was pulled. PITA! Maybe he'll respond... . In any case you have to look hard.
After the rust is removed - perfection would be no observable pits with a 5x magnifier- the surface must be neutralized, 'pickled' with chromic acid - this is kind of like anodizing- , primer washed and primered.
The area needs to be 'feathered' in so additional existing paint needs to be lightly sanded with 4-600 grit wet or dry. You don't want a shiny crater or a shiny bump.
The cost of this does get a little out of hand as Jeff mentioned but I have no doubt there are other hidden rough spots or you can paint the spare tire well, perhaps color match the fender strut/truss. I say this because you will have left over product so you might as well put it to use. You can get an air brush kit and compliment it with a cheap mini paint gun from Lowe's or Walmart.
This is detail work and nobody but you will know the cost or effort involved.
Assuming you get everything perfect you will be the only one to know there was any work done at all. To some, a job well done is enough.
Good luck on this endeavour.
BTW
Take flicks, record your time, hassles, ect
P.S.
I'd find a local automotive sandblasting outfit, remove trim & seals, tape/rubberize. This is very fast and they can feather out from damage .