calaban

I have an 89 IROC that needs a new paint job. I want to do it myself, well all I can anyway. Sadly it's sitting in the weather and there are some spots of surface rust. I want to at least get it in primer to stop the rust. From what I've heard leaving it in primer will not stop the rust, as it is very coarse and permiable by water and air.

So, right now my understanding is I need to wash the crap out of it, sand down, wipe with a oil/wax remover, wipe with tack cloth, spray with high build primer, then a guide coat, block sand, and then fix the small dings and what not; is this correct?

What do I need to add after that to stop it from rusting before I paint.

I also want to shave the antenna, is it ghetto to use filler to fill the hole? I have to take that fender off anyway to get to some rust that is down the a-pillar anyway.

L.dookie

Sounds good. i'd wash it with dish soap to help remove the wax and stuff, then just sand until you don't see anymore rust. put your primer over that, but i'm not sure what you mean by fix the small dings. if you're just pulling dents with paintless dent removal tools than that's all there is to it, but if you need filler to fix some of them you'll have to spray primer over that as well. I shaved my antenna on my 97. it's up to you how you want to do it, but if you hit a big bump, filler could just fall right out. i welded mine shut using a copper plate on the inside to give me something to weld to. copper won't weld to steel. then just grind the welds down and put some filler over it and sand smooth

calaban

Yeah, I got to use some glazing putty to even out a few spots. Nothing major.

L.dookie

yeah, you'll just have to shoot a little primer over the glaze before all is said and done

TD95Z

You really should start with an epoxy primer over bare metal, particularly if you intend to let it sit for awhile before finishing the job. It offers great corrosion resistance and provides a solid foundation for all the stuff you're gonna pile on later. You do all your bodywork right on top of it.

calaban

Cool, then I can ditch the sand paper. I'll use some aircraft stripper on the metal areas, then spray it with epoxy primer.

TD95Z

Sorry, you'll have to keep the sandpaper. In fact, prepare to sand until your hands bleed. Even if you started with a car that has zero dents, you'll still want to lay down a couple coats of high-build primer and block the car out. You'll hate your life for as long as it takes to get it done, but once the paint is on it, it'll look better than new. In fact, I'd like to see a build thread showing your progress. This site is rather light on paint and body threads, and our cars are getting old enough that some of the early ones are in need of freshening.

calaban

Oh, I know the sandpaper is a must, I was just saying that I won't have to sand the original paint down to bare metal. I can just use a chemical stripper then clean and Epoxy primer.

Yeah, I've had the car now for several years. I haven't done much to it unfortunately. I made a post with pics when I bought it.

The funny story is that my wife works at a finance company. A guy brought this IROC that they financed back and said he wanted to put it on their lot to try and sell it. Anyway, my wife got on the phone trying to get me and apparently her coworker was doing the same thing with her sister. Her sister beat me to it.

So I bought my Z28 about a year later. Fast forward 5 or 6 years. Car is ragged out interior and body wise, but mechanically sound and parked. She didn't drive it because it would leave her stranded and she'd dumped all the cash she was willing to dump into it so she stopped driving it. I offered her 500 bucks for it which she took and I put a new battery in it, some fresh gas and a quart of oil and it fired right up. So my dad followed me and I drove it home. Turned out the ignition cylinder was worn out. I wired a resistor in under the dash and had never had it not start for me until the fuel pump died. I have a replacement, but haven't changed it yet.

I've also replaced the radiator, valve seals, tranny mount, did a full tune up, replaced all he vacuum lines, and changed the oil, and stripped the interior.

For around 2500 bucks I can probably get it back into good shape, interior and exterior. I'm not looking to make a show car out of it, but I do want it as good if not better than stock.

Right now one of the biggest things I want is to get a 3.42 rear out of a 93+ Z28 or T/A. It has the posi rear with 2.77 gears and disc brakes, but it is a 9 bolt and there is nothing available to upgrade it.

Apparently the owner that brought it back to the finance company had had the engine rebuilt and it definately has a shift kit. It'll leave marks forever it seems when you cut up on it. I'll link to some pics though.

Nate LeDuc

Apparently no one here has heard of Ospho. Spray the rusted spot with ospho, its a mild acid that works wonders on rust. Spray it down, have it sit over night, then sand. Once its down the bare metal (wire brush is your friend) fill in the pits with spot putty, sand then prime