Hi, I have almost finished doing rust repairs on the ch***is of my 1940 Ford. I had the ch***is blasted before starting the rust repairs but if you happen to know the structure of the ch***is then you know that it has a lot of hard-to-reach spots. So a number of spots still have rust on them because the blaster could not reach them. Now in order to do the rust repairs I had to remove part of the X member which opened up the frame some more. So now I have access to some of the previously hard-to-reach spots. I intend to have these spots blasted before I weld in the X member parts back in. Question 1: Should I also paint the hard-to-reach spots painted before I weld in the X member parts? Question 2: Should I paint the surfaces of the inner- and outer frame where they will contact? Why/why not? Kind regards, Chris
I would use weld thru primer in the areas where you are welding and any areas that won't be open after you put the x member back in. I'd make sure everything is covered, when you paint over the primer you will get some paint penetration into the open areas but don't want any bare sand blasted areas.
Thank you for your advice. Do you happen to know how these frames were originally painted. Were the individual parts of the frame painted before they got riveted to each other?
Weld through primer seems logical. They were painted ***embled. Have seen a picture of frames being dipped in a vat of paint. Being a m*** produced car vs a Rolls Royce, not much care was given to undercarriage. Just had to look good on new car lot. Think about the rot in frames of this era. Prolly wouldn't be the case if individual frame pieces were painted before ***embly. I have come into the KBS rust seal camp on pieces after sandblasting. Alchemy beat me to the punch
Hey Chris, As mentioned above, if a reputable powder coater is available, it will allow coverage in a lot of "hidden" areas. Some like it, some don't, but I am happy with mine. On my ch***is there were many places you could not get to with paint, so it worked for me.
Hi Okiedokie and Jason, I never looked at powder coating from this angle. It is a good way to cover hard-to-reach spots. I had a pretty bad experience with powder coating in the past when I received a ch***is that was powder coated without any protection underneath. Without protection under the powder coating any hole in the powder coating is catastrophic since rust will get in between the coating and the steel which causes unstoppable chipping of the powder coating. I have never seen rust progress so fast. So if I want it to last I will be looking for some extra layer of protection underneath. Thank you for the advice! Chris Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
I try to get any rust off metal anywhere, but sometimes it's almost impossible. In those cases I use rust converter sprayed on with a pump type sprayer. Then once I've got my frame cleaned, and ready to build, I spray weld through primer on areas I might not be able to get to later. Once the whole ch***is is done, and it's ready to paint I either spray it, or roller paint, and brush it. Just depends on how high end I want it to look. Spraying into some areas works better than rollers and brush. So even if i use a roller and brush to paint the frame, I still spray rattle can paint into some areas. I've found taking the nozzles from brake clean cans and using the straws on them allows me to direct paint into tight areas, and at a higher rate of fluid too. So getting a lot of paint into remote places works great using brake clean nozzles on rattle can spray paint.
Not sure if there are US equivalents but in the UK we have Dinitrol and Waxoil which are rust preventative, cavity wax type products. Dinitrol is rather runny and will wick into joints and then dry out providing a protective layer which should remain for ever, or thereabouts, if it is protected from abrasion. Must be similar products in the US? And indeed it is! https://www.dinitroldirect.com/product/dinitrol-ml-1ltr-cavity-wax/ Chris
I worked at a place that made trailer frames once. We dipped the frames when they were done. That is not cost effective for a garage builder but it is the only way to really get all the nooks and crannies. You need to consider this, you are working with a ch***is that is 80 years old. If it lasts another 80 years you will probably not know it. The next guy that owns it 80 years from now is not going to drive it so it is really a non issue. Build it and enjoy it.
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