I did a search but couldn't find anything that told me how to get it off my steel So what is the easiest/quickest way to remove mill scale? Flap wheels take forever, regular 5" grinding disks wear out in a few seconds. This stuff ****s. I know if the metal starts to rust it takes care of it pretty quickly....but i would have leave my entire truck bed outside and drench it for that to happen. Any Ideas (besides sandblasting - my compressor won't keep up with a pressure blaster and it gets extremely frustrating) Chemicals? Home Remedies? Thanks
I use an old heavy belt sander, takes it off in a couple p***es. you can get em pretty cheap at horbor freight.
Looks like you're making brackets and using hot rolled (HR) steel. Make future brackets from cold rolled (CR). A touch more $$, but not bad. Makes for good looking brackets and the stuff is a pleasure to work with. In the pics, a not quite finished header flange for a 455 Buick. Incidentally, making individual flanges is easier than making the big one piece ones and they work just as well. Take note of the pieces that retain the spring. Also CR. They look nice and were easy to make. I'll use HR on the car trailer or similar, but when it comes to the project car, CR is the only way to go.
Well Actually I had a steel Supplier Bend me up some 14ga. sheet metal to use for my bedsides (5' long and 22" high or so). I didn't know that there was an option to choose cause they didn't ask so I thought it all came that way. Needless to say from now on I'll ask for cold rolled - but is there any way to get this stuff off or should I just start over? - cause it is a real pain in the neck.
I want the weight though - Big Block Powered Truck is going to have no traction as it is. Need something to maybe help out. Not exactly what I wanted to hear since I basically have the F'in thing done. Price you pay for being stupid I guess.
ok if your just going to knock on my ideas please make suggestions as well. and just cause it says "newbie" under my name doesn't give you the right to pick on me. if your going to comment @ least suggest something to help me out. I'm here to learn and ask questions. I followed all the rules here before I even posted, I searched for answers with the search function and have searched the web for answers before even posting beacuse I know how brutal you guys can be. I respected all of you and expect the same in return. I would like it to ride nicely and have a little bit of traction so I don't light up the tires everytime I touch the gas pedal. what would you suggest? a smaller motor ? And before I start cutting my bed apart, are there any other suggestions? If I sandblast it will it be ok - or is hot rolled steel totally different from cold rolled as far as it's alloys and stuff? - will I have problems painting it After I have removed the mill scale?
I'd take it somewhere to sandblast it. Really isn't that expensive. I've used a air operated needle chipper to remove scale like this but only on small pieces. Sand blasting will do the trick. Traction is a matter of balance and having enough tire to provide road contact. If increasing the weight of the bed will provide that balance then so be it. The most powerful car I ever had, that never ever spun a wheel, weighed 1800 lbs. It would do 0-60 in about 4.2 seconds, pure torque. Give me a slow.. cool flathead anyday!!
I'm using a sandblast shop up here in MA- it's in Tewksbury. I'll be getting some stuff back from them soon. If you're interested, PM me in a couple weeks, and I'll let you know how it came out, how much it cost etc. I'm having them blast off rust, not mill scale, but it might apply. They also do paint work, so they could blast it and put it in prime for you if you wanted.
what you may want to do is take it to a powder coater and have them coat it with a powder coat primer,than you can scuff it and do your paint work.the reason for this is they have to blast it before they can coat it so you will be letting them do the dirty work and you will have a sealed peice when they are done. by the way dont let some one ,that you dont even know, on a info board try to build your car for you. -danny
you're doing the right thing as far as weight. i see you're running a 396, so you got lotsa torque, and a lot of weight up front. common sense says move as much weight to the rear as you can, and as light as a truck you have, adding even a few hundred pounds, where it matters, at the rear, will do wonders for traction. maybe instead of talking out of his ***, slag would like to pick up the latest car craft mag, has a decent article on suspension tuning for traction, including an anecdote from a racer, said he put some ballast, i can't remember how much but i remember it was 3% of the cars weight, directly over the rear axle and smoked the tires off. he then moved it back 6 inches, and stood the car up on the back bumper on the next p***. i've seen (and own) big heavy cars that properly transfer the weight to the rear plant the tires, even cheap skinny street tires under lots of torque. it sounds like you're going to paint the pickup bed, so i'd go with blasting, it will give you a decent surface to work with. and look at the plus side, at least it won't warp on ya!
Thanks for the tips guys. Yeh being that the steel is 14 it shouldn't have a problem warping when sandblasted. I'll look around and see who is around local for the sandblasting routine. As far as the weight issue I've read ch***is and suspension books and done plenty of research on the subject. I know weight slows a car down - but as stated above the balance of weight and weight transfer play important roles in traction/handling...especially with a Truck that will be light to begin with and nose heavy. And I'm thinking that the 396 isn't really going to notice a couple hundred extra pound on it's back. If I was drag racing for points...then yeh adding weight isn't the answer but for a street car - It will hopefully suit my purpose Like I said I came here to LEARN and ask questions and get ideas from others. I really appreciate the site and most everyone is helpful and understanding. Again - Thanks!
ark racing, I think Logan steel in Meriden does sandblasting if your looking for a local place. http://www.logansteelinc.com/ -Rich
Hmm, so the old drag trick of putting the battery in the trunk didnt work? My 64 GTO ragtop was heavier than the post 2dr model and with the battery in the back it hooked up great and always took the coupes. This was pre computer, tuned suspensions and checkbook mods. Darby, where/who is the blaster in Tewksbury? The guy Ive been using in Dracut sold out.
