VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Body - Sheet Metal, Paint & Wood Corrosion protection for chassis bolts

Anyone have ideas or methods regarding corrosion protection of chassis bolts? :confused:

When I was workong for the local airline , I was able to Cadmium plate all the various bits of the old Chevy , now that job is long gone , I just get the parts bright Zinc plated (cheaper). I also use an anti corrosion compound on the threads when building a part up, helps on later disassembly .

NAPA used to sell a spray paint that was advertised as 90 or so % zinc and almost as good as galvanizing. I wonder if anyone has any experience with anything like that???

yes, we've used cold galvanizing compound in aerosol cans for years with good results...don't know about napa, but just checked my grainger book and they list rust-oleum & dem-kote brands in regular & bright finishes, all about 93% pure zinc in dry film...

epi

I wonder how well the zinc spray paint holds up under wrench pressure? Even plating comes off if the surface is not properly prepped, or if too much pressure is applied to it. Anyone know?

Maybe it's worth an experiment. I like the idea of having something to spray on as touch-up after installation, but it should be black to blend in with the rest of the undercarriage.

lenn,

most of our uses for the cold galvanizing has been to retouch galvanized steel that's been ground & welded...

it seems to hold up to normal wrench pressures, as it is chemically bonded to the surface, but, as you suggest, surface prep makes a world of difference...

perhaps you could use it as undercoat and apply your desired black over the top?..

epi

I'll give it a try and let you know.

lenn,

I meant to add that it is intended to be painted over, if desired...it accepts paint well enough that I don't think we ever prime over it, just paint...

epi

lenn,

I was at home depot shopping for some spray paint the other day and happened to see that they carry the rust-oleum cold galvanizing coumpound for about four bucks...

epi

I just noticed that Eastwood sells both a "Black Oxide" kit and a tin-zinc plating kit at reasonable prices. This might also be an option.

I would be really careful with the "kits" offered by Eastwood. They are purely cosmetic and offer zero protection. In my opinion - a total waste of $$

The cold zinc compound will hold up extremely well. It is a flat gray finish - which does not look anything like cad. Read the label of the product you choose - several that I have used cannot be painted over.

I can say that I painted the backside of several bumpers 30 years ago - and they still look like new.

No need for special bolt coatings (zinc chromates etc) unless you live very close to the ocean; or drive to the salt mines.

I am presently useing POR 15.it can be very messy to apply but it looks like it is going to last for ever,chef-

Bowtieollie, lil' johnny and chef-chevy: I appreciate your advice and you guys looking out for me. I guess I'll pass on the Eastwood kits.

I'm still working to get the grease and mud cleaned off the frame: took it to the car wash last weekend, but it still has some areas that need scraping. I was considering sand blasting the frame, then epoxy prime / urethane topcoat... but it's already taking me forever just to get past the frame on this project! The POR-15 is sounding better, and I had begun to consider it before anyone mentioned it in this thread. I'll check out their website for prep instructions and go from there.

Thanks guys!

Hey Grumpy: i did my frame with por-15! you can brush or shoot it on with the same results, it is self leveling, i painted in on about 4 ml thick and the frame looks great! for the 37 i think the semi-gloss is the frame color for your year!
i only did the frame and that would be my advice to you also, if you go the por-15 product!
my frame turned out new and it's been on for 3 year's now and still look's very good. good luck my friend with your choise.

Grumpy,as you will read about POR 15 it does not come off anything when dry especially your hands.If you spray it cover up real good!!!!!!You should be very happy with the results,the top coat does come in semi-gloss as well as gloss.chef-

OK, I'll try it! Now I have to overcome the urge to sandblast it anyway!

Nate, did you spray or brush? You say self leveling, so it sounds like you brushed it on. One of my co-workers said he used it on his Chevy II, for him the big selling point was that you didn't have to clean off the rust. That just doesn't sit with me right! :eek:

I just remembered: I bought an '89 1/2 ton Chevy new in '89 (I hated it, but that's another story). As I remember, the frame of this truck was painted with a wax-like coating that seemed to be really damage resistant. I also remember that the surface was really orange-peeled, so it didn't look very good.

Does anyone know what this material is, how it behaves and if it's commercially available?

Grumpy,
Sandblasting a frame can be troublesome.

Hello Grumpy: i did not leave the rust as it might be on your frame now? i did use a power tool with a wire brush (mukita) and it took almost all the rust off by the use of the tool itself! then when i had it looking real good as it did with the power wire brush, though some pitting was there and nothing i could do about that! i cleaned the complete frame with marine clean wash, which is another por-15 product, then i brushed the gloss por-15 on and the frame came out looking new! it has the look close to some powder coating but very strong and i know it will outlast me! one thing about rust is, if air can not reach the metal surface it can not rust anymore, use a brush that does not leave brissle's behind because the finish will show that, the finish is really that nice, when completed Grumpy. but as i mentioned, i would only do the frame and spray all other part's.
the frame will be fine useing por-15, but as it look's a little like powder coating that is why i would stop at the frame! when the other part's are sprayed you can see if down the road any stress cracks develope, that is why aircraft frames/raceing frame's are never powder coated! come to think about it anything that has high stress is never powder coated. i hope that help's you out some.

My frame is stripped down to virtually nothing. There are still 3 small bolts in the front cross-member. I have no idea what they were holding on to, but the cross-member forms a trough that fills with water because the drain holes were plugged with mud and oil. Everything in this trough was really rusted!

The shackle bushings are still in the 3 castings that remain on the frame (I removed the left front one so it could be repaired or replaced, Nate might help me with this) So, the only things left on the frame are those that are riveted. I plan to replace the battery tray with a new one from The Filling Station, so that too will be removed. The front running board braces were bolted on by a prior owner, so these are currently off. I plan to rivet them back on... before I paint the chassis because I'm not going to break down all of the riveted connections just to get paint behind them. I've finally drawn the line on the lengths I'll go to to protect the frame from rusting!

Are there different kinds of rivets that should or shouldn't be used?

Hey Gator, check out this thread:

Replacing Frame Rivets

Speedline pointed out that frame rivets are available from Big Flats Rivets

but I'm going to try to find them locally first.

McMaster Carr has a good range of rivets available at reasonable prices. I just bought some 5/16" flatheads when I rebuilt the springs on my 50 halfton. www.mcmaster.com