49 3100 ready to sandblast frame. a few questions.

[gene_champ]

hi, i am new at restoration and this is my first project. i have been reading on here for a while. now getting to work on my 49 3100. i am trying get it looking nice and still keep it as original as practical for regular use. i have it down to the frame and ready to get that blasted. i have a few questions.

what do i need to do after frame is blasted as far as prep to get ready to paint? can just i use por-15, or is there something else better if it is blasted?

how much, if any, blasting can i do on the front axle, springs, spindles, rear differential and driveshaft housing and ect without getting sand in someplace where it will be a problem?

should i completely dissemble and rebuild the front end? kingpins seem tight, but truck has been used.

i bought it from the original owner and it is mostly complete and original with 50k miles. it has the usual rust places and wear parts. i drove it for several years before starting the restore. i am having a professional repair the cab.

thanks!

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by gene_champ

hi, i am new at restoration and this is my first project. i have been reading on here for a while. now getting to work on my 49 3100. i am trying get it looking nice and still keep it as original as practical for regular use. i have it down to the frame and ready to get that blasted. i have a few questions.

Good on you for taking it on! I'm curious why you think you HAVE to sandblast the frame? If the frame is totally bare then there is no issue.

Originally Posted by gene_champ

...what do i need to do after frame is blasted as far as prep to get ready to paint? can just i use por-15, or is there something else better if it is blasted?

I've always heard POR-15 prefers rusty metal to cling to. Granted, properly cleaned and treated rust. Some guys who have painted it on true bare metal report it peeled off in sheets. I will wire wheel and degrease my frame and I am using ordinary Rustoleum Hammered black because it will be easily touched up and in my experience it is hard as nails with 2 coats.

Originally Posted by gene_champ

...how much, if any, blasting can i do on the front axle, springs, spindles, rear differential and driveshaft housing and ect without getting sand in someplace where it will be a problem?

Personally, I'd NOT sandblast the front end suspension parts unless they were completely disassembled and then I'd be very careful of the king pin mating surfaces.

Originally Posted by gene_champ

...should i completely dissemble and rebuild the front end? kingpins seem tight, but truck has been used.

Hey, it's your truck but don't you think its due after 63 years!! If you're doing a frame-off, why not have total peace of mind?

Originally Posted by gene_champ

i bought it from the original owner and it is mostly complete and original with 50k miles. it has the usual rust places and wear parts. i drove it for several years before starting the restore. i am having a professional repair the cab

Sounds like you got a good one! Curious, why not do the rust repair yourself? I've not welded and if you check my thread I am starting MIG welding with a used 110v Hobart this weekend. It isn't THAT hard and you'll pay through the nose for a pro to do it....without truly knowing how good/bad a job he did...possibly til years later. Just my $.02, but I bet a few will agree. Keep the photos coming and good luck!

[98layinframe]

Truck looks to be in pretty pristine shape! As for the paint por 15 and similar chassis paints like chassis saver will stick to a clean blasted frame just fine. Where the paint won't stick is a perfectly smooth piece... for example on a newer vehicle if you were to remove the factory rubber coating and exposed the smooth factory metal. Sand blasting chews up the surface enough to promote adhesion.
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[brothers69c-10]

I agree with Latin frame. pOR 15 sticks great to sandblasted metal. I've done it to 2 frames now. On one after the POR 15 we roughed it up with a scotch bright pad and used some of the POR15 chassis paint over it. The POR15 as it is will fade eventually.
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[N.T.Q]

ask were you are getting it blasted, I just did my frame and they said if I did blast and powder coated it would be $250 or $175 for just blasting

[SCHRUMGMC]

Like the Truck man

[gene_champ]

thanks for the replies. i am here to learn as i have no idea on much of this stuff. i sent the cab out because i have no good experience welding sheet metal. cab needed cab corners, door bottoms, floor. the frame is rusted and covered with lime dust in every nook and cranny.

i just called a powdercoater and for around $200 he will do it in black, colors extra. blasting at $65/hr.

is powdercoating a good way to go with a frame? is there a downside to it? any special prep besides blasting? i have seen jobs where rust gets under it and it peels off in sheets.

[SCHRUMGMC]

Is Frames cast iron, and are they still like that today ?

[mknittle]

Originally Posted by SCHRUMGMC

Is Frames cast iron, and are they still like that today ?

Stamped steel and pretty soft at that. Cast iron won't flex much at all before breaking. even though cast iron has more carbon than high carbon steels. The difference is the distribution of the molecules. Think of cast iron like a chocolate chip cookie the chips being carbon. In high carbon steel the carbon is like a chocolate cookie with no chips.

