VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Body - Sheet Metal, Paint & Wood Best way to clean and paint frame?

When you paint, do you all pull the body off the frame? It seems like the only way to really get at all the nooks and crannies underneath. And seriously, how well can you clean and paint, for example, the top of the frame under the body??

If I build a support and jack up the frame, sort of like Mike did, I could roll the body off and media blast the frame. On the other hand, I don't want to go off the deep end if that's overkill. I could really use some experienced opinions on this one. It's way too cold to paint, but I can use this time to get ready!

Paul

Hi Paul, Only you can decide how much you want your restoration to be or its order? I began my restoration in 2003 with the purchase of my car. Some of the pictures I have posted show what I have done in the 10 years. If you want to look at my projects just click on a picture and it takes you to my Photobucket account where many of my past photos are stored. What you should notice is that all of my work was done with the frame on the car and how cleaned up things are. Only the tops of the frame rails are not exposed enough to paint/restore.

The only reason I took my frame off the car was it was in bad condition. My rational was why would I put a lot of money into a car and then drive it around on a frame that showed heavy rust damage, welded repairs, and front end and rear end damage?

Yes, it would have been a whole lot easier to cleanup the bottom of my car and frame with the chassis off of the body. My approach though was to do one thing (rebuild brakes, replace gas lines, etc.) or small area of body work (clean the inside of the frame, clean and paint under the gas tank, etc.) at a time. This method allowed me to work on my car winters and drive it summers. It also allowed me to understand the mechanical condition of a lot of the components of my car and rebuild them as I discovered their dependability. So I rebuilt the electrical system after I had the car 4 years, rebuilt the engine after 9 years, cleaned up the drive train when I rebuilt the brakes.

If I would have chosen to take the car all apart as my first goal, I can assure you, it would have frustrated me to cleanup all the parts and reassemble them together. I probably would have sold the car and given up on my hobby. Instead I took 10 years of little steps where I drove my car summers and got a lot of positive reinforcement from the little things I accomplished along the way. I also did not have deep pockets so have spread my investment over 10 years. I can not imagine writing a check for 20 thousand worth of mechanical and body work?

I would also be looking at how you could winterize/heat/cool your garage to extend your days of comfortable work. I saved a lot of money from insulating the garage and covering the garage doors/windows with plastic when it is cold. That way I can work in my garage year around. When It is 90 out in the summer I can work in a 70-75 degree garage with the help of an old window air conditioner. In the winter I heat with radiant heat produced by a common house, gas, water heater.

Best wishes, Mike

P.S. My car was a barn find with all the mud and dirt on it as yours, It took me 2 years of cleanup to get rid of the smell of mouse urine, I have a tuna fish can full of skeleton parts, rocks, seat stuffing, etc., taken out of my frame. A lot of us have "been there done that."

Please also remember the importance of documenting your disassembly (pictures or video) so you know how things go back together.

Mike,
Thank you for your thoughtful reply. If it was warm out now, I'd hit the whole frame with a pressure washer and see where I stood. Instead I'm kind of nibbling around the edges. I think my first order of business will be to get it running. It should be ok, but I need new rubber lines.

I thought about your suggestion for a heated space. My machine shed is quite large and impractical to heat, though I do have a fuel oil orchard heater for the worst days. Today I cleaned out my wood shop, which IS heated, so I can work on some of the parts as I remove them from the engine. MUCH more comfortable.

It will be interesting to see the final cost of this project. I figure paint and upholstery will be the big ones. That said, what's up with a single engine mount costing 50 bucks? I generally like to replace any old rubber. Maybe I'll take a second look at it.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the paint will turn out to be fairly good under all that crud, but that will have to wait for warmer days.

Hi Paul,

I don't know if you have tried these suppliers? Try these links for your parts. Motor/engine mounts are $20 each plus shipping. Try making up a list of parts to cut back a little on the shipping and handling. This is why the hobby is so expensive. Chevs of the 40's or The Filling Station.
We are lucky to have good sources for parts. I can not imagine trying to find parts for less popular cars or what they would cost!!! I also check out ebay regularly for parts.

Make sure you request a parts catalog with your order. They are free and the Chevs of the 40's catalog is especially well illustrated with assembly illustrations. It is a great way to learn the names of the parts.

Good luck, Mike

P.S. I just noticed your car color. Mine also was Maroon, but some time in the 80's it was repainted brown. If I ever repaint my car I will return it to its original color. I do get a lot of compliments on leaving my car as it is with its flaking paint and patina? It is also a lot easier to have as a daily driver when you are not worried about someone touching it, or it getting a small dent, or having a little dust on it. I have lost track of how often I have dropped a screwdriver on a front fender. What would I lean my shop broom on???

I think the most important frame cleanup is getting the crude out of the frame. I would never use water. If it gets inside the frame you are just adding to the corrosion possibilities. A windy day, a manly air compressor, and a lot of patience are your best tools for the inside of the frame. I made up some long extensions for my air spray tool out of brake lines, and used various lengths of coat hangers for probes. A sand blaster, or a set of good scrappers and an orbital sander will do the outside work. I would even try not to get any sand inside the frame.

You can certainly clean the underside without removing the body, but from experience it is fairly easy to lift the body off giving you full access to the frame. I have had frames sandblasted and dipped and also rolled up my sleeves and used an angle grinder with a twisted wire brush. If your frame only has light surface rust, the wire wheel works fine and is cheap. One bonus of removing the body is clean/new body mounts which are usually petrified on a barn find.
For paint I use Endura which is one of those epoxy based paints they use to paint semi tractor frontends.

Mike