Hello everyone, I have some questions about re doing my frame while it is off the car. I pulled the body off last night, not as bad as some might think. However, I had a lot of surface rust, I started with the wire cup, but this doesn’t seem to get down to bare metal and my concern is that I don’t want to paint over rust. So I started on the back section with a flap wheel type disc and it really gets the rust off besides and major pitting. Is this to aggressive? See the pics below and let me know. PS as of now the wheel are still on just so I could roll it out of the garage and enjoy the nice weather but eventually I will strip everything off and make a homemade rotisserie with engine stands. The 2nd pic is just what the cup brush did for comparison
Frame restoration questions
- Thread starter 81gutlass
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Are you using a knotted wire cup on the angle grinder? This style has always gotten me down to bare metal fast.
Yeah it’s thick but that’s not the real issue. The issue I’m having is the rust left behind by the cup brush. Maybe I’m over thinking it. I just feel like painting over rust negates all the work of taking the frame off? The best option is to drop the frame off to get sandblasted but I want to save the money this would cost for other parts of the build, the typical budget constraints haha. So the real question is this : am I taking too much material off with the disc wheel? Can I paint over what’s left behind by the cup brush? I don’t plan on ever selling the car so I want it to be ready for another 50 years
Sandblast will remove deeply rusted metal but all the methods remove metal. Then the question is how good do you want it to look. If it is purely functional, paint is fine but sandblasting rusty metal then painting it looks like crap. Anything painted should be smooth but for function it's truly a waste of time.
https://www.magnetpaints.com/underbody.asp
Magnet Paints Chassis Saver will go right over rust. It bonds to the surface and won't come off. I did my frame with this.
Magnet Paints Chassis Saver will go right over rust. It bonds to the surface and won't come off. I did my frame with this.
I used solvent and a wire brush to remove as much wax as I could. Then I used these clean n strip wheels
BHA Easy Strip Discs Clean and Remove Paint, Rust and Oxidation 4-1/2” x 7/8” - 5 Pack https://a.co/d/gu7wZGg
along with assorted wire wheels/cups. Tons and tons of elbow grease.
BHA Easy Strip Discs Clean and Remove Paint, Rust and Oxidation 4-1/2” x 7/8” - 5 Pack https://a.co/d/gu7wZGg
along with assorted wire wheels/cups. Tons and tons of elbow grease.
Light surface rust won't matter if you use a rust encapsulator like POR-15 or something similar instead of just paint.
por15.com
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Rust Prevention
Discover the ultimate in metal rust and corrosion protection at POR-15. Our rust prevention products create a primer-like coating to seal and prevent moisture.
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Eastwood Rust Encapsulator Platinum
Simply the Best Rust Coating that we have ever offered with 3X The Protection Of Original Encapsulator!
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The knotted cup wheel on a 4.5 mini grinder is a good way to quickly strip off surface coatings. Unlike early frames, the late versions of GM G-body frames were not made from one piece of steel plate that was then hydroformed using water and high pressure to push the steel into the desired shape. Rather they were assembled from individual sections that were cut and formed, then fused/welded together. your picture clearly shows the topside seam. To get that seam clean, you will really have to lean on the grinder and get the wires of that cup into the seam material.
Once you believe you have the metal clean, then for me the next step would be to purchase a quart bottle or two of SEM Rust Mort along with a cheap S/S salad bowl from the local supermarket and a couple of cheap fibre bristle paint brushes. The fibre bristles get down into the pores of the metal. Decant some of the Rust Mort into the bowl and have at 'er. Get real generous and liberal and slather the stuff on every inch of bare metal you can reach and then dump some of it into a disposable pump gun and spray it through every hole in the frame to get it into and on the inside metal. Rust Mort will tell you if it has encountered rust as it will turn black as it dries. Heavy black areas should be revisited with the wire wheel.
Once the Rust Mort has dried, you can scuff it, or leave it. It works okay as a substrate for a coat of Por 15. POR 15 comes in both colors and in gloss, semi-gloss, and flat black. You can dilute it using their thinner and spray it, you can brush it, you can even buy one of those 3-4 inch wide micro rollers and roll it on.
DO NOT allow it to dry on anything apart from the work surface.
Once this stuff sets, there are only a couple of ways to remove it. The simplest is time and age; it will wear off the human body but the lag time is miserable. The alternative is mechanical. You can sand it off by hand or with that 4.5 m-g. You can also use a small wire brush and hand brush it slowly and gently to remove it.
Oh, yeah, if you elect to wear a pair of coveralls or a painter's bunny suit as protection from splashes and smears, POR 15 will soak through the material and end up on whatever you are wearing, or not, under the garment. SURPRISE!!
Apart from all this, do not think of POR 15 as a final or topcoat. Left uncovered once applied, it is susceptible to UV breakdown. As protection it needs an additional topcoat of whatever color you have chosen for your frame.
Nick
Once you believe you have the metal clean, then for me the next step would be to purchase a quart bottle or two of SEM Rust Mort along with a cheap S/S salad bowl from the local supermarket and a couple of cheap fibre bristle paint brushes. The fibre bristles get down into the pores of the metal. Decant some of the Rust Mort into the bowl and have at 'er. Get real generous and liberal and slather the stuff on every inch of bare metal you can reach and then dump some of it into a disposable pump gun and spray it through every hole in the frame to get it into and on the inside metal. Rust Mort will tell you if it has encountered rust as it will turn black as it dries. Heavy black areas should be revisited with the wire wheel.
Once the Rust Mort has dried, you can scuff it, or leave it. It works okay as a substrate for a coat of Por 15. POR 15 comes in both colors and in gloss, semi-gloss, and flat black. You can dilute it using their thinner and spray it, you can brush it, you can even buy one of those 3-4 inch wide micro rollers and roll it on.
DO NOT allow it to dry on anything apart from the work surface.
Once this stuff sets, there are only a couple of ways to remove it. The simplest is time and age; it will wear off the human body but the lag time is miserable. The alternative is mechanical. You can sand it off by hand or with that 4.5 m-g. You can also use a small wire brush and hand brush it slowly and gently to remove it.
Oh, yeah, if you elect to wear a pair of coveralls or a painter's bunny suit as protection from splashes and smears, POR 15 will soak through the material and end up on whatever you are wearing, or not, under the garment. SURPRISE!!
Apart from all this, do not think of POR 15 as a final or topcoat. Left uncovered once applied, it is susceptible to UV breakdown. As protection it needs an additional topcoat of whatever color you have chosen for your frame.
Nick
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