:wavey: G'day Mike some pictures would help members give you a better idea of what your up against. Also there are plenty of suppliers that sponsor the site so you should be able to source what you need :anim_25:
getting started and need your help
Ok, I am looking for the basics, I have a 55 belair that is in touch condition, I have started welding in panels, and getting every thing back to how it should be...where I am struggling is what about the rust every where else....can any one give me a run down on the basics, I would have it made if I could cut all the rust out and put in new panels every where....?? just not the case....I have a lot of surface rust...do I sand it all down? I will end up thin all over if that is the case....do I have to have all the rust removed before priming or am I being too picky? how do I treat the rust and surface prep? what are the steps, primer and so on in your opinion...This car is going to be great some day and I only want to do this one once...any or actually all the help you can give would be great...If you have any good references I would take those as well.... I also have a hood that some one sprayed with some wet rubber crap and have sraped most of it off, any thoughts on how to get it all off?
Thank you for your time
Mike Hoolihan
55 two door hardtop Belair
Thank you for your time
Mike Hoolihan
55 two door hardtop Belair
1 - 14 of 14 Posts
Gee Mike,You havent posted here since August 2nd.Where ya been?:confused0006:
Mike, sorry about that underside of hood, but that's the way it was on my Delivery when I bought it in Florida in 1978. As far as your rust issue, it might be an area to use Rust Bullet. You can then sand down to prime and paint.
Hope this helps -
Mike, A lot of the guys use Rust Treatments from Eastwood. Check out their website for application/use info.:
http://www.eastwood.com/rust-solutions.html
Mike, A lot of the guys use Rust Treatments from Eastwood. Check out their website for application/use info.:
http://www.eastwood.com/rust-solutions.html
no hard feelings at all
yep not complaining, just trying to figure out the best way to clean it up...odd thing, the two outer holes for the bird were filled as well??? not sure if the intention was to smooth the hood or not, but for the price she is great and will work perfectly...I have the cross member from another hood she will be good as new in no time...the best part is that I am getting to work on it.....the rest of the car is coming along too...found two good fenders and now I am just looking for a door...all in due time...
thanks for the info on the rust as well...
Mike
yep not complaining, just trying to figure out the best way to clean it up...odd thing, the two outer holes for the bird were filled as well??? not sure if the intention was to smooth the hood or not, but for the price she is great and will work perfectly...I have the cross member from another hood she will be good as new in no time...the best part is that I am getting to work on it.....the rest of the car is coming along too...found two good fenders and now I am just looking for a door...all in due time...
thanks for the info on the rust as well...
Mike
how you doing
Mike
Hey good to hear from you, I come accross the pic of the orange tree every once and a while when I am going through pics....and often wonder how you are doing...is the car up and running? I am slowly putting mine together...one peice at a time...things are going well...starting to get cold around here as well, here comes fall and not a moment too soon...to much time on the water this summer and away from the car, well I am back for the winter to work on the car hopefully lots of progress....good to hear from you...keep in touchGee Mike,You havent posted here since August 2nd.Where ya been?:confused0006:
Mike
Rust Bullet?
Do you know if it is sold locally? or where to purchase this?Mike, sorry about that underside of hood, but that's the way it was on my Delivery when I bought it in Florida in 1978. As far as your rust issue, it might be an area to use Rust Bullet. You can then sand down to prime and paint.
Local auto paint stores usually carry it.
good to see you making progress on it mike. :five:
Be very careful when using any product on metal that you are going to coat with primer. Acid residues left by those products have to be completely neutralized or you will have adhesion problems using epoxy or polyester type primers.Do you know if it is sold locally? or where to purchase this?
You will get lots of conflicting opinions on what to do with this kind of surface rust. Myself, I would never use any kind of product that advertises to convert or encapsulate rust. However, I will use phosphoric acid products like naval jelly and make sure it never dries and is all washed off before primering.
I have found that using a power wire brush (reversing the direction often) after using naval jelly works really well for me to remove all surface type rust. However, many iterations of both may be necessary to get it all.
I also use this process in combination with blasting. Blasting works well for the nooks and crannies, edges of panels, contours, inside the trunk, inner fenders and etc, where blasting warpage is never a concern. I use a pressure blaster with Black Diamond media. I also don't believe that panels on thick-steeled Tri-Fives with a home type pressure blaster will warp them if you take it somewhat easy. However the middle of large panels are easy to do the other way anyway so you might as well not blast them. I would sure stay away from the middle of any large panel with a commercial type blaster.
I believe it is imperative to remove all traces of rust from anywhere on the outer body (ie, anywhere where the car will be top-coated.)
On the inner sides of panels where you are not going to top-coat, I believe it is OK to knock off all heavy, loose and flaking rust (with a blaster or power wire brush) and then just put epoxy primer on it. IMO, it will seal it just as well or better than any of the so-called rust converters or encapsulaters.
Sealing heavy, loose or flaking rust does not stop the rust process as there is moisture and oxygen within that type of rust.
No, I have never used POR-15 or the knock-offs and don't intend to. I've just heard about too many problems with it. I don't see the need for it either. The brand of epoxy primer I use can be brushed on as well as sprayed.
I may get a lot of disagreement here and that's fine. But this is what I feel is the best way to do it.
Hey Mike...sounds like you're getting back into it! I barely touched my '55 over the summer. Summer here is too short to spend it inside a shop!!
If you can find room in your budget, I'd recommend having Mike @ Blastmaster in Shakopee media blast the car. He uses plastic beads that do a nice job removing paint & rust, but won't pit or warp your panels. As soon as he's done, you can put the car in epoxy primer (there's also a hot rod shop two doors down from him that can spray the epoxy).
Media blasting can be a bit expensive. I think it could be $1,500 +/- for the entire car (inside & out). But it's thorough.
Other alternatives are good too, but super labor intensive. Remove what you can get at mechanically (sanding, wire wheels/brushes, etc.), supplementing with chemicals for the pits you can't really get into (try "A Must for Rust" from Home Depot). You do want to get the rust out of all the pits, or you run the risk of the primer & paint de-laminating.
Good luck,
Jay
If you can find room in your budget, I'd recommend having Mike @ Blastmaster in Shakopee media blast the car. He uses plastic beads that do a nice job removing paint & rust, but won't pit or warp your panels. As soon as he's done, you can put the car in epoxy primer (there's also a hot rod shop two doors down from him that can spray the epoxy).
Media blasting can be a bit expensive. I think it could be $1,500 +/- for the entire car (inside & out). But it's thorough.
Other alternatives are good too, but super labor intensive. Remove what you can get at mechanically (sanding, wire wheels/brushes, etc.), supplementing with chemicals for the pits you can't really get into (try "A Must for Rust" from Home Depot). You do want to get the rust out of all the pits, or you run the risk of the primer & paint de-laminating.
Good luck,
Jay
You must have meant glass beads and not plastic. Plastic media will remove paint but not rust. The guy might use a combination. Glass beads will warp sheet metal so care has to be taken.. He uses plastic beads that do a nice job removing paint & rust, but won't pit or warp your panels. Jay
The Rust Bullet has no acid in it as far as I know. If you have pits on your surface, it can fill those (encapsulate and chemically transform the rust). You can either sand the rest off or sand it down to prime over. Any one who has never used it, can't speak against it. There are new products developed all the time. Some people are just afraid to try something different, so they stick with what they know works. It's sold by Summit cheaper than through Rust Bullet themselves.
1 - 14 of 14 Posts
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