My '73 has some minor surface rust on the doors and rear quarters. I am not going to able to have the car painted till summer but i want to do something about this rust now. What is the best way to treat this and keep the rust away until i am able to have it painted?

for surface rust, just sand it off and then spray primer on it, if you want to keep the car one color you can spray it with matching color paint after the primer, that should get you to the real paint job

Ok...is there a certain type of primer that i should use? Because i was under the impression that primers didnt really prevent rust. Thanks.

Also, is there a certain grit sandpaper that is best? Thanks again.

a good primer will hold off rust for a while, i was sujecting a quick fix to hold the rust at bay utill you can paint it.

as for sandpaper probably 120 grit+ it shouldent take to long to get rid of the rust.

You might try MetalReady, Ospho, or any of the other phosphoric acid concoctions-usually green-out there that are made to eat rust and leave a zinc-phosphate flash coating. Home Depot caries one at a low price. I have used MetalReady and Ospho to eat rust and protect the clean surface, just put it on, keep it wet (agitate with a brush if black crust is present) until the rust is dissolved(uniform gray color-no black-even in the pits), and let it dry-don't wipe it off of where the rust was.

Be sure to mask the paint, it will usually turn darker if you get any on it for any length of time.

Here in Savannah in summers high humidity and frequent rain, the surface is protected for about two weeks, in the winter, it lasts over a month. Cover it with a zink based primer, and you won't have to fool with it until you are ready for bodywork!

Will