Yesterday, I finally began work on the electra. I started by sanding down all of the rust on the passenger side and spraying it with semi flat white auto enamel. Today, im going to continue doing that u tillall of the rust is gone. Then im going to use body filler to fill in the dings, small dents, and a few holes i discovered. then im going to repaint. Finally, its going to the paintshop for a new coat of paint. As, money flow increases, the nasty rear quarter damage will get removed.

After the exterior, theres only a few mechanical things to get done. The interior just needs a headliner.

Be careful with rust. Does that paint have any rust prevention/encapsulating capabilities? If not it'll defintiely come back over time. At the very least, use some rust-oleum, though Por-15 or Eastwood Rust Encapsulator is much better. I can't tell from the pics, but it looks like you got some of the damage out of the quarter. Did you try the hammer-and-dolly trick.

You're on your way. Good luck and may the force be with you

Yeah, the paint is anti rust and corrosion. And actually my uncle took some out with a hammer and block of wood.

Press forward with the work. It is a good start.

POR-15 is not meant for either 'seen' surfaces (ie: exterior sheetmetal) because it does not dry finish-grade smooth & it does not sand well. It is also UV-sensitive. Rustoleum works great... for up to 2 years max before it starts rusting thru. The best way to make a permanent paint repair is to sandblast (there's definate do's & don'ts here) the rust to 'white metal', then primer seal it, then use automotive-grade mixed paint.

Kudos to you RF for undertaking the project- your best weapon is knowledge: learn about the upcoming task form multiple sources and don't panic or expect perefection. Keep us posted.

Glad to see you're keeping the Electra and doing the work. I took autobody class for two years, the work you have ahead of you is going to be a long process, but if done right, the results will make it all worth while. Just remember to take you time on the dents and don't go overboard with the bondo...for one you don't want your car becoming practically all body filler, second....it involves a lot of sanding and everything to get it smooth and even so when you paint, you can't see it. Listen to guys like balthazar and the rest of the guys here who know this stuff, and you'll be fine....good luck

Edited July 3, 200718 yr by Delta Force79

Well, I'm not painting it....professionals are. On the bondo thing, believe me, I am very conservative with things like that. I want to use as little as possible. This white coat is only until i bring it in to get painting. Just protection. Don't want anymore holes!

UPDATE: coated the hood. BTW im using krylon semi flat auto enamel.

You might consider stripping the quarter with aircraft grade paint stripper and then paying someone with a booth to spray DP-40 or some other epoxy type of primer.

You don't want to rely on 44 year old paint anywhere where you repaint, and you don't want anything other than a top grade primer.

It will be worth it in the long run.

Good luck,

Chris

You might consider stripping the quarter with aircraft grade paint stripper and then paying someone with a booth to spray DP-40 or some other epoxy type of primer.

You don't want to rely on 44 year old paint anywhere where you repaint, and you don't want anything other than a top grade primer.

It will be worth it in the long run.

Good luck,

Chris

Again, this coating is temporary. Just for now...for a few months. thats it.

Cool. That will be a sweet car when you are done with it, I am glad that you kept it.

Chris

Is the Electra garaged or covered?

Another thing- any filler-repairs: I would grind all the paint out in that area to 100% bare, shiny metal, rough up the surface with 36 or thereabouts grit, hit it with a quality primer, then fill with a fiberglas filler (shrinks a lot less). Then leave the filler alone for the paint shop to see. The current school of thought is primer UNDER the filler.

You should definately talk to your paint shop first- they will want to know anything they spray over for compatability reasons and what type of filler you used. Your filler work may end up being stripped out by their method of paint removal.

Edited July 4, 200718 yr by balthazar

Well if the paint shop damages the car(ie-destroying the filler) they are liable to repair it....but I would definately leave the filler for the shop to see.

And no, the electra is not garaged nor covered.

Then you should definately use fiberglas filler; Bondo absorbs moisture.

Let's see some more photos... of the WHOLE car.

The filler i bought is fiberglass..and the whole car isnt coated yet...but if you want older pics, ill post them.