I have no clue what to do...

I have not been here much because of this.

After less than a year, I have discovered what I consider to be the ultimate problem. Rust.

I ordered the spatter paint from The Parts Place that was said to not require a clear coat over it and had it put into my car during the restoration. It looked awesome.

Now, less than a year later I can see rust starting to show throughout the trunk. I have no idea what to do at this point. I discovered it about 2 months ago and have walked away from the car in disgust. It is no fun to even sit in it now. I just get angry.

I spoke with the body shop who is blaming the paint manufacturer and The Parts Place who is blaming the body shop. The fix cost for this I would think will run into the many thousands of dollar.

I doubt I am even going to bother to go to the Pontiac Nationals at Norwalk this year because of it.

Why the F did I even bother doing this over the past 4 years if this is the end result?

What was the condition of the metal before painting? Was it all new metal, or existing metal? Blasted or not blasted? Primer?

If it's just surface rust on the pan, you could strip it clean it up and use POR 15 on it. When it dries, ruff up the surface with a green scotch guard pad or some sand paper and respray with the spatter paint and then clear coat.(i used one that needed the clear) It's the process I used and seems to be holding up fine.

Apparently most (if not all) of the splatter paints have an affinity for moisture which is why the clear coating was a necessary step.

Think of it as your car still wanting your attention. You've put your heart and soul into it and now it feels neglected so it is just talking to you saying it wants more. And it could be alot worse, like this one... Hope you feel better

I went through a similar ordeal. I seriously considered selling my FB before it was over. I just waited until I got over the depression and the desire to work on it again took over.

I had just gotten the car running for the 1st time since I drove it home 12 years previously. Then I blew out the rear oil pan seal - the fresh engine had to come back out.

So my advise is to just walk away and do other things until you are ready.

Relax buddy, if its just inside the trunk its fixable...plus the spatter is easily touched up afterwards.

Did you prime the trunk first? I used the epoxy primer to seal it as I find other primers too porous. I would just take off the spatter in the affected areas light grind..(it comes off pretty easily) and POR it, then respatter and SEAL with a goodly coat of clear. I had one spot that did that on mine on the right side seam in the area of your first picture. I took a wire wheel, ground it down in disgust as well, POR'd it over the primer and respattered just that area. Has not come back in over a year and I live in a humid climate! One could even go further and put a dessicant in the trunk.....I keep a cooler in there on hot days sometimes if visiting with a few cold pops in it...so the humidity can be hi....

All will be well grasshoppa,

"These definitely aren't cars, they're lifestyles"

another victim of the parts place.they were behind a deal that i lost 4,500.00 on.sorry to hear that tim

Relax - everything is fixable and that doesn't look that bad. I used the PP paint over epoxy primer and haven't had any problems. Like someone else said earlier, other primers are too porous. I'm pretty sure the PP paint is a combination of water and solvent base. The latter is what keeps the dried product from being water soluble, but not necessarily impervious to water.

Buy a trunk mat and enjoy the car over the summer. You can tackle this over the winter. If it makes you feel better, I've had my share of setbacks. An idiot at a car show put a big scratch in my car with a 55 gal drum he was moving, my reverse/fifth went out a month ago because of a poorly manufactured part in the transmission, my aluminum radiator has a small crack and the rear main seal leaks way too much. None of that stops me from driving the car, showing it or otherwise enjoying it.

Get used to it.

OMG!!!! That disgusting. I would just give the car to me if I were you and hope I never heard from me again. Yup, that would be best.
Seriously, I'll even come and get it!

Calm down, it's only rust. Imagine what's going on in places that you can't see. Maybe you better not think about it. Dude, it's just a car.

Thanks for the encouragement I guess...

My entire car was bead blasted down to bare metal and epoxy primed. That's why I don't get it. Hell, there is even rust starting to show on the vibration dampeners which was covered in epoxy black outside of the car before the were installed and spatter painted.

I know everything is fixable, but stripping the trunk to bare metal and starting again is not going to be an easy task. I need to stew a while before I make any decisions.

Right now is not happy time.

And Firebob... JUST a car????? Why I neve... how can you possibl... What kind of monster are you?!

sounds like one step was left out ... metal conditioning. i always metal condition every panel and part first before epoxy prime. just clean off the metal and condition it. it's work but thats what it will take to get it right. i think we all have had some moments of regret in restorations. good luck

http://www.tcpglobal.com/autobodydepot/trunkfinish.aspx It may be this stuff. I inquired to the manufacturer about the composition. They say it's water based with solvent based spatter. They say it needs no clear coat. And I agree, over epoxy primer sealer with or without a coat of paint, it should be fine. But not on bare or ordinary primed steel.

