fookin weather.

few questions about bodywork/welding/painting etc.

original paint, can this be simply sanded flat to use as undercoat for the new paint? or best back to bare metal as much as possible?

etch primer.... all over the car or only on places affected by rust?

panels.. best to fit whole thing? or "cut and paste" bits of them to keep as much of the original bits on? or better to get a decent shell and cut bits out of that?

parts... is much MK4/5 stuff still available from Fords? all the little odds and sods, clips, hatch struts, connectors, general mechanicals that will fit.

any advice appreciated.

 

im a novice with this stuff aswell but where replaging panels comes in ve been choping up pattern panals to patch the originals it seemed the easiest way to do my inner wing but some jobs will be just as easy to replace the full panel

 

I would just remove what is rotten and either fabricate a piece to patch or like said cut up a pattern panel to fit hole, either butt weld or if it will be hidden use a joggler on one panel to give a flush repair from one side, just make sure you seal and paint both sides to make it last. I did my Fiesta in this way, even just cutting out small sections of inner and outer wheelarch and just fabricating inner panel and cut up a repair wheel arch panel to repair outer. but when I noticed the rear panel had corroded a bit I just bought a valence and cut off the old completely and put on a new panel, depends what is easier when you look at rot, as some panels are easier to replace than repair, but always cut out all rot and seal new metal properly for a long lasting repair. Weld through primer can help if you cannot get to back of panel after its been welded on. Just waxoyl everything as well.

hope this helps