body/chassis work stuff

[amalventano at sc.rr.com (Allyn)]

ok, a couple of questions i'd like to pose to the list. these are issues 
which have always nagged at me, and the net seems a bit lacking on.

- what is the *best* rust converter/treater out there? i'm not talking 
por-15 (paint over rust) as thats just not practical in some cases (lines 
that you dont plan to paint, some exterior body panels, etc), i'm talking 
super-heavy-duty-industrial/use-a-mask-or-pass-out converter, that 
penetrates deeply and kills off the current rust. this can be something that 
requires sealing afterwards, or some kind of advanced system of treat+seal 
perhaps. i'm open for anything you guys have come across in the past.

- does anyone on the list have any good intel on dent removal / 
straightening. not the heavy duty stuff (hydraulic rams), but the light duty 
stuff, where you finesse the dents out of sheet metal. i know its an 
'acquired art', but i cant acquire anything unless i have some base-line 
knowledge on which actions yield which results, and which tools are 
available / are the right tools for the job. i'm trying to avoid the 
drill-300-holes-in-the-fender-and-slide-hammer-to-death methods. i'm also 
looking for the funky knowledge, like how you can use heat/cooling to shrink 
a slightly bulged section (that had been previously slide hammered to 
death), working kinked seams out, etc. i know this stuff is possible, as i 
saw the miracle work done on steve szubas callaway fender. i swear it looked 
factory (along with that 'life in a bubble' look that steves rocco has).

thanks in advance for info, i hope to somehow compile any voodoo magic 
learned and throw up some sort of working document / faq / notes for other 
listers. i'm sure with a little collaboration we can come up with something 
and eventually work a little body work expertise into all of us.

Al

Allyn Malventano, ETC(SS), USN
87 Rieger Scirocco GTO 2.0 16v (daily driver, 200k, rocco #6)
86 Kamei Twin 16V Turbo Scirocco GTX (30% complete, rocco #7)
86.5 Occo 16v Trailer (rocco #8)
90 Passat GL 16V (the wifes new daily, 200k)