Question for painters

aspen

Member
2004 Sprinter with 306k miles.
Rust is not horrible, because I have been working on
sections over the years, repainted roof from gutter up,
took care of some bubbles on the panels, etc.
I am planning on repainting entire van with base and clear.

How would you go about these small orange spots?
I was thinking cleaning them to bare metal, treating
the spots with zinc phosphate, 2k sealer primer in those areas, base and clear.
Or should I prime everything, say the entire door if the door has a couple dozen of those
tiny orange spots?
Is there a more efficient way? I don’t want to strip entire panel to bare metal but want to make sure the tiny rust spots don’t come back.
 

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markxengineering

Active member
I started doing that to my hood, then realized it was something like $250 for a brand new one, shipped, after looking around. Just something to consider, because rust is so difficult to stop.
 

aspen

Member
I changed my hood last fall, got a used in very good shape for $200, repainted it to white ( it was red), came out pretty good. Original hood had bottom pinch rusted out.
I am surprised new is so inexpensive. Years ago I made an comprehensive insurance claim when wind took my driver door and messed up hinge. Insurance guy told me the door is over $2000, I collected around $2700 and had the door repaired ( practical repair, not glamorous) for $400.
 

GC1234

2006 2500 140wb
raptor line is like a diy rhinoliner. I used it years ago to do my 2001 nissan frontier flares and front bumper when they were faded out. Looked great, noticed a few small chips over the years but it held up well without fading. You can get it on amazon with a sprayer that hooks up to an air compressor. Clean that thing asap, or plan to do everything you want in one go, it'll clog up and its not worth scrubbing to clean.
 

vanski

If it’s winter, I’m probably skiing..
+1 on raptor.. best thing about it is low maintenance over time...
 

aspen

Member
It probably doesn’t make sense to sand to bare metal tiny pinholes like this, what do you say?
I am thinking to sand entire van with 220 grit and shoot it with Epoxy Primer after I am done smoothing out bare areas with Glazing Putty.
What do you think of the Epoxy Primer idea?
I just want a permanent solution for these tiny orange spots that keep appearing, especially after winter.
 

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Midwestdrifter

Engineer In Residence
Tiny pinholes can just be touched up with matching paint. If you are painting the whole panel. I would sand the pinhole to fresh metal, typically in a <1 square inch area. The T1N primer will degrade around the hole, making it likely to peel at some point. Also the rust can spread under the primer, and you won't see it from the outside.

Spraying it all with a good primer is a great way to stop the paint degrading. The whitewash top coat really doesn't seal well.
 

aspen

Member
I also asked about re-painting on an auto body and paint forum.
One opinion is that if the rust spots come from inside out, then stripping entire van to bare metal is the correct approach.
If the rust spots come outside in, then removing small bubbles, treating metal and priming is ok.
So, on our vans, do those rust spots grow from inside heading out? I agree that oftentimes you cannot even see a rust spot under paint until it starts bubbling...
 

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