VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 Metal prep before painting

Metal prep for chase frame and axles before painting? besides sand blasting has anyone used any of these metal dissolver?
Eastwood Rust Dissolve, EVAPO-RUST® rust remover,
RustAid, Release SuperGel, Metal Rescueâ„¢, Naval Jelly Rust Dissolver?

In review of these products. A Powder coating company said they use a Rust remover and a neutralizer on some metals before powder coating if it had started to oxidize after they had sand blasted and cleaned.

In wire brushing it is hard to get into the corners.

If your parts have been recently sandblasted a thorough air blast with your home compressor should be fine. You want to remove any sand that is lodged in crevises. Most of the rust removal products listed can cause you more problems than cures. Alot depends on what level you intend to finish to. Example, Rustoleum can be brushed or sprayed on right now. Todays primer choices far exceed those available years ago. With good ventilation and proper equipment you can't beat the Epoxy primers sold at pro supply houses. The internet is loaded with information. Al W.

If you're just getting started you might want to weigh out how much money you'll put out for prepping the chassis, nuetralizing, rust inhibitors, primers & paint as opposed to sandblasting & powder coating. The job is usually better & stronger & last longer. The one draw back is if you pits when you start you'll still have pits later. I know it's not correct for restoration but so far nobody has volunteered the use of their pool so we fill it with paint & we all go dip our chassis & other parts :)...Joe

If there is any hint of sand, dirt, oil or grease (that includes finger prints) they must be removed prior to any painting.

I use a self etching primer as my first coat. It does what the metal preps do plus gives some protection to retard rusting. Then apply an epoxy or urethane primer sealer, which protects the metal and gives a base for future filling and finally painting. A sanding primer is next. That allows you to smooth the surface prior to the final top coat(s).

I have found that most metal prep requires a neutralizer or must be rinsed off with water. That can cause rusting, leave hard water deposits, etc. If not neutralized or removed the residue can cause paint lifting days, weeks or even years later. Seams, folds, beaded edges, overlaps are particularly prone to those problems.

What Chipper said.............

All the Best, Chip

Way I look at this question is "what are you aiming for in a final project?" The frame/chassis is virtually unseen when these cars are finished except when on a hoist. Same goes for the axles and springs, although they are seen somewhat by those who get down and look real close. Since I am not doing a show car, and don't want to invest thousands of dollars/hours on something which is seldom seen, my aim for these parts was to have them freshly/uniformly painted approximate color and sheen of original parts.
So I used the low tech DIY approach.
Started by removing body/fenders/rad shell, and springs axle/rear end and all removable brackets from frame as well as brake/steering assemblies. Left engine/tranny in place. I cleaned all parts off completely/de-rusted as best I could with an electric wire brush with attachments, wiped away all dust/grease etc with Mineral Spirits/Varsol, and before painting wiped completely with lacquer thinner to remove any remaining grease/oil/fingerprints etc. This process took me about 1 month. Most of the original paint was still on these parts.
I then finished all these parts with Tremclad rustpaint, semi-gloss black, applied with a high quality brush, being careful to get into all crevices etc. Painted removed parts before reinstalling.
The Tremclad set up to a pretty good flat finish, low sheen, no runs or sags and when everything was put back together, from 5 feet it looks perfect. As someone suggests these cars were originally dipped in a vat of black paint, and as a result many chassis had a run here or there and they were not perfect.
My intention is to spend some money on a quality paint job on the body/fenders, and to rechromes all the brightwork and do a new interior. Those will cost me enough money!
So as I said "what are you aiming for"

On chassis I have used several different processes. Sand blast, self-etching primer, epoxy primer, top quality single stage top coat. That is by far the best for covering imperfections, durability and later touch-up. Then you can have them powder coated and let someone else do all the work. Have done a couple that way. Have also done the wire brush on drill motor and Rustoleum. In expensive (except for time), looks okay for a while but doesn't stand the test of time. Have also sand blasted and coated with single stage urethane. So far it has held up well and does not have excessive cost.

Like you said it depends on what you want and need.