My paint/material was Sikkens from start to finish. It wasn't that I had a love affair with Sikkens; rather, it was the paint stocked by the dealership where I worked. I got a little bit of a discount, but I also had an employee account, whereby I could have the costs deducted on a weekly basis, rather than swallowing a large horse pill in one gulp. The paint is going to be 19 this summer, and it has spent its lifetime outside 24/7, so I really don't have anything to complain about. I buffed it out, and it's looking pretty darn good, provided that the sun 'dont shine on it.

About media blasting: I don't know whether or not it's old school menatlity, but the information I have gotten from bodymen is that blasting, sand or otherwise, actually pushes the metal. The result is, on the molecular level, metal molecules migrate over the small miscropic pits.

I'm not knocking anyone's opinion, but it seems that those who sell media blasing have vested interests in their product. The bodymen who make the claim about the problem certainly don't have vested interst in grinding discs. Too them, rust is a money killer because they cannot charge the amount of money they deserve for the amount of time spent on grinding out rust.

I know the thin metal is a concern. For now, the major problem with surface rust is in the picture I posted. On the real redo, this metal with be replaced, along with the quarter panel replacment, so my foucs is short term, 3 to 5 years--tops!

Above the corners of the b/g, the picture is the worst side is rust free, so there aren't issues of grinding metal. The couple of spots in the w/s pinchweld are so small that localized agressive grinding won't affect the structural integtity of the metal.