Hi all, I am working on a 51 Ford F1 that will be a daily driver. (other than winter.) I had the body sandblasted and then powder-coated with an Epoxy primer. My understanding is that this epoxy primer is pretty tough stuff but that it is always to have a top coat. I am not in a position to spray under the cab, under the fenders etc. I will have to brush on a protective top coat. What is a good type of paint for this task? Can I simply use Rustoleum or similar ? (Again, this is not visible areas, just the underneath for protection) Thanks !
I’ve had good luck using brush on hammerite it rustoleum hammered paint. It’s very tough. I’ve painted a lot of frames with it and they hold up well.
Just to be clear, powdercoating and epoxy primer are two different things. I suspect you have epoxy primer, which is a paint.
You can use any good paint to cover the primer. However, the wheelwell areas will require a little more thought. This is where the tires throw up rocks, sand and water, causing deterioration of the paint and allowing the bare metal to rust, along with denting. Old school was to use an oil or tar based undercoat. Post HAMB OE was body schutz, which is a single stage cushioning layer, followed by paint. Many DIYers in this century have used a 2 stage bedliner. This is going to be tough to remove, like the old Imron paint was. So it's up to you, your budget and equipment. Don't shoot anything that uses a catalyst without proper Personal Protection Equipment (PPE). It's also dependent on what era you are building to replicate. A post war farm truck isn't going to have chrome reverse wheels with wide whites and color-matched bedliner.
I did the same thing (sandblast followed by paint) to the underside of my '51 Ford in 1988. I used POR-15. Everytime I put it up on my lift, I am amazed how well it has held up. I will admit that after 35 years, it is starting to show it's age, but it still looks good. Be aware that POR-15 is susceptible to UV light and will deteriorate quickly if exposed to the sun unless topcoated. I didn't know enough then to top coat it, but since it is always out of the sun (I haven't put a car upside-down in a ditch since 1972), it has held up well.
If I am brushing I like Rustoleum. If I am rattle canning it I like Duplicolor. That stuff is durable. It does get dull quick but that should not be an issue under the truck.
Hello, Why stop at paint that is going to get blasted with the Michigan weather all year around? It seems to me that you want something to at least give your car a fighting chance to survive winter weather driving conditions, anywhere. We live in So Cal. The weather is always mild and for some reason other than being in desert climate, with ocean influences, it can get crummy weather all year around. When we had a new 58 Chevy Impala, it was a street car for all seasons. But, we never expected to go in salt water, snowy conditions of the local mountains at 10000 feet and certainly, never pictured the Impala to drive in the foot deep snow after being buried overnight one year in the mountains. Yikes! So, our first thing was to get a black commercially sprayed undercoating for the undersides of the Impala. the guy used what looked like a small fire hose and totally covered everything. Since you are in some serious foul weather locations, your paint may look simple and nice, but compare the thin coats of paint to a thick commercially sprayed on undercoating for all surfaces. Most factory cars get a little spray, but it is usually not as thick if you go to a separate undercoating spray shop. Jnaki Some people have used the places that spray the truck bed liners. That is better than spray paint of any kind, but probably not as heavy duty as commercial undercoating sprayed on by a shop. The bed liner sprays look much thicker than just paint, but you may have to have those guys spray on several coats under your car. 1958 Lion’s Dragstrip Winter season... as there are no bleachers on the tower side. They were loaned out to the holiday parade company that put on the Pasadena Rose Parade Event. We had the 58 Impala totally sprayed and it lasted in all sorts of conditions you may not get in Michigan, such as having to drive through a flooded(ing) street covered with a rising ocean tide. Having to sit in the water for a short time due to stop signs and stop lights, etc. we all know what salt air can do to paint surfaces and good old rust. Our dad got several of his Buick sedans spray with thick under coating not that he was going to be in salt encrusted areas or salt water. Although he did go fishing along the coast and filmed us surfing in some high tide waves and areas that had to go through flooding high tides. So , there is that. Note: But, our 65 El Camino and two other cars after 1965 got the same treatment of commercially sprayed on undercoating. Our neighbor in the Westside of Long Beach bought a new 1964 El Camino. He said he got undercoating on his new El Camino. When he looked at the 58 Impala’s undercoating, he said his was not the same. It wasn’t and his under carriage got rusty within one year later when I got a new 65 El Camino. Not only does it protect the car from the elements, but for something like a hollow cave in the back of our 327 powered 40 Ford Sedan Delivery, the extra spray gave us additional silent running insulation, no longer amplified by the empty rear area. My El Camino got the full commercial spray from the same company in Los Angeles and lasted until I sold it to a young sailor/surfer for his adventures. He was impressed as he was going to ramp launch a small sailboat at the local harbor and we all know how deep the tow car will go into salt water. (and, sit there all day while the sailboat is out in the ocean) So, if you value your hot rod, don’t settle for spray paint for protection. Those photos shown look good, but compared to real thick spray undercoating, it will protect somewhat, but the deterioration is so much faster since it is only a thin coat of spray paint. An extra effort will pay off in the long run...YRMV
Hard to find out, but I think most spray cans are lacquer which is not a good long term coating. Eastwood Ch***is Black is a very durable coating. Epoxy Primer is well...primer, and needs top coated.
