These days, I might have some doubts that the $1500 repaint bill would include welding in new metal. My bet is the new patch is going to be glued in place.
You should cut out the rust, treat the metal with a rust converter (for the rust you missed cutting out), form a patch and glue the patch panel over top of the hole surrounded by the good metal, then add filler to the edges to make it smooth, and paint it.
Anything short of cutting out the old rusty metal and replacing it with new metal will guarantee the rust will return, possibly as soon as 6 months.
Once you do it yourself, and find out just how hard it really is, I'd bet the next time, that $1500 won't look so bad. Gene
I agree with everything except the last line. It's not really hard (and it's very satisfying) to do it yourself! By the time you're done, you'll probably have laid out about $700 doing it yourself. The chemicals are not cheap! Sandpaper, probably a few tools. (Flanger, spray gun, Long board, sanding block, Etc....) But you'll have some tools to show for it and some education to add to your portfolio.
