I own a ‘64 Oldsmobile 98 and I just got it. I got it virtually rust free. Chrome in good shape. The only exception is some little rust stains or spots mainly on the roof of the car. Does anyone know any methods to remove these rust stains without damaging the paint. (P.S I will be away for the week so I can send a picture of the roof). Sorry if that’s too vague of an issue... any ideas help.

 

You can try rubbing compound, but I don't see anything helping for very long. The rust is in the metal under the paint and staining through. That needs to be fixed. Anything else is just a band-aid.

 

I would spray a good amount of WD-40 into a shallow can and dip 0000 steel wool in the oil and buff lightly. Be generous with the oil. Remove the oil with your favorite dishwashing soap and apply polish or wax. This will give instant gratification and buy you some time until the inevitable.
If apprehensive, try a small area,

 

If it’s on the surface of the paint detailing clay should remove it. My wife’s car is white and she parks in a garage at work. Flecks of iron from the garage will leave little rust dots and the clay will remove them.
Best of luck and let us know what method you used.

 

Use clr on it. It will remove it and not hurt the paint

 

The paint in my 77 Toro is actually pretty good and I really wanna keep the original paint but I got some rust spots on the roof and the trunk.
Can I still work on the with the clay and then put a wax on it to preserve the paint and keep it from rusting more?
Like I said, I really wanna keep the original paint. I love the color and that it’s still original.
I don’t mind a little patina but I don’t want the rust stains to get really bad over the years.
The car always parks in my dry and heated workshop and will only be driven in good weather.

 

Yes you can use paint cleaning clay. It only removes surface contaminants and is non-abrasive. Be careful not to drop the clay as it would pick-up dirt that would then scratch the paint. I cut the clay bar in 1/2 in the beginning, if I drop half I still have the other 1/2. Be careful of pieces of surface rust in the clay, it will scratch the paint in other areas, throw away any clay if it is contaminated with abrasives.

Clay is not a polishing nor rubbing compound.

Good luck!!!

 

Problem is the rust is bleeding through the paint. The metal will continually be rusting under the paint until that area is refinished. You could put off refinishing by cleaning it and waxing it but you should keep the car dry as much as possible. One day you might find holes developing where the stain is.

 

Do you think if I always keep the Toro in the Shop heated and dry (same climate as in the house) and only take it out in dry weather it will stay like this and not get any worse? And just wax it regularly.

Or will it get worse anyways but just slow over the years?

Whats the alternative? Repaint the whole trunk or just spots? Will a good paintshop be able to hit the exact same color? Or will it look like a green junkyard door on a red car?

 

That looks like rail dust. Google rail dust for more info and cleaning techniques.

 

Thanks for the hint. Rail dust it might be.
I will read into that.

 

You're welcome! Many brand new cars get that here now in a month or two. I'm not sure why.

 

Huh ive never heard of rail dust before thanks Frank.

my wifes last new car was light colored and would show those little rust spots especially in the winter if it wasnt washed all the time i wondered what caused that.

 

There will be a certain amount of humidity that will get through but I would say under those conditions it would take decades for it to get any worse. The color wouldn't be a problem in re-painting it. There will be a color code somewhere on the car which a paint supplier would be able to make an exact match. The only thing that might look odd is you would have a trunk lid that would look brand new on an old car. You might have to get a buffer and buff the rest of the car.

 

I know Dean, it's like a new thing. I think it's always been around, but it's worse now. It's partly because they are not putting a lot of clear on the cars any more. Some of the new pearls and whites have no clear, or they add it to the last coat.