The Weekend Rehab

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This stuff, plus one three-day weekend, is all it takes to transform your car. (PS: We forgot to put the paint gun in the picture.)

This stuff, plus one three-day weekend, is all it takes to transform your car. (PS: We for

So often, we staffers hear stories of cars languishing in barns or rotting away in fields while their owners swear they will restore it one of these days. More often than not, “one of these days” never comes, and the car sinks further into oblivion. Restoring a car is hard work, takes a lot of time, and is very expensive. Maybe you have just such a car in your garage/barn/field, and you don’t have the resources to do a proper restoration. If so, follow our formula to kill the rust and keep the car in good shape until you can afford to do the whole job. You’d be surprised by how much you can accomplish with a gallon of good primer and a couple cans of spray paint.

Rust Treatment and Primer

Here is the subject of our recent transformation on the day we bought it on Craigslist. We know weathered patina is all the rage these days, but not all patina is cool, and this ’67 C-10 was just ugly. By the way, don’t worry about us becoming Truck Craft—that’s not gonna happen. It was just a coincidence that this truck needed work at the same time this article needed to be written.
Here is the subject of our recent transformation on the day we bought it on Craigslist. We
Our C-10 is relatively straight and mostly solid. It had a couple of rust-through spots on the floor, and the whole thing was covered with an unsightly case of surface rust sprouting up through an aging, white re-spray over its original medium-blue paint. While we bought this truck as a parts hauler, we didn’t want it to rust away, so we decided to kill the rust but in a way that minimized down time. We began by sanding all the visible rust with a 40-grit 3M Hookit (Velcro backed) sanding disc on our trusty Makita rotary buffer.
Our C-10 is relatively straight and mostly solid. It had a couple of rust-through spots on
We followed up with 3M 150-Grit Stick-It (adhesive-backed) discs on an Igersoll-Rand dual-action (DA) sander we bought on eBay for $27. Don’t get crazy with the DA—you don’t need to sand the car down to bare metal, but just smooth out the rough scratches left by the 40-grit paper.
We followed up with 3M 150-Grit Stick-It (adhesive-backed) discs on an Igersoll-Rand dual-

Within a few hours, we had the whole truck scuffed and ready for paint. When buying materials, get an entire roll of DA sanding discs—you will use most of them.
Within a few hours, we had the whole truck scuffed and ready for paint. When buying materi
Also, buy a roll of 2 3⁄4-inch-wide, adhesive-backed, 150-grit sandpaper. While you should be able to reach most areas with the DA sander, you will have to manually sand the hard-to-reach places. We used a flexible sanding block available from the Eastwood Company.
Also, buy a roll of 2 3⁄4-inch-wide, adhesive-backed, 150-grit sandpaper. While you should
While removing the grille trim, headlight, bezels, and turn-signal lenses, we decided to pull the bumper off as well. Normally, this is an awkward proposition, especially when working by yourself, but we used our Door & Bumper Dolly made by Champ Tools and sold through Auto Body Toolmart. It is height-adjustable, can be raised or lowered using the crank, and made removing the bumper surprisingly easy.
While removing the grille trim, headlight, bezels, and turn-signal lenses, we decided to p

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Sanding the car got rid of the surface rust, but we needed to coat the surface with some sort of rust treatment. We’ve tried several available on the market and really like Eastwood’s Rust Encapsulator. It penetrates deep into rusty surfaces, dries quickly, and is compatible with body filler and most urethane primers and paint. In short, it is a good foundation coating for bare metal. You can brush it on, use a roller, or spray it. It is also available in aerosol cans. Rather than spot-treating individual rusty areas on the truck, we decided to spray the whole thing with this stuff using our DeVilbiss Starting Line gun set up with a 1.3 fluid tip and 27 psi dialed into the inlet regulator. It took about a quarter-gallon to cover the truck with two coats. Prior to application, we wiped the surface with Eastwood’s PRE paint prep. We have it in a gallon container, but you might only need a couple of aerosol cans. Rust Encapsulator dries quickly to a rich, semi-gloss black color. We were tempted to leave the truck wearing only this product, but because it is a one-component coating (meaning it dries in the air rather than needing to be mixed with an activator or hardener), it is not a durable topcoat and isn’t intended to be. It can easily be removed with solvents such as gasoline or paint thinner, so it works best as a foundation for primer and paint.

