Exterior paint - rusty spot

[NutmegCT]

Here's what I want to repair - somehow an area on the front fender of the Benz lost its paint and the steel is rusted. Area is about 3" x 3"

View attachment 27054

Other than this area, the other paint problems are tiny surface nicks, no rust.

My plan: clean the big area with paint thinner to remove any wax, water wash and dry, sand to bare metal, prime, paint (NAPA matched-color aerosol single coat). Original paint is Daimler-Benz "synthetic resin varnish". After a few months, I'll rub down and buff the entire car.

Does the plan make sense? Any other suggestion?

Thanks.
Tom

 

[Bayless]

Short of repainting the whole fender, your plan sounds feasible. With an off-the-shelf rattle can you'll not get a very good color match on aged paint though. My local paint vendor will match existing paint and make a custom rattle can of it. I suspect yours will too. At least with that you should get a reasonable color match. Be sure to bring the sanded spot up with a good primer before shooting the color or the low spot will stand out like the proverbial sore thumb.

 

[NutmegCT]

Thanks very much. Never did this before.

My local NAPA will color match; give them a sample piece and they scan it. So I'm not planning to use an off the shelf can.

Question: I've worried about that "low spot" issue a lot. How the heck do you get the primer to fill in the low spot, without also raising the area around the spot? With the rough ragged edges of the spots, you can't exactly mask it.

Thanks.
Tom

 

[Bayless]

Masking would leave an edge. You have to feather the paint around the spot. Then shoot the primer extending a little beyond the feather. Finally sand it back down using a long board. As you start to see the original paint through the sanded primer, you will have raised the low spot a little as it did not get sanded. It will probably take more than one coat. Those old Benzes had pretty thick paint. Eventually you will eliminate the low spot. On second thought, I think I would shoot one or two coats of primer as stated then do the rest of the build with the final color. Kinda depends on how much build is needed. You probably can safely build more with the primer than the topcoat.