Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)

[6DoF]

yup, screw this junk. unless i call them and they say "oh yeah, that means the distributor froze it, here's a new bottle free" not guna try this again.

it stuck REALLY well in some places, was actually grinding it off ... while other places were flaky BS. the only correlation i can find is it was worse with the 2nd coat. but not all! some places of old paint, stuck amazing and had to grind away paint before it would come off. some places of rust it would come off in sheets.

yes, i shook the crap out of it before using it ... and i'm sure so did the UPS driver.

got the whole thing re-prepped, everything left is solid. thinking it was already dead rust and i've now converted most of it, so i'm just going to hose it with primer and move on to paint.

[6DoF]

well, that's awesome, Amazon is returning the Corroseal!

back to the non-priming, "acid only" stuff. so i started digging into that more.

Ospho - $39.79
TotalBoat - $39.99
Oxy-Gone - $34.99 (claims "just like Ospho" and comes with 2 spray bottles)

then as i was reading reviews and other stuff i caught wind of "how is this different than phosphoric acid for etching concrete at half the price?". looked into that and sure enough, the same green liquid labeled for "concrete and metal prep", at home depot, for $17.97.

Klean-Strip - $16.30

for $16 and available on the shelf locally ... i'm going to give this stuff a try and let yinz know how it goes! if it's the same as the $50 AutoTech Rust-Prep with $30 shipping i was using before, i'm gunna freak out.

edit: the directions on the Klean-Strip actually says to dilute it 3:1 water:solvent for metal prep. is this junk is even stronger!?!?!

[G&R's57GMC]

Hit it with self etching primer then paint it .

[Jason 56]

Having a decent background in chemistry. I can tell you that there are only 2 things you can do with rust. Cut it out or seal it off from any possible future moisture. Once steel begins to oxidize the chemical chain reaction has begun. That reaction requires oxygen and water. So if you don’t cut it out then seal it. Problem with sealing it is that all paint is permeable to water except POR-15 (that I found in researching the topic). It is the only sealant for metal that I know of that actually gets harder in the presence of water and therefore is less permeated. Which is why you don’t want to spray it (won’t come out of your lungs) this is my reasoning for using it on my project. I’ve always seen other encapsulators fail due to their water porousity. If you use POR-15, prime it once it has a finger drag tack (about 30 minutes) and it doesn’t require scuffing. Just my 2 cents on your challenges.

[6DoF]

Originally Posted by Jason 56

Having a decent background in chemistry. I can tell you that there are only 2 things you can do with rust. Cut it out or seal it off from any possible future moisture. Once steel begins to oxidize the chemical chain reaction has begun. That reaction requires oxygen and water. So if you don’t cut it out then seal it. Problem with sealing it is that all paint is permeable to water except POR-15 (that I found in researching the topic). It is the only sealant for metal that I know of that actually gets harder in the presence of water and therefore is less permeated. Which is why you don’t want to spray it (won’t come out of your lungs) this is my reasoning for using it on my project. I’ve always seen other encapsulators fail due to their water porousity. If you use POR-15, prime it once it has a finger drag tack (about 30 minutes) and it doesn’t require scuffing. Just my 2 cents on your challenges.

after reading that i went researching and came across this:
https://4wdlife.com/tech-talk/chassis-saver-vs-por-15/

i had never heard any description like you were saying, but it makes total sense! i used to only use ChassisSaver on the jeeps, and sounds like one of those over the convertor would be an even better total solution too.

Edit: after reading a bit more, there's a chance that the POR-15 metal prep is similar the home depot Cement/Metal Prep. both are a phosphate/phosphoric base.

[6DoF]

one big step forward this weekend for the 55 ... one huge leap backwards for my savings. now that the 12v is set, i have a huge list of crap to buy! now i really want to hear this engine make noise, and really want to get the inside painted, this is great motivation.

a college buddy was in town for a day this weekend on this way by and worked out perfect to help with stabbing it in, always great to see long-time friends!

[daddyjeep]

It's always great to see old friends when you can put them to work. Looks awesome in there with the orange frame rails.

[youngrodder]

Looking great. Setting the body back on the chassis always seems to light the fuse.

Marc

[6DoF]

a buddy ran some test with the $16 Kleen Strip vs the $80 Rust-Prep ... as far as we can tell it's the same stuff! just don't dilute it like the directions say on the kleen strip, us it as-is.

also after reading what Jason was saying, i'm going to chassis saver my floor pan before lizard skin. further pushing that decision as well, while looking over the floor, there's a new surface patina where i cleaned off the corro-crap. that needs sealed! unfortunately my can's were all dried up, so that's ordered now.

[6DoF]

still waiting on chassis saver to arrive, so in the mean time we shall prime n sand again. hopefully this weekend i can get the painted surfaces in a 2nd coat of primer ready for paint.