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Eastwood recommends letting Rust Encapsulator dry for eight hours prior to topcoating. We let it dry overnight before spraying the truck with PCL’s black PolyPrimer. The setup on our spray gun was the same—1.3 fluid tip, 27 psi inlet pressure—and it took about two-thirds of a gallon to cover the truck in PCL’s recommended process of a light mist coat followed by two medium coats with 15 minutes flash time between the last two coats. This is a two-component coating, meaning it requires an activator or hardener for this product to cure. That’s what’s in the little squeeze bottle next to the gallon can in the inset photo. Two component coatings are generally weatherproof and will therefore protect your car from the elements. PCL’s PolyPrimer is available in a variety of colors from white to gray to red oxide. We like black and will leave the truck like this for a while.

Flat black is cool, but for the long-term, we thought it would be nice to make it look a little more finished, so we decided to paint the grille and roof with satin-white Rust-Oleum, mimicking a two-tone look available from the factory. To mask the front of the truck, we used fine-line tape (bright green in the photo) to form the line we wanted to separate the white paint from the black primer, then stuck the painters’ plastic to it with it with 3⁄4-inch masking tape. We sprayed the grille area first with about two coats of Rust-Oleum, then repeated the process on the roof.
Flat black is cool, but for the long-term, we thought it would be nice to make it look a l
We used two full cans of Rust-Oleum to cover these areas and wished we had bought one more can, because we barely got the roof covered before running out of paint. The Rust-Oleum took a little longer to dry than the Rust Encapsulator and primer. Give it some extra time, and be sure it is only slightly tacky before pulling off the tape.
We used two full cans of Rust-Oleum to cover these areas and wished we had bought one more

Minor Fixes

Our front bumper was especially crusty and had a big dent off-center, toward the driver side. To fix it, we first sanded the crap out of it with a grinder then thoroughly by hand with 150-grit paper. Next, we laid it face down on a pair of wood blocks, with one block being directly under the dent. Hammering the dent from the back side onto a relatively soft surface like wood will help shape the bumper into something more closely resembling how it should look. Bumpers are made with much-thicker-gauge steel than the rest of the body, and our 3-pound sledgehammer barely made an impression on it. We had to heat the area with our acetylene torch, after which we were able to pound out the dent to the best of our ability. It’s still there, but it is better than before.
Our front bumper was especially crusty and had a big dent off-center, toward the driver si
The impact that dented the face of the bumper also caused the top edge to curl both up and down on either side of the dent. Fixing this required clamping the bumper in our bench vise, prying up where the bumper was low, and pushing down on it where the bumper was high.
The impact that dented the face of the bumper also caused the top edge to curl both up and
Laugh all you want, but this worked, and the top edge of the bumper is almost perfectly straight. (It would have worked better if your author were a little heavier!)
Laugh all you want, but this worked, and the top edge of the bumper is almost perfectly st

While we were at it, we decided to fix one of the areas where the floor had rusted through on the passenger side near the bottom of the A-pillar. We marked the section to cut out using a multi-angle straightedge we had purchased from Harbor Freight. Straight lines are easier to cut and easier to fit for patch panels.
While we were at it, we decided to fix one of the areas where the floor had rusted through
We cut the floor section with a die grinder and cleaned the edges with a Roloc Scotch-Brite disc on an angle grinder.
We cut the floor section with a die grinder and cleaned the edges with a Roloc Scotch-Brit
We transferred the shape of the patch panel onto a piece of 18-gauge mild steel we purchased from the remnant pile of our local metal supply store. To cut the new panel, we used Harbor Freight’s pneumatic nibbler.
We transferred the shape of the patch panel onto a piece of 18-gauge mild steel we purchas

Our measurements were really close, and our patch panel only needed minor trimming with hand shears to fit snugly with the edges butted up to the truck’s floorpan.
Our measurements were really close, and our patch panel only needed minor trimming with ha
We made a second patch to repair the damaged section of the doorsill and set them in place with holding magnets. They are now ready to be welded in.
We made a second patch to repair the damaged section of the doorsill and set them in place
Using our Millermatic 211 MIG welder, we stitch-welded the patch panels in place. It was difficult because the surrounding sections of the floor were also rusty (especially on the back side, where access was limited), and the rust contaminates the weld, causing extra sparks and some blowback through the weld puddle.
Using our Millermatic 211 MIG welder, we stitch-welded the patch panels in place. It was d