[98layinframe]

What vehicle frame was ever cast iron? Old tractors where the motor and transmission were the actual frame.. but thats about it.
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[SCHRUMGMC]

Im not sure thats why I am asking

[N.T.Q]

see if you can find a shop with a 360 blaster were they can hang it and blast side ways, then every thing gets hit

[Rufton]

2 cents: I painted inside wheel wells and inside fenders w/ ppg dp epoxy primer about 15 years ago. It has stood the test of time; still looks great. The epoxy primer has excellent adhesion, resists rust, can be touched up, top coated or stripped easily; doesn't like UV or abrasion. I couldn't bring myself to use tough under coating because it's no fun to strip. If coating doesn't have adequate adhesion it can promote rust.

dreaming: I would prefer to have frame cleaned to fresh metal then galvanized or dipped like new cars.

wondering: How the heat treated big rig frames are protected and how well the coating holds up? Epoxy was popular for industrial applications; may still be?

[Daze57]

took my frame to sandblaster - had it completly done - powdercoated black - that was 16 years ago - have not had one problem with any of the powdercoat

[SCHRUMGMC]

So do you just get all the Loose Rust and then Primer it and then paint it Black ?

[1952]

Just my 2 cents
I had my frame sand blasted and then had a zinc oven baked (power coater did both for 250.00) followed with epoxy coat( I sprayed it 65.00) over the zinc and satin black frame paint(100.00) over the epoxy
If you do this be prepared to paint over the epoxy within the one week window
I had bought a sandblaster unit (5 gallon pita) spend the money and have a pro do it
same goes for the body blasting have it done by a pro
if you have the body done get a coat or 2 of epoxy on it ASAP and the rust is dead in its tracks which will give you time to do the body work at your pace
epoxy everywhere in every nook cranny and seam inside and outside

[Speedbumpauto]

Powder coat may be a little overkill for your intentions and it makes you do everything else nice. I probably wouldn't do it for a work/driver truck but I had mine blasted and powder coated with gloss black and I love it. You DO want to pre think everything extra you're going to do to the frame like suspension and steering as you ruin it by doing anything other than drilling holes in it.(carefully)

[SCHRUMGMC]

It seems like a pain in the arse, just to teat the Truck all the way down

[Russell Ashley]

Originally Posted by SCHRUMGMC

It seems like a pain in the arse, just to teat the Truck all the way down

It is... Take my advice and don't try it. It's very expensive to put it back together and your truck doesn't look like it needs it. Get it running and safe to drive and then improve it as you drive and enjoy it.

[Daze57]

well it can be a pain but i think it all depends on what you like ! i did mine because i had it torn down all the way - and i figure if i am gonna put on new stuff i might as well do the frame ! caint hurt !!! so i did it - for me it was money well spent - granted its not for everyone but for me i am happy i did it .

good luck on what ever you do !!!

[thotfulspot]

It is a pain but powder coating in my experience is more durable and looks better down the road. Make sure you do any welding or modifications before you have it coated. It's a pain to get the powder coating off to weld and wrecks it. I try to plan everything out before starting a project to avoid doing prep or removing parts twice.
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[Rufton]

Sure is pretty speedbump.

[_Ogre]

i blasted my frame with one of those blast-in-a-bucket kits from harbor freight
i did it in stages since i had my cab on when i did the front and rear suspenssion
i used por15 and have had no fading in 3 yrs that it has been on the road
one thing nice about paint is that when you miss a bracket you can grind, weld and touch up paint

[mr48chev]

Tearing a truck down to the bare frame or not all depends on what we want out of it and how we want it to look when it's done. It should be what you want and not what other's opinion is of what you should do. Since that is what you want go for it.

One piece of advice, clean all of that grease and oil off the frame before you take it to the sand blaster. Also take off any pieces that you don't intend to use so that you aren't paying to sandblast pieces that you don't intend to use.

Powder coated frames look great but and it's a big BUT, once you powder coat one you can't do any work on it without ruining the powdercoating. That is ok if you have all of the welding, fitting and grinding done and don't ever intend to make changes but for me who is always changing something it won't work.

The finish coat on the frame if you paint it is up to you. Por 15 and or their finish coat, industrial primer and paint or do the prime, sand, prime sand slick paint finish what ever spins your wheels.

On the king pins, if they feel real good they were probably replaced not long before the truck was parked and worse case scenario is that you will have to pull it back apart and replace the king pins later with your head up under the fender when you do it. It would be easier to do it now but maybe not a necessity to do it now.

On having someone else do the sheet metal repairs. I don't see what the problem with that is. We all know what we can do or can't do or don't want to do. Berating someone because he intends to farm work out is a problem however. I'd much rather see a really nice truck that the owner/builder had farmed out the tasks that he didn't feel up to rather than see one that a guy muddled through and did a half way job on because he thought he had to do it all himself.

Keep on with the progress reports, this is looking good.