[6DoF]

holy productive weekend batman! not all on the 55 though ... had to move a bunch of gravel back up the hill on my driveway and grade it all, plus i finally got the airstream all sealed up! no more leaking on my new floor.

for the 55 however i got the ChassisSaver on the floor, and i love this stuff. i've used it with amazing results for years and no clue why i thought i could "do better" for this truck. then put some red-oxide putty down on my floor/firewall patches to fill the back side weld textures, all that still needs sanded off. my 1/2 tube of seam sealer from under the cab had glued the plunger in place so i had to order a new one.

got primer in the cab that'll need sanded out now, but it's fun seeing it all "one color"! it's actually 98% smooth enough for paint as-is everywhere but the lower dash. that'll most likely need sanded/re-primed another time or 2.

the doors got fully torn down and i started a debate with myself over keep or ditch the vent windows. $500 for all the glass n guts without ... $1000 for everything new to keep the vents. basically everyone said to keep em, and i'll agree i have to keep them. just wish my glass/tracks were worth keeping or restoring. i chopped the bottom off the drivers door since it was totally gone, cleaned it all up and got it all coated in ChassisSaver. with any luck i can get the patch in there quickly and have the doors ready for interior paint with the rest of the cab.

[lower50's]

WOW!! Lots of steps forward and a few back but it is coming together very nice. Make sure you read the prep for the lizard skin, if I remember you need to scuff the primer.

[6DoF]

Originally Posted by lower50's

WOW!! Lots of steps forward and a few back but it is coming together very nice. Make sure you read the prep for the lizard skin, if I remember you need to scuff the primer.

weather ya need to or not ... scuff all the things!! there's no way i'm risking anything not sticking and needing re-done

[6DoF]

so the bottom of the door welded in pretty well! i'm actually starting to feel better about this whole sheet metal thing. i guess we'll see how my finishing steps go. welded, ground, and finger painted red-oxide putty to make sure it got in all the little places around the welds. then the bottom of the skin was urethane seam sealer glued back to the new structure since the fold lip was long gone. a thick bead to fill/solidify the bottom of the other door also seamed reasonable.

so this dash filler plate hole ... what to do ... i'm thinking fighter jet style covered toggle switch, and when ppl ask about it i let them flip it. but all it does it squirt em with water or something else funny for me.

also got all the seam sealer done on the floor. I've recently been caulking basically everything on the airstream resto and got some extra practice. i think this smoothed out pretty good!

[6DoF]

was a solid weekend! wish it had been cooler Saturday morning for shooting clays, but i survived. lucky for us, i hooked up the airstream AC earlier this spring. the wife n i finally got the shell sealed enough that we could put the new floor down! i really needed to stop trying to find what was leaking, and assume EVERYTHING WAS. biggest issues were one taillight and the newly installed power plug. threw down a nice Luan before the vinyl roll even.

for the '55 though, the entire interior is officially in the first coat of primer! fawkin hell paint prep takes forever ... most of it came out pretty good with just the one primer coat, but the passenger door was beat and the paint chipped to hell. you can see the scarring in the old paint in the close up picture. that'll need sanded out and primed again, but that's all the further i'm going to take it. these doors aren't in good enough shape to be worth really detailing out that uber clean. hell, my weld seam is barely noticeable already too, and the flat top coat will help hide it all.

if you remember back to post#239, and #293 i made some non-race-ready (but better than a 3pt conversion) 4-pt harness brackets for the cab. i recently remember them myself and need to get them fit for install before paint. that's next on my list.

[lower50's]

I hear you with the metal prep, lot's of hours and not really much to show for it. Your airstream is looking amazing, I would love to get my hands on one.

[youngrodder]

Busy weekend. The photo from inside the airstream has cool perspective to it with that flooring pattern.

Nice job getting the inside metal covered.

Marc

[6DoF]

getting in some new practice again, sanding out the primer to hide the BS from the old paint. one door was SO much worse than they other, took so much extra sanding! got a few places that'll most likely take sanding in the next primer coat, but then it'll all be good enough for sure.

[daddyjeep]

You have been productive. It is coming along now. Once I finish all of these catering events in the next few weeks, I really need to get back to work on my truck.

[6DoF]

Seat belts!!

not sure what i had been waiting for, but finally did the fab/install on the seat belt mounts. these will be 4-pt harnesses and i still feel really good about these being better than adapting in a 3-pt. not race-ready, but still better.

the floor tab placement worked out great, they match the angle of the floor rib while being tucked in nice under the seat. they point straight thru where the seats come together and around hips. i'm glad they didn't end up in the middle of the floor back there, always setting junk on them behind the seat.

the back wall plates were kind of a paint to get bent right, but turned out good. the plates are actually bent concave to match the cab and not pinch the belts to the wall.

[6DoF]

next thing was finishing paint prep. the wife helped me sand out a few more spot coats of primer while i was doing the belts, everything is now ready for white!

Wednesday night is painting night ... stay tuned.

to finish prep for white, i lizard skin'd the roof to make a head liner. made a big difference in the ring of the panel. the whole ceiling will get hosed down white now, and i have a nice white head liner trim rubber for it too. should look kinda sexy i hope.

[6DoF]

WTF was i thinking... I only bought one qt of flat white. I made it thru all the bits and doors, then ran out before i ever started the cab. Not only that, i ran out ONE PASS before finishing the 2nd main door cover plate. ONE PASS short of finishing ... Uugghh ...

[youngrodder]

A lot of good progress happening over there...Looking great.

Marc

[6DoF]

Originally Posted by youngrodder

A lot of good progress happening over there...Looking great.

Marc

thank ya sir! you and others have set some high standards around here i'm trying to live up to

[6DoF]

tell ya what, now that it's cured that Lizard Skin really made a bid difference on the reverb in the roof skin.