I am in the same boat, I am making decissions now. No big deal put it on your winter list. I am leaning to just wire brush and clean , por-15 and prime and new trunk paint. Don't feel there is any reason to strip it all out.

If I get moisture in my trunk it looks like that ,has 3 times over 9 yrs...
IF this is only in the trunk where the spatter paint is...just clean it off , repaint!

At a recent car show one of the guys had a true 69 Trans Am. While I was chatting with him about his TA and my 69 vert (I was trying to track down some original parts), he made a very wise statement that Im sure most of us have thought more than once...

Its only new once..

After it leaves the factory, its no longer new. While we pour thousands of labor hours into it, bloody our knuckles, sweat bullets, the fact remains that its only new once. So its best to try not to sweat the little stuff and instead enjoy the car as much as possible. Theyre meant to be driven, they will get rust, dents, scratches, dirt, leaks, cracks, ...signs of wear because they are used.. theyre not new anymore.

I also know that if something bothers you so much, then do something about it. Either fix it, or sell it, and then move on. But to dwell on it only makes you more upset. In a way, having some cars too pristine almost makes them look unauthentic.

I had a guy at one car show who worked for GM say quite honestly... "no car ever left the factory perfect.."

Its still a beautiful car.. drive it, show it off with pride..!!

My previous comments withstanding, this doesn't make sense. Unless the blasted parts were allowed to develop some rust before being epoxied, I doubt surface prep is the problem. On the other hand, the rust on the damper looks like it could be the result of insufficient film build of the epoxy or some light rust prior to priming. Paint does not like to cover sharp edges and those same edges are where rust likes to start first.

I would sand it down, epoxy it and spray the whole trunk over with the spatter paint. The spatter paint blends very well so you could tape off all the vertical surfaces to avoid some work. I would not use POR as it is not meant (despite what they claim) for clean metal or for going over existing paint.

Cat, I know huh? Sounds terrible but I drive the heck out of mine and if I worried about every little thing I'd never be able to enjoy it as much I do. I've never tried to make it perfect for just that reason. Heck I'm happy when it runs good all day for me.

John, Please elaborate on the "not meant for clean metal" despite what they claim. I followed those instructions, should I have not?

Any paint over rust product is designed to bite into rusty material for adhesion. These products are typically made of long chain polymers which provide an exceptional barrier coating, but have poor adhesion properties unless reacted with something, rust in this case. Using them over clean metal requires additional steps to make a product not designed for clean metal to work on clean metal. The long chain polymers are more easily broken by UV rays and that is why POR and other makers advise against using it in areas exposed to the sun. On smooth clean metal, the POR type products have been known to flake off.

Epoxys and other primers are typically made of short chain polymers that have better adhesion properties, but are more porous. Good epoxies also have chromates or zinc particles which passivate exposed metal. For example, small breaches in the primer can withstand rusting for a period of time until the zinc or chromate is depleted from the primer. Epoxies have good barrier properties, but must be top coated to provide a proper barrier coating. However, this system does not work on rusted metal as we all know.

I have seen comprehensive tests conducted by an ISO certified lab that show that an epoxy/top coat system over clean metal is substantially superior to a paint-over-rust system of any type over any type of substrate. POR products are excellent for what they are designed for, but I believe they get over used and for applications they are not intended for. I have used POR inside of cavities, frame rails etc... where it is impossible to get a good surface for epoxy.

Thanks John, I've sent you a pm

POS 15 is just as in its name. I have always overemphisied the super-critical need to REMOVE RUST COMPLETLY. Mine had heavy duty surface rust covering all the upper horizontal metal--knocked it out in '87, and the car is holding up without returning rust.

It's nice to see years tally up and see the results of halfassed attempts to make repairs, something I learned quickley about 30 years ago. I can now sit back and watch the 'excellent' results of POS 15 as it just begins to enter the relm the short-term of the long-term haul.

Do it correctly, or scruff it up, somoke it over, and you'll be ready to roll for the next few months.

Now that's motivating and informative! I'll just have to go back and pull all the POR off my underside and start again..Dayam!

Mind you I did remove all the rust....

I've considered having mine sprayed with Rhino Lining.