Rust repair before paint, I take my car for a spin! - 73 narrow body/4, now 6 conversion rebuild thread Options

[didenpx]

Beautiful work!

[slowrodent]

Wow! Super-impressive! Seems to be just plain wrong to cover all that work up! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer.gif)

[Montreal914]

Eric,
Great work! [I'm sure you're planning on this but...] I'd recommend hitting all these welded seams with some sealer before you undercoat/paint. Here's my red '74 before reassembly.

Happy New Year to everyone!

@friethmiller ,
Right! So the entire sealing step is still to be planned out. I will want to do that whole zone with the fender off like you show on your picture. Consider the fender in storage as it stands now held by a couple of vise grips. It will be removed for prep.

My biggest question is where (as in the setup) to spray the epoxy primer? I have a concrete slab behind my garage and a convenient pass through garage door accessing to it. That being said, my neightbor line is about 12-15 feet away. I am concerned about fumes and over spray. This is suburban setup. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/idea.gif)

I do not plan on replicating the factory seam sealer as this is not a concours car and I really don't care for its rough finish. I will most probably use something like brush-on like you show, but I feel like I could do a much cleaner job with a caulking gun and make a nice subtle fillet instead. Is the ~3/4-1" width related to production speed or required protection, or both? I guess spot welded joints could flex under stress and locally delaminate a small caulking-like seal.

Epoxy primer will be gray. I have never used a spay gun before (IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif) , so I guess the inner fender is a good place to start and learn. Another debate/decision is surface texturing or not? Same question will apply for underbody, which is a whole other challenge. Jack up my setup and use a roller crawler and paint upside down? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wacko.gif) I plan on going through your thread and look at the products you used. YouTube is always very useful for techniques too.

For all of the currently hidden inner surfaces, I treated with Ospho, which left a nice protective layer. Then, following the ospho instructions, I protected the area with solvant based paint. I have not done it on any external surfaces as I have read there can be incompatibility between Ospho and epoxy primer. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

By now I am getting confortable with rust repair work and it feels like I am chickening out and pushing back any new steps that I haven't experimented, such as paint... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) The devil you know I guess...

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To all, I appreciate the positive comments! I find posting and explaining the work done is somehow therapeutic and helpful in planning the next steps. At the end I will need to figure a way to copy this into a word or PDF document somehow. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/idea.gif)

[friethmiller]

Eric,

There’s a lot to unpack but here’s a few pointers. Phosphorus treatments are great but you should dilute with water (as instructed) and treat the panels (as instructed). Here’s the things I’ve learned that will help you get past your adhesion worries. 1) phosphorus is an acid that is neutralized with water to deactivate it (this is critical). 2) once this is done, use a solvent like acetone to help quickly dry the panel. Compressed air can help here as well. 3) Before paint, use a d/a sander to abrade the entire area (super critical). This helps remove any excessive phosphorus residue. 4) Clean panel with a glass cleaner (or similar), followed by an automotive wax & grease cleaner. Follow these steps and I think you’ll see great results. Recommend investing in a $70 LVLP gun. The overspray is greatly reduced. Use YouTube and test panels to get a hang of painting. Inner fenders are a great place to start. Don’t be afraid to “learn on your car”. I know I did. I always told myself, if I don’t like the results, I can always redo it. You’ll do great, I’m sure. Again, best of luck! Can’t wait to see the results.