Thats the place I actually had the bed sides sheared and bent @ - that didn't ask if I wanted cold rolled or hot Actually they are a good steel supplier and have good prices on all the random precut stuff out in thier tent. They really didn't charge me alot to do the cutting & bending for my bedsides either. They usually sandblast heavy stuff - truck bodies etc, etc. I might look into a place called American Dry Stripping down in the ****ord area. Have heard lots of good things about them and they come recommended by "The37Kid" here on the board. Thanks for all you help and insight guys - much appreciated 286-merc = Darby PMed me and said the name of the blaster in Tewksbury is "Prep-Rite" Oh yeh and by the way all the posts I put in this thread earned me a promotion now I get to be "Grenade Inspector" hey uhhh "Members".....my pin fell out is that bad?
Just stand on it till it loops out or goes staight . Rust is patina , don't fight it . Just kidding , what do you want? Go from there . Even if you dip or blast the pits will stll be there . Just go for it . If you want shiny staight steel it's gonna cost you major bucks . Mike
to all who have an old relic storry about weight added to the rear of a car in the past. Yes it worked in the old days when shock , spring , tire and suspension set up was poor and not known. Today where you can get any pre made or pre set up race proven set up. moving a battery to the trunk does not count cause you are taking the weight out of the front. adding weight to make a street car hock better is the same as putting a smaller motor in. I have done plenty of cars with mostly stock suspension that run in the 9.0 ET on dot tires all day long with out any weight added to make them work. look more into taking weight out of the front verses adding more weight to the rear. make the car work better while keeping it as light as you can, thats what hot roding is and always has been about. you asked about the mill scale I sugested about having it remade in lighter material in CR steel that would be about the same cost of having it blasted or any thing else any one sugested to make it ready for paint. on a regular b***is i work on a 7.35 ET c/a race car that we have moved all the weight to the front of the car with a 3" motor set back and still want to move more weight foward to make it faster. What worked in the past with the poor set ups they had then should not be used as a bandaid today. Just like any one running a big block with 4.11 or more is just going slower then they could because it worked back in the day.
this dude's pickup seems to have a little more in common with the ancient racecars running on rock hard biasply tires than the 7 second racecar you work on. so i think the old tech applies. as for the example you gave about moving weight to the front of the drag car, you actually proved the point that MORE weight IS a tuning tool! combined with sticky tires etc. the car apparantly has much more bite than it can use, so by moving weight forward you are increasing the leverage that same weight has against the rear tires, making the tires "see" more weight. that is, once the front tires are hanging in the air. nobody's really right or wrong here when you compare completely different technologys, ie: a purpose built race car with sticky tires and computer engineered suspension vs. a street rod with radial or bias ply dot tires and a suspension to keep the ol lady happy cruising.
SWEET!!!! I started a debate now. Ok yeh my original question was how to get rid of the mill scale and i've gotten alot of suggestions to sandblast it. I'm going to try a small area with my hand held gravity feed blaster on Saturday and see how it works. I'm ***uming it will remove it rather easily. And I thank everyone who has helped me get information and suggested ideas to remove it. as far as the weight issue. I will REPEAT I'm not building a drag car or truck specifically designed for drag racing. I like to go fast, I like the feel of a big block's torque. If I have to add a couple hundred pounds to the rear - I don't care. The truck is never going to be a 9 second truck or a 7 second car so what differance does it make. and every hot rod (note I said hot rot..not street rod) that i've ever been in rides like 1ton flatbed with about 20 leaf's in the rear. - cause they weight maybe what 1800#??? All i'm trying to do is get a little bit of "ride" and traction out of my truck - not going for a record breaking p*** at Dragin' in the 50's @ Epping.
Here is a photo of the bed in question - cause I know how all you guys like photos and one just for some eye candy. the old chopped 35 showed up @ the shop last weekend for a new "John Deere Blitz Job" - that's what the guy wants...we do whatever they want as long as the $$$ is green
FWIW there's a little more difference between hot roll and cold roll than just the mill scale. Hot roll - As the name implies is rolled at the mill while still hot - this results in the formation of scale, but it also gives you material that is nearly stress free - it also forms (bends) a tad easier which is probably one reason the fabricator chose it. Also since it has less stress than cold roll - the hot roll is subject to less distortion during welding. Cold roll - as the name implies is rolled cold and as a result has a nicer finish, more internal stress, and is held to closer sizes since it is basicallt rolled to the exact finished size. It is also LESS forgiving (more difficult to form) and is EASIER to crack under extreme bending conditions (thicker sections - tighter bend radii) So bottom line the application has as much to do with your choice of selection as anything. The mill scale shouldn't really even be on your radar - and here's why I say that, so next time IF you cannot tolerate dealing with it ask for "hot rolled steel - pickled and oiled" - they will pre remove the mill scale - it will then look as sweet as cold rolled, but have every desireable forming and welding (reduced distortion) characteristics as the hot roll since that's what it is. Adding weight.....new cars ride like **** when compared to the land barges of years past - why is this when they have never been more sophisticated?? yep - little subs***ute for M***. Sounds like you already knew that!!! Stay the course - plan your work and work YOUR plan. Nothing will subs***ute for the knowledge you gain.
hey, i like this guy! you p***ed the test! neat pics too. looks like you know what you're doing pretty well.
I may not be building as tradtional as you guys - but I love Hot Rods. glad i p***ed the Hamb test Thanks for the good info Hemi - next time i'll ask for that. Looks like i'll be able to sandblast the bed myself - i tested a small area today - so i'm happy about that. and thanks for the compliments Ray
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