Someone gouged a 1-inch scratch in my passenger B-pillar a while back. It's shallow and has rust in it (the only rust on the car). I've been thinking I'd sand it down and paint it with either spray paint or maybe the bumper paint IPD sells. Anyone have any advice? I don't want it to look amateurish, but body-shop estimates were pretty high. (One even told me I should do it myself.)

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John--'88 244DL, M47, 102K

Matte black paint sounds like the way to go.I have not tried this but I have touched up other parts on the car.Just remember to mask off a "very large" area before painting.You never know where the overspray will reach.
Nelson

You can probably just use matte-black paint on it. You don't need flexible paint specifically, just not a glossy-black finish. Sometimes bumper paint has just the right finish for that kind of job (wiper arms, smooth black plastic, etc.) If you do a good job of sanding, priming and prepping, it will come out really well and shouldn't be obvious. You may find yourself refinishing the rockers or something like that also, once you see how clean it looks. The good thing about matte black paint is that it is very easy to lay on as long as you don't make it run. I used to work in a body shop, and we'd touch up bumper finishes and other detail items/small areas with the can, believe it or not.

Before I paint the matte black over the scratch, how should I get the rust out? Will hand-sanding do the job, or do I need rust remover? What about a rust-preventive, like POR-15? It's such a small area--maybe a milimeter wide and an inch long, max--but I don't want the rust to spread.

Thanks again.
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John--'88 244DL, M47, 102K