restarting body work after ~10 yrs

Posted By: Molloy

restarting body work after ~10 yrs - 03/08/14 09:45 PM

I have a 71 RR that was 95% ready for paint. Due to career change, relocation, no garage, etc, the car sat in a storage unit for 10 yrs while I got a place to restart the hobby.

Now I have the place, and it looks like some rust patina has made it through some of the areas that were primered. No bubbling, just patina. I guess my question is if I have to re blast the whole car and redo the body work or if I can locally address the bad spots. I'll try to take some pics to make this more clear. Primered with Dupont epoxy primer.

Thanks

Posted By: GLR

Re: restarting body work after ~10 yrs - 03/08/14 09:54 PM

In order to remove the rust that you are seeing you will have to take that area all down to steel in order to remove the rust-either with a D/A or some type of sander or depending on location of the rust you may be able to sand blast it.
Sorry..but that is the only way to do it correctly so it will last.

Posted By: Molloy

Re: restarting body work after ~10 yrs - 03/08/14 10:30 PM

Thanks. Some pics.

Attached picture 8066615-IMG_0336.JPG

Posted By: Molloy

Re: restarting body work after ~10 yrs - 03/08/14 10:31 PM

Posted By: Molloy

Re: restarting body work after ~10 yrs - 03/08/14 10:32 PM

Posted By: GLR

Re: restarting body work after ~10 yrs - 03/08/14 10:40 PM

I would probably sand blast it again and put it in epoxy.

Posted By: Molloy

Re: restarting body work after ~10 yrs - 03/08/14 10:47 PM

Here's the primer I used back in 2004. Epoxy. I guess I should have used more coats.

Attached picture 8066628-IMG_0348.JPG

Posted By: GLR

Re: restarting body work after ~10 yrs - 03/08/14 11:00 PM

That epoxy is quite old, I wouldn't use it. It's not worth taking a chance. Buy new Epoxy and Catalyst.

Posted By: Molloy

Re: restarting body work after ~10 yrs - 03/09/14 04:41 AM

Quote:

That epoxy is quite old, I wouldn't use it. It's not worth taking a chance. Buy new Epoxy and Catalyst.

I know, just showing what I used. Anyone want to recommend a good epoxy primer that will stick to what I have now? In fact, I'm looking for a whole system for primer and a good match for B5. Obviously I'm not a body guy so tips welcome.

Like you suggested, I will need to sand and blast some of it where the rust is, but I'd really like to avoid stripping the whole car because the body work is 99% done.

Posted By: Challenger 1

Re: restarting body work after ~10 yrs - 03/09/14 05:04 AM

I would re scuff by hand with red scotchbrite pads and then re prime with fresh dupont epoxy primer.

No way I would strip the whole car down again. That's too much blasting and stress on the metal.

Posted By: RSNOMO

Re: restarting body work after ~10 yrs - 03/09/14 05:31 AM

Quote:

I'd really like to avoid stripping the whole car because the body work is 99% done.

No matter what the prep, are you gonna be comfortable using that as a foundation???

T'was me, I'd start with a clean slate...

Then you'll KNOW what yer working with...

Posted By: gregsrt

Re: restarting body work after ~10 yrs - 03/09/14 05:37 AM

I would blast the whole thing, you never know if its started underneath and hasn't shown through only to come through the paint later. Most primer/sealers can be mixed two different ways, one way a primer filler the other as a sealer. Primer will absorb moisture over time allowing the rust you see. Blast it now it will save money in the long run.

Posted By: Molloy

Re: restarting body work after ~10 yrs - 03/09/14 05:40 AM

Quote:

Quote:

I'd really like to avoid stripping the whole car because the body work is 99% done.

No matter what the prep, are you gonna be comfortable using that as a foundation???

T'was me, I'd start with a clean slate...

Then you'll KNOW what yer working with...

I know but I'm busy living in denial.

Posted By: RSNOMO

Re: restarting body work after ~10 yrs - 03/09/14 05:44 AM

It's a '71 Ply...

Make it RIGHTEOUS...

Posted By: LimeliteAero

Re: restarting body work after ~10 yrs - 03/09/14 02:36 PM

theres no way I would move forward unless you have no conscience and plan to sell.

Posted By: GLR

Re: restarting body work after ~10 yrs - 03/09/14 02:55 PM

Well, I know it's a lot of work, I have been doing restorations for 34 years. The problem is (as stated above) there is a good chance that there is rust under the epoxy that you can't see because it hasn't came through the epoxy yet but it is still there. It would be best to start over because not only is paint and other materials expensive but you have to factor in your time to redo the car again when the rust starts coming through your paint finish.
I don't know what you have for paint/material supplier but when PPG went to the DPLF series epoxy years ago ... I didn't like it's characteristics and I was talking with a PPG rep and he said that the OMNI epoxy works like the original DP epoxy and I experimented with it and it does work very well. I do not like the OMNI paint at all..it is cheap/poor quality paint.
You can use the cheaper sandable primers that each paint company makes, it usually sands well but it does shrink. So I would use a quality sandable primer and make sure that you read and follow all the paint manufactures instructions.
If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask.
Note; Picture is of a customers car that I am restoring now. 72 Road Runner 451 stroker 4-speed dana.

Attached picture 8067399-IMG_1948.JPG

Posted By: AdamR

Re: restarting body work after ~10 yrs - 03/09/14 04:50 PM

Start from scratch. 2 or 3 good coats of epoxy then get some 2K on it.

Posted By: GLR

Re: restarting body work after ~10 yrs - 03/09/14 05:01 PM

You want to watch the amount of Epoxy that you apply. Follow the paint manufactures recommendations on how many coats of primer to apply. I know that PPG recommends only a maximum of 2 coats of epoxy and watch your recoat times. It also depends on the fluid tip size that is in your spray gun. I use a 1.4 fluid tip for epoxy.

Posted By: edp

Re: restarting body work after ~10 yrs - 03/09/14 06:57 PM

Quote:

Quote:

That epoxy is quite old, I wouldn't use it. It's not worth taking a chance. Buy new Epoxy and Catalyst.

I know, just showing what I used. Anyone want to recommend a good epoxy primer that will stick to what I have now? In fact, I'm looking for a whole system for primer and a good match for B5. Obviously I'm not a body guy so tips welcome.

Like you suggested, I will need to sand and blast some of it where the rust is, but I'd really like to avoid stripping the whole car because the body work is 99% done.

SPI - Southern Polyurethanes

Awesome stuff, reasonable price, excellent customer service & advice & no I dont work for them. Painted lots of stuff with it and had great success. You can call the owner of the company and get advice on product & process.

the surface rust really doesn't look bad on your
71 so you should be able to get it into epoxy pretty quickly, wire wheel the worst rust & a light DA sand of all else then shoot!

good luck.