Here's the deal, my car is an '85 Buick regal t-type. Has a few rust spots on lower door corners and a couple near rear quarters. Needs a complete repiant from metal up.

I didn't finish all the patch panels yet, just finished the passenger door. Should I epoxy this door do the filler work and then do the next door and then quarters which I would not be able to get it all done within the window of time for chemical adhesion so I would have to sand everything before high build.

I have to do door jams and the back of the doors so I think I'm going to paint the car with the doors off anyways, the door jams are the only jams I plan on doing.

Or should I finish all the rust patching on the entire car and then spray my epoxy, do the filler work, high build, base and then clear(all within the product windows).

I'm a home hobbyist so some of this will take time.

Any benefit of longevity for the paint if I do it within the window for chemical adhesion or would it not matter?

you will waste alot of materials by painting 1 panel at a time, ffrom maybe over mixing the amount you need x the panels of the car can add upto quite alot, and then there is the gun cleaning thinners etc.
i have previously covered my bare panels with an old clean blanket to keep moisture off it till im ready, i have found i can get around 2-3 weeks before it starts to show signs of surface rust, when im ready i will then give the panels a good buzz with some 80g on the orbi sander to remove any tiny bits of surface rust before epoxy primer
i have heard (altho not yet tried it) that boiled linseed oil (from a hardware store) can be rubbed over the bare panel to stop rust from forming, you then simple clean it off when your ready, there are oils you can buy for this, but linseed oil is easy to get and pretty cheap!!
krem

Well either way the doors will be removed from the car. How does one handle the door once it's epoxied? Like can I stand it up against the wall, what about my hands touching it? Just clean it with prep all once I'm ready to high build it?

Do your metalwork first, then epoxy. Filler will go over epoxy ok. If you go outside the repaint window then just rub the epoxy back with P400 for enough key for the urethane primer or just a sealer coat if the panel is straight.

Ok, since I'm new to all this, and it takes awhile with the DA to sand down to metal, when I get a panel bare, and if it starts to get surface rust, what's the best way to take care of it?

I bought fast etch from eastwood, it's supposed to remove rust and then leave a zinc coating to prevent it from forming but I don't know how well it will work when the garage is only like 50 degrees. I think it only lasts like 3 weeks from when its applied as well.

You need to read the sticky posts at the top of this forum before you waste any more money and time on products.
The steps are outlined very concisely above and there are reasons people recommend using epoxy for this type of scenario.
You can do the patches on one panel and then coat with epoxy. Do your filler work and then seal it with another coat of epoxy. Leave it that way while you do your successive panels. The epoxy will protect it until your ready.

'68 Coronet R/T wrote:You need to read the sticky posts at the top of this forum before you waste any more money and time on products.
The steps are outlined very concisely above and there are reasons people recommend using epoxy for this type of scenario.
You can do the patches on one panel and then coat with epoxy. Do your filler work and then seal it with another coat of epoxy. Leave it that way while you do your successive panels. The epoxy will protect it until your ready.

Thanks I've read them all, but only so much sticks in my head. I'm going to try to do all the patch work then sand everything down to bare metal.

So I don't waste product or have to mix a bunch of batches and clean the gun a million times.

I'm just worried about any little rust in small pitted areas, eastwood has a video were they used fast etch on the pitted rust to convert t I think, and then epoxy over it.

http://youtu.be/2IZBtx0DqGM


So I used 40 grit last night sanded my door down to bare metal, I feel like there's some old primer on it in little spots here and there, I don't know if maybe 80 would work better to get it off, you kinda have to tilt your head so the light hits it right to see the primer, I think it was a DTM high build, it was thicker in some areas.