['olbuckeyes]

i was thinking on sanding and priming down my '74 grandprix myself to save money,but i have never did this kind of work before,and the body has some rust spots and i was wondering what all do i have to do to get rid of the rust and give the body a smooth surface all over and keep the rust away,also what kind of sand paper would i need for such a project,and do i need any other kind of special tools?

[niceta]

This is a huge undertaking you are proposing. I have started restoration on my 73 TA and from the outside did not show much rust. I knew by looking in the trunk I was going to have some surprises. Sure enough once I got into it found some rust issues. Now I am looking at buying a welder and patching the rust with aftermarket panels. I have also had to buy sanders, grinders, sandpaper (80, 120, and 220 grit). I am also looking at buying a sandblaster. I am looking at a 2 year project and I do not know yet how much it will cost. Estimating $5000-$10000 for total paint and body and that is me doing alot of bodywork myself. I would say if you are seeing rust coming through the paint you may have some real issues there. If you just bondo over the rust to cover it up it will show up within a year and ruin your hard work and EXPENSIVE paint.Before you do anything do alot of reading and learning and really think about whether or not this is the car you want to sink alot of money and time into.

[Ken K]

Yea but once you learn to do it, you won't have to rely on some smuck you don't know doing the work. And the next one will be much easier. You think the people doing the sanding on you car at a body shop have years of experience? The person with the experience paints the car while the grunts do the real work LOL.

[TJH]

That question can in no way be answered by a simple BB post.
If you are seriously considering this, go buy a book on body repair and painting.
It will quickly either pay for itself, or make it obvious to you how involved this project will be. Either way, it will save you a lot of grief.

[eric65]

Look here as well start body and paint
http://www.autobody101.com/forums/index.php

http://www.autobody101.com/

Great info site with basic how-to's or is it how-too's
GoodLuck

[red76TA]

Originally Posted by Ken K

Yea but once you learn to do it, you won't have to rely on some smuck you don't know doing the work. And the next one will be much easier. You think the people doing the sanding on you car at a body shop have years of experience? The person with the experience paints the car while the grunts do the real work LOL.

the people sanding the paint off your car may not have been doing it for years, but the people repairing rust and fixing dents better have, i dont care who paints the car, if the body work isnt good the paint will still look like hell

[Ken K]

Around here rust is not the problem. The body shops hire inexperienced people to do the sanding, most of them get burnt out in a short while and they find someone else to do it. They do have people who know what they are doing working on some cars but you will end up paying for it in the end. He would not be trying to paint it himself if wanted to have a body shop do a 10K paint job and have the car end up in body shop jail for a few years. Just like Ebay, the cars that look like deals need work and paint jobs, throw that on the car and then it's not a deal anymore. Who pays more for paint jobs than a car is worth?

[niceta]

I certainly don't know what his situation is but maybe he got the car for cheap and wants to make a nice driver out of it. Maybe the rest of the car is in really nice shape. If you think about how much a new car cost and put that into perspective all of a sudden a paint job sounds reasonable especially when you do the body work yourself. Again be prepared for alot of work.

[Greg Reid]

Originally Posted by 'olbuckeyes

i was thinking on sanding and priming down my '74 grandprix myself to save money,but i have never did this kind of work before,and the body has some rust spots and i was wondering what all do i have to do to get rid of the rust and give the body a smooth surface all over and keep the rust away,also what kind of sand paper would i need for such a project,and do i need any other kind of special tools?

That's exactly what I was thinking of doing when I saw the rust on my GTO.
I decided to do it.....A year and a half ago... and I'm just getting to the point where it's almost ready to paint.
I will say though that I don't regret having done it myself. I learned a lot and I have added a lot of tools to my inventory and new skills since beginning.
Everything said regarding the time, tools and skills necessary is true.

[niceta]

some more helpful links

http://www.hbci.com/~chriss/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JB89aoSYGjM
http://www.autobodystore.com/bodyshop.htm

http://www.buickperformance.com/qtr.htm

[lcoz31]

This is my first restoration; 66gto. Decided to do most of the time consuming work myself. 1. remove emblems, window trim, grills, bezels, etc. 2. Strip all paint with auto grade stripper. 3. Sand down with DA or similar roto sander-60 grit then 100 grit- you want to see what is hidden under there. 5. use rust encapsulator on fine surface rust. 6. preserve all bare metal with rust inhibiter. This is as far as I wanted to go. Went to a local body shop for major rust repair and paint. Hate to try and save in the end and have it bleed through after spending thousands on a large investment. By the way, my first car, High school class of 73, was a 73, white, 455 trans-am like niceta.

[niceta]

Hey lcoz maybe we can trade when I'm done, I was born in 66. Oh wait a minute, I'll probably never be done LOL. I like the old GTO's. Are you done the body on the GTO now?. How did it turn out?. Was your TA auto or 4 gear?. How much $ do you figure you saved by stripping and sanding? $3-5K?