blister rust repair

[88 aries]

I have 3 surface rust spots underneith the paint on my aries and the clear coat is scuffed a little on top of the fenders and header panel, im debateing on fixing it, the car has never had any body work, but also i dont want rust holes in the feature.


What do you think my K friends. I know i get good marks at shows for originality

[1of10K]

I would leave them as is unless you want to repaint the whole car. it may be rough to get matching touchup paint, the car's original paint may be a little lightened or faded from age, new fresh repairs will stand out. I have been using Rust Preventor type spray paint (POR-15 is good too, but labor intensive and expensive)for some years now, with good results. if you can get somehow to the back of where the rust is, soak it with the spray until it drips, the spray will change color when it cures. Most major Auto Parts chain stores have some of the spray stuff, maybe about $6 per can. Doing this will help slow down the rusting, preventing will take sanding the exterior spots and soaking them from that side.

[89ARIES]

Rust never sleeps, even in in dry Southern California. I have a few surface rust spots thanks to a truck dropping a dangerous chain on the freeway which I ran over and the thing flew up and put a dent under the door (even scraping a little bare metal off of the surface). I also have a few little spots hear and there underneath from debris. I would like to get those sanded and repainted. I take rust seriously as rust does eat through metal and there is nothing you can do to stop it short of sanding it off or trying a few rust converter products that do seem to work. If you leave it as it is, it will eat a hole, maybe in less than a few years because of your climate. Where I live, you can sometimes get away with leaving a rust spot for 10-15 years before it does any serious damage. My brother's Plymouth Colt Vista has a rust spot that is now finally becoming a problem after 12 years. The 87 Toyota Corolla, made out of cheap Jap metal, actually has a rusthole near the fuel filler door and rust hole cavities in the door frame. Granted though the car did spend two years in South Florida. I HATE RUST! By the way Justin, the reason we have so many 1970s American cars in the southwest is that a dry climate is the only place the special iron steel 70s sheet metal can survive 10-20 years before rustthru. Most 70s American cars in your part of the country were swiss cheese in 5 years. 70s American and Jap cars rust the fastest. 80s Chrysler cars were one of the best rustproof American cars and thats why there are more 80s American rustbuckets in Canada while 80s Jap cars are almost extinct up there. Here in crazy import Cali, thousands of 80s Japs cars are seen every day here on the roads as daily drivers while the K-car is very rare. I see 20-25 80s Toyotas every week. A long-winded sermon about rusty cars in America.

[88 aries]

i do spray the spots with oil, so that it doesnt grow anymore and it hasnt since we only use it for shows and nice weather, it also helps when it doesnt see rain. BTW guy i see lots of old 1980's buicks around that are just starting to rust out, we have an 89 lesabre and it is just starting to rust around the rear fenders.


Oh last weekend i saw a k-car still running, it was an 87-88 reliant, very rusted nothing left of it some low income person was drving it. i also saw a cordvan red newyorker with no rust an old person was driving it , also a while back i saw an rosewood colored 1988 plymouth reliant. So their is lots of them still hanging around in Lacrosse wisconsin.

[89ARIES]

Well, its funny what one will see depending where they live. When old cars decline in numbers, one area can have none of them left and another, poorer area may have a dozen. Near my bank, guess what I found today:

1977 Dodge Monaco Coupe (Registered through 2009) No body damage. Blue. Faded paint. No rust.
1960s Dodge Charger 2dr HT with shredded vinyl top
1978 Ford Granada 4dr Sedan Gray with in excellent shape.
1986 Shelby GLHS (Shelby version of Dodge Charger). Black and original decal. Excellent shape.

No doubt about it, all cars from the 80s and 70s here are now VERY hard to find. The only American 1980s cars I see with relative ease a few times a week are the 80s Ford Crown Victorias & Mercury Marquis, 80s Big GMS, while the smaller compacts are virtually disappearing. Our K-cars here in California seem to vary somewhat between the two with the earlier models almost impossible to find. However, I noticed in the last two years that the numbers of Aries and Reliants available for sale online decreased about 30-40 % and almost no LeBaron Coupes or sedans show up anymore. The convertible K-car is now considered by many to be "the only K-car worth saving" and is going in upwards of $7000. The easiest 70s American car to find here and one that is virtually available everywhere is the 70s Chevy Nova. Oh yeah, sad story, the mint 84 Oldsmobile Omega here at school got into an accident and the rear bumper was pushed in half a foot on one side. Still driveable. I am sure it was hit at least at 25 mph. There is also an 80s ...........Well, you get the point. However, if Congress passes the Accelerated Vehicle Retirement Program in the next few weeks, which is under debate right now in the Legislature, and if this recession becomes a full blown out depression, I think almost all the 80s American cars are going to disappear in matter of months instead of a matter of years.