Lining up trunk lid + cleaning rust

I was going to grind down the metal plate that attached to the inside of the trunk lid because it seemed thick enough.
But instead I decided to pound in the structural underside part of the trunk lid a little first with a hammer. That seemed to do the trick to get the trunk lid flush.
Below shows the area I hit with the hammer. I removed the bolts, held down the hinge and hit the metal several times. Worked better that I thought.

There was some surface rust around the lip of the underside of the trunk lid and some of the outside near the firebird emblems.
I used a strong wire wheel with an angle grinder to clean it up.

Then I brushed on 2 coats of rust-oleum rust reform and seal. i decided to use this since it is a rough flat black instead of the gloss because I will be painting over this. The car paint will adhere over this flat paint better on cause I miss prep sanding any crevices .