VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1949-1954 1954 Chevy 3100 Frame Restoration

Hello everyone. I have gotten back into restoring my 1954 Chevy 3100 pick up and have found myself at the frame. My main question is how to go about restoring it. Should I simply clean it and keep it how it is, seeing as its in great condition for being 60+ years old, or should I strip it down to bare metal and put a fresh coat on it? If that's the case, then a fresh coat of what to be exact? I want this truck driving ASAP but I want to give it the proper TLC and do things right the first time so then I wont have to go back to it later on down the line.

I'm staring at my 1938 frame presently so have considered all options as well. If you have any rust, you really should remove the rust.

If the body has been removed, you should continue to do it right and strip parts from the frame, blast it, paint it and the then do the same with the suspension parts and reassemble.
If the body is still on the frame, then remove as much rust as you can, clean it and paint it.

For a naked frame you can powdercoat (they will blast for you), OR epoxy prime and then paint with Enamel frame or Implement paint (google it as there are many brands) or Urethane. If the body is still on the frame you will need to prime and then paint with either type of paint.

I am blasting my frame, epoxy priming and using a 2 part Urethane industrial paint.

I have pulled all components (minus the suspension and axles) off the frame. I am going to clean it up and double coat it with POR-15 Rust Preventive. Their top coat is a Urethane paint but I figure any 2 part industrial Urethane paint will do? This stuff isn't the cheapest, plus it's my first restoration, so I don't want to screw this up.

The original frame paint was pretty cheap and still managed to survive for years. If you remove all rust, keep the bare metal clean, prime it before painting, you will get decades out of even spray bombs as the car won't see heavy or inclement weather use. Almost anything is better than the factory used but rust removal is critical.

POR-15 has both people who love it and people who hate it. I have read it's best for using on cleaned rust rather than bare naked metal but don't see why this would be the case. It's just nasty to use but if familiar/experienced with it, go for it.

I chose simple "normal" prime/paint so that I can match it and repair it when I manage to chip it during repairs, jacking, etc. Some damage is almost a given so I wanted easy to match and also use on inner fenders and other black pieces. PowerCoating can be very reasonable and includes blasting but is trickier to match if repair is needed. POR-15 should be repairable as long as you have extra.

I've used the POR15 a lot and love it. it will fade if exposed to sunlight unless top coat painted. Is tough but you do have to exercise caution when using it......I have a SMALL can that I drilled a hole in the lid and its been good for some time...over a year. I "pour" out small bits at a time and keep the hole covered with duct tape. Just turn the can upside down a time or two and it'll keep.

Oh, I sand blasted my chassis myself before por16 but i have cleaned and used it on floorboards and such that were not sandblasted but clean. It is some tough stuff and now days you can find it at most paint stores.
.......a quart should do two coats on a chassis if desired.

When you used POR15 did you take the part down to bare metal or just remove any rust? Can I get away with just cleaning and removing rust without sand blasting?

POR15 is meant to go on rust so you can apply it as per the instructions after removing as much rust as you can.

Just for kicks price out some local Media Blasting. Guys that do this for a living can do a frame for a couple hundred dollars and you have no dust exposure. It's way easier than working by hand and besides chemical dipping is the only way to actually remove/stop the current rust.

It sure is nice to work with something that looks like this...

This isn't my frame but it is work that the guy I'm using has done. To blast my 1938 frame, epoxy prime it and paint it will be $300 USD. I can't buy blast media, primer and paint materials for that.

Tim,

You should be arrested for grand theft!!