My plan so far is rustoleun paint, let it set up good, although I haven't decided spray can or brush. Then bed liner spray bomb on top of that but only on the under body panels. Doing the spray can bedliner more for sound deadening than protection. Like to keep the car as quiet as possible. With the exhaust setup and being a 31 model A I know sound will be a big part but every little bit helps.... ..
The last 4 cars I've built were all done with brushed on gloss black Rustoleum on frame and under body. My Austin g***er is 13 years on the road now, with 20,000 mile on it and still looks like new underneath.
They make epoxy paints for boats that you can roll/brush. They flow out evenly and are very tough - but not cheap. The spray/brush bedliner could also work and resist chips well.
For what it is worth, my 49 pickup gets driven year around (even in the salt and snow). I made inner fenders with new sheet metal, was primed and painted with brush on Rustoleum semi-gloss black. Ran it one full year. On all 4 wheels, at the end of one year I had a path about 4" wide that was inline with the tires that most of the paint was pretty much gone from. Had a light coat of surface rust in line with the tires. The next summer I cleaned up the inner fenders and primed them again, painted them with the Rustoleum semi gloss black brush on, and then coated each inner fender with lots of the rubberized spray undercoating. (1 can per inner fender, yes, it was laid on thick.) I'm happy to report that all 4 inner fenders look great yet this year (2 full winters on them). For next year, I plan on pulling the tires and giving the inner fenders another round of spray on rubberized undercoating. I have a friend that did his under fenders with spray bed liner. I don't know what the problem is/was, but there are places where that bed liner had cracks in the surface down to the metal, and it was only a couple years old. He is not a happy camper. He took the truck back where it was done, and they have redone it, but he is pretty nervous about how long it will last this time.
Thanks guys ! Great suggestions and lots of good info! H.A.M.B. never fails to provide helpful info !
The farm equipment paint sold by Case IH tractors and equipment is seriously tough. I spray canned the nose on a red IH tractor (with red) and it held up to unco***ented farm workers using a pressure washer to wash dirt and cow manure off. They have a semi gloss black in the batch too. I'd think you would have pretty good luck with most farm equipment paint be it from Napa or Tractor Supply or Rustoleum. Back in my parts buyer for an apple juice/sauce/ g**** juice plant we used an industrial enamel that held up well to the acids in the juices and constant washdowns. There are some industrial paints for use on equipment for factories that is tough.
I own a powder coat shop, been powder coating for 17 years. There is an epoxy primer powder coat & epoxy zinc primer powder coat. I shoot powder coat primer almost on a daily basis. The zinc primer gives an ultimate corrosion protection similar to galvanized metal. And yes you have to have a top coat because it's not UV rated for exterior use. I have a buddy who built a 64' Nova g***er. He had the whole body powder coated in epoxy primer and then did the body work over it and painted it. That was like 10 years ago and still holding up. Powder coating is a plastic finish, so it works well with bondos.
I left this one in lacquer primer ten years ago, and it's still just fine...but then, I only drive it to Michigan in the fall. And it gets a lot of miles on the car, 33k so far.
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