Paint and Body Guys needed

-
T

TF360

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 25, 2014
Messages
2,518
Reaction score
924
Location
Florida
Need some help here guys. Took my car to be painted and the body work so far looks good, but here is my question. The body was sanded in a few places to bare metal like where the vinal top was and a section of the trunk. The problem is that he is letting it sit without primer and it is rusting. Also there are a couple small areas with body filler and surface rust around them. I talked to the guys about it, and he said they would sand it a little more and use vinigar to treat the rust. I thas been at least 2 1/2 weeks with the surface rust forming and the car sometimes sits outside. Is this normal practice? Do body shops do this? He is very busy with insurance work, so I'm not trying to rush the job. What do you guys think?
 
I think as long as the body and paint person properly addresses the rust, it should be ok. I would say that the paint person shouldn't let it sit for too long where it actually pits the metal. Those guys do get busy and people like us old car resto guys usually wait for a long time to get our cars finished by a body shop. if you sense that your car is outside for too long, say more than a few weeks, I would start expressing my concern, because rust under a paint job will come back to haunt you. I am kicking around painting my car myself for this reason, paint guys usually have a restoration job in their shop for way too long IMO and they never want to paint over someone else's prep work, so if you prep a car and take it to have paint shot on, they usually pick your work apart and charge you to re do it, that is something I don't have time for.
 
I have seen rust start forming in as little as 1 hour on bare metal. As long as you treat it with a acid, or some type of metal conditioner before you prime or seal over it, no problem. Since you live in Florida, I would assume the humidity is 80-95 % most of the time. I treat any bare metal before I prime/paint, even if no rust is visible, because bare metal starts rusting as soon as it is exposed to air(given enough humidity). I have seen rust hand prints form from the moisture on your hands!
 
Normal? Not at all. I do this for a living and I can tell you it's in no way normal. If one of my customers saw there car in this state it would not go over so well. The car should of had epoxy primer right after the car was blasted. Vinegar to treat rust? That should be a big red flag right there. I would pull it from that shop as fast as you can. I have more cars that come from other sghop with horror stories just like yours. Just my 02,
Tim
 
^^This^^ sounds legit, I agree fully with this. I hope you can get things resolved to your satisfaction.
 
Thanks, any other Paint and Body guys with a opinion?
 
like he said. we clean rust from our cars and prime with high $$$ epoxy primers to KEEP rust away. period. vinegar! ha
 
Hi,

Epoxy primers are the only primers that are waterproof as far as I know. If a car is going to sit awhile in primer, especially outdoors, epoxy primer is the only way to go. All other primers will allow water penetration to some degree and you're going to have a rust issue. Also, body fillers are hydroscopic, which means they will absorb and hold water. This will show up long term as rust under the body filler. If a car has been taken down to bare metal, epoxy prime first then body filler. If the car is going to sit outdoors for a time, more epoxy over the filler to seal it, then the build primer to get a smooth surface when you can follow though with finishing the paint work.

I agree with the others who have said get your car back and find another shop. I'm not sure the present shop knows what they are doing and if they do mainly insurance work they are likely into quick short cuts to keep their profits up. Insurance work shops will let old cars sit because the insurance work pays the bills and that comes first.
 
If your near Melbourne send me a PM. I just had my car painted by a real craftsman.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top