Does anyone have a cure or a solution to get rid of surface rust in a trunk permanently where it can be painted to look like new again?

You might want to look at some products from POR-15. I havn't used it yet but have read alot of good things about it. They had some articles in super chevy. car craft, and a few other mags about it.

Has anyone here used it before? was thinking about trying some on a few spots on my 84 Berlinetta.

Por 15 works great. But you will see every imperfection in the substrate. So while it gets rid of rust, it is not a miracle product

I just used it this past weekend. If it works as they say, and I've heard it does, then it looks great. I did the proper prep work and all. I did the entire floorpan after welding in new halves and the toe kick area. I will be buying some more and doing the trunk area also. I guess the biggest thing with the Por-15 is the prep work. Good luck.

I used a product call Rust Bullet which I believe is similar to POR-15. I used it on the trunk floor and interior floor. Like the others said. Its all in the prep.

Does the por 15 kill the rust forever or just hinder the process

POR-15
http://www.por15.com/

It's a "rust preventive".

Paint
Over
Rust

There's a three step process to using the POR paint system. Marine Clean to wash the rusted part or area. Metal Ready which is a phosphate wash to treat and stop the rust from spreading. Then the paint itself, which goes on right over the rust.
You're basically encapsulating the rust so moisture\oxygen cannot get to it any longer and supposedly stops it.
Same idea as Rust Encapsulator, Rust Bullet, etc. etc. Some rust paints\treatments have different processes for application.

A lot of people have used the POR system with great results. I'm sure it's the same with the other like products. It all boils down to how much time and energy you want to devote to the process and how much you want\can spend doing it.

POR-15 will stop it in its tracks, but as Joe (jcapps) stated, you'll still see "texture" of the area.

POR-15 is incredible stuff and I've used it on numerous occassions. Be sure to work in a VERY ventilated area (recommend fans also) and wear clothes you care nothing about.... long sleeves, rubber gloves.... and for the love of god, don't scratch that itch on your forehead.... anything you get on your skin.... you'll be wearing until your body sheds that layer. You can forget about industrial soap and water. :-) (First hand experience, obviously) ;-)

I used a lot of black por15 on my camaro especially all over the undercarriage and frame. A few months after fixing up my car, I started on a large metal carport in by backyard. I did one side in por15 silver and one side in rust bullit which is a flatter silver. Its about 2 years now, lots of rain sun and heat. The por 15 side is slightly rusty and needs to be done over in a couple months, and the rust bullit side is still perfect. It seems rust bullit may be a better product to stop rust...at least it was in this application. The edges of the carport literally sit in pools of water after a rain. The rustbullit has really impressed me and I wish I used rustbullit instead of por 15 on the underside. I did do the interior metal floors with rustbullit but they dont get as much moisture as the undercarriage. I did my trunk in por 15 then sanded a little, and then used the special spray por15 top primer and then rustbullit on top of that before the splatter paint and clear. It still looks great. I havent had the car up to really check the undercarriage yet.

firstrs, did you do all three steps to the process or just paint the stuff on?

Ithink so. i sand down the rusty areas, then use marine clean and after its dry, i use metal ready and then after thats dry i clean the surface before painting. I really think marine clean is a great product as long as you dont inhale too much of it. I also really like metal ready. Both have a lot of uses and I buy probably too much of that stuff lol.
I put a gallon of metal ready in each rocker ( mines a convert so rust scares me a lot) every couple years and lets it sit in there then drain it out. I can see that it keeps them nice by looking down the rear wheel holes which I made a little larger. After draining, i still can use the left over metal ready for other stuff. Anyhow, its the por 15 paint that I question as Ive seen clear evidence under heavy abuse that it may not be as effective as rust bullit. So now I use the process of por15 with the first two steps ,but paint with the rustbullit after using marine clean and metal ready. For example, the metal trim around the soffit area of the house was in need of a refresh. Rust bullit worked perfectly. I know this sounds like a commercial for rust bullit but its also a commercial for por15's metal ready and marine clean!