Rust or Bad Paint Job?

[Mike K]

A friend's looking at a 280SL as a project car, he sent me these pics.
Is this rust bubbling under the paint or is it a bad paint job?

If it's not rust, but a bad paint job,  would it require a complete re spray of the body?

Thanks in advance for all input.

Best
Mike

[mdsalemi]

Mike, the hood (or bonnet) is aluminum, so it surely isn't rust in those locations. Probably bad prep job before paint or something similar.
I cannot tell where all the photos are taken.

I've had minor rust, "surface bubbling" repaired in the past. Does not require a full body re-spray but it depends on who does the work whether or not you get a great job. So what else is new...

[Bonnyboy]

Based on my limited experience I would say the bubbling under the paint on the aluminium (picture 2) is corrosion of the aluminium / reaction and probably is nothing more than taking those sections back down to metal and filling and colour matching with touch up paint  - professional touch up guys should be able to do that.   The tip of the hood chipped off probably during installation of hood and needs to be sanded down and refilled and painted


picture 1 looks like poor application of filler that may not have been sealed properly - however the bubbling generally is just the tip of the ice berg.  Why is there filler there in the first place - it looks like there may have been some rust repair / filling so you will need to back to the original issue.    You may be able to get away with metal replacement in sections but expect that the metal behind the bubbles is compromised.

the bubbling on picture 4-1 looks like body filler that reacted and he may be lucky there and just need to scrape away the filler, remove rust / fix holes in metal if any and reapply new filler/paint.

cross your fingers -  what is the underneath like?

[Mike K]

Michael & Ian thanks both for your replies, much appreciated.

Pic #1: is the left rear fender. Worrisome if there's filler there...
Pic #3: bonnet/hood
Pic #4: hardtop

I'm going to have a look at the car with my friend on the weekend and will have a good look around.

Thanks & best,
Mike

[waltklatt]

Looks like a paint strip job that was done poorly and not removing to bare metal before working again.
Too many dents all over for my taste.
Needs a complete redo of entire car, if these are fixed, others will pop up later.
Last photo shows rust along the edge-check it out with a magnetic damage indicator pen(shows how deep the metal is from the paint).

[Shvegel]

Mike K,
When you go to see the car reach in above the front tire and on the inboard side up high is a rectagular boxed section of steel.  Chect the top of that for rust holes. It is my go to spot to check for rust.  Most "Restorers" miss it when they "Try to pass Mutton off for Lamb".

I'll be in the garage later and I will shoot a picture and post it,

[Shvegel]

On top of that.

[Mike K]

Waltklatt- thanks for the input, much to think about.
Shvegel- Thanks for the tip on the box and the pic.

Much appreciated gentlemen.
Best
Mike

[Chris_ATL]

Looks very similar to mine which had a very poor quality paint job done about 10 years ago... poor filler and probably they left some rust under that.

I'd be very cautious about what you don't see, especially around the sills and wheel wells.

[wwheeler]

I always think of rust damage like an iceberg. If you see any, you are only seeing 10%. The other 90% is hiding underneath.

[Pinder]

The bubble on the hood was most likely caused by the  crack in the paint which let moisture in to the aluminium hood. it needs to be sanded back to fresh metal. Does not look serious.