In addition to contaminating the weld, the floor surrounding our patch panels may have varied wildly in thickness, depending on how much it had rusted. Look at the difference in thickness just in this small section of the truck’s floor. What is normal 18-gauge steel in some areas is more like 22- or 24-gauge, rusty steel in others. The settings required to weld 18-gauge steel burned right through the floorpan in several areas, and we had to turn the voltage down on our welder to compensate.
In addition to contaminating the weld, the floor surrounding our patch panels may have var
While it would have been more proper to buy a new floorpan and doorsills, we didn’t have the budget so had to make do with our homemade patch panels. In the end, this repair is sound (though this photo was taken before all the welding was finished), and, best of all, it was a lot less expensive than buying replacement sheetmetal.
While it would have been more proper to buy a new floorpan and doorsills, we didn’t have t
If you’re unsure about tackling a panel replacement right away but need a temporary fix for rusted metal, try All-Metal body filler. It’s like Bondo on steroids and actually has aluminum flakes suspended within the filler substrate. On Eastwood’s website, it’s recommended for use on damaged or rotted out sections of metal and is described as a safer alternative to lead filler. Be sure to clean all the excess rust from the area and treat with a rust converter first. Mix the All-Metal with its hardener, just as you would with regular body filler. Apply it with a spreader and allow it to dry before sanding it smooth. We’ve used this before and can attest to its strength. This is tough stuff and takes forever to sand. Get the 40-grit (or even 36-grit!) paper out for this.
If you’re unsure about tackling a panel replacement right away but need a temporary fix fo

After straightening the front bumper the best we could, we sprayed it with two coats of Rust-Oleum silver-metallic wheel paint. It doesn’t look as gaudy as it sounds, and the finish looks kinda like chrome if you squint a little. We also painted the grille-surround trim with the stuff and were pleased with the results. Putting the trim back on was one of the few hassles we ran into this weekend. These trim clips love to break and laugh at you as you try to reassemble them. We managed to salvage enough of them in working order to secure the grille surrounds in place. New replacements are available from companies like Goodmark, Classic Industries, and Brothers truck parts.
After straightening the front bumper the best we could, we sprayed it with two coats of Ru

How I Spent My Long Weekend

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Compared to what we started with, the end result looks pretty good, and we really did accomplish the whole job over a long weekend, starting on a Thursday night after work, and working steadily through until Sunday. No all nighters were necessary, either. I think the latest I worked on it was 9 p.m., one night.

We pulled this off for a decent price, too. If you count only the paint and primer work, the total is about $1,000, and that price includes just about everything, including mixing cups, lacquer thinner, tape, and masking paper. So what did we get for our time and money? No, our project isn’t a show-stopper, but we didn’t waste any time or materials. Any future bodywork can be done on top of the primer we just sprayed. Or, if we want this to be the permanent look, we could just spray a clear coat right over the primer and call this thing done. Either way, we kept another piece of vintage iron from rotting away due to neglect.

Paint Parts List
Description	PN	Source	Price
3M 40-grit sanding disc, 25 pack	4978-040	Finishmaster	$37.95
3M 6-inch, 150-grit sanding discs	5783	Finishmaster	36.89
3M 23⁄4-inch 150-grit sandpaper roll	4616	Finishmaster	44.09
Used Ingersoll-Rand DA sander	N/A	eBay	27.00
Makita rotary polisher	N/A	Purchased a long time ago	150.00
Champ Tools Door & Bumper Dolly	1415	Auto Body Toolmart	249.99
PRE Painting Prep, 30-ounce bottle	10594 ZP	Eastwood	16.99
Rust Encapsulator, 2 quarts	16070 ZP	Eastwood	75.98
PCL PolyPrimer	PCL-903GL	Finishmaster	98.42
Rust-Oleum Stops Rust Enamel, satin white (qty. 2)	At your local big-box store	Lowe’s	9.94
Rust-Oleum Silver Metallic wheel paint (qty. 2)	At your local auto-parts store	Auto Zone	13.58
Plastic sheeting	SPS1240	Finishmaster	32.99
DeVilbiss Paint and Priming System	12506	Eastwood	169.99
Acetone, 1 quart	N/A	Lowe’s	7.99
Lacquer thinner	N/A	Finshmaster	6.99
18-inch masking paper roll	4369	Auto Body Toolmart	27.49
5-piece mixing cup set	51202	Eastwood	4.99
Total			$1,011.27

Metal Repair Parts List
Description	PN	Source	Price
USC All-Metal	50751 ZP	Eastwood	$39.99
16-gauge air nibbler	46061	Harbor Freight	29.99
16-inch combination square	67771	Harbor Freight	7.99
18-gauge mild steel remnant	N/A	M & K Metals	6.99
Die grinder	92144	Harbor Freight	9.99
Angle grinder	32046	Harbor Freight	15.99
Millermatic 211 MIG welder	907422	Miller Electric	1,317.00