[ausev] Paint question

[Chris Robison]

tomsmail at wtez.net wrote:
> I'm looking for tips on painting the engine bay of the Fiero (I'm not very
> good with that sort of thing).  I want gloss white; the current color is
> black with some minor rust.  My first thought is lots of sandpaper applied
> and then a can of rustoeeum spray-on.  I don't want to REMOVE any of the
> plethora of hoses or cables coming out of the firewall while I do this.
> Is that as good as it gets?  Any advice?
> 

If you're looking to stick with locally-available consumer products to 
get the job done, you'll at least want to use something to convert the 
rust before painting over it. Rustoleum makes something called Rust 
Reformer that converts rust into an inert oxide and at the same time 
provides a coating to prevent rust from reappearing. It needs to be 
applied to a rusty surface to work well, so don't put it everywhere. 
There are other similar products with the same action (tannic acid plus 
a polymer primer) on the market.

Eastwood (http://eastwoodco.com) is a good place for specialty stuff, 
rust treatments, paints, primers and coatings. At the very least it's a 
good site to see what kinds of products are out there. Their product 
that's similar to the above, which they call "Rust Converter" is a 
2-part system that doesn't seem to require the rust to react with.

   --chris