I have a bunch of metal work to do and the panel truck will be in bare metal for awhile. I have no way to heat or dehumidify the big barn. All I can do is keep the rain off. When temps change everything sweats. Any options to stop flash rust for the (realistic) months it may be bare metal?
Anything you put on the metal, gibbs or primer will have to be removed before painting in the future. Having worked in a barn and spraying lacquer primer as I went a few years later I learned the primer didn't seal the metal. Before I got around to painting the rust was starting to bleed through the primer. HRP
Gibbs. ALL. THE. WAY. Respray every couple of months. When its time to paint Gibbs cleans up nice....has a tendency to creep into seams....but, bizarrely, doesn't come back to haunt you. Sent from my SM-G950U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I'm an epoxy person myself, painting for 35 yrs. I don't care what anyone says Oil an automotive paint is nothing I entertain.. jmo
I regularly paint over surfaces that have been treated with Gibbs. I have been doing so for about 25-years. I have never had a single issue. Not even one. So, you have a choice: You can trust speculation, or you can trust actual experience.
I used Gibbs on my car and it sat in several shops for 10 years. I wiped the car down with lacquer thinner before I applied epoxy primer sealer and I'm sure I missed a few spots when I wiped it down...didn't matter. The epoxy primer adhered perfectly with no lifting or wrinkling. Love that Gibbs! And use primer/sealer like epoxy primer.
Personally I would make the body all bare metal. Epoxy prime it. Do the metal work as needed. At the end of the days metal work I would use a quality spray can primer such as Sem or U-Pol to cover the bare metal. When the panel is done being metal worked remove the spray can material and spray on good epoxy or what ever you usually use as the starting point of your paint job. I understand your problem and concerns with the metal sweating with temp changes. I would not want to be bothered with re-applying oil every month or so. I have cars and parts stored in barns and this summer with the amount of rain we had in the northeast the concrete floors in the barns were wet from condensation all summer. To the point there were puddles on occasion.
I get epoxy on everything also then repair panel by panel to the point that it only needs sanded sealed and painted. I use the weld thru primer as I repair the spot, and you can paint over it with out problems. I'm not working in a barn but I don't heat my garage unless I'm working out there, and the temperature change can flash rust metal here in western PA. over night.
Oil will certainly seal metal from rust as long as it is reapplied as the oil evaporates. Phosphoric acid drys and doesn't evaporate. Plus it is actually recommended for use in the paint prep stage.
I use Picklex 20, expensive, looks like ospho but much better. Keeps sheet from surface rust for 6 to 12 months and my shop is damp most of the time.
Since I can't spray epoxy in this cold weather it sounds like Gibbs is my best bet. What chains carry the stuff?
It's sold on the HAMB classifieds here...Search for "Gibbs" Its the real stuff and sold by a HAMB'r I've never found it in stores ...always had to order it.. And , beware of knockoffs online !! BTW : Its a great product
Yeah, I keep a fan circulating 24/7 for the shop in general. I've had some success with hanging a drop light in a car too. Just a little temp rise can eliminate sweat in some cases.
It looks like part of the ingredient in Gibbs Oil is light mineral oil. I'm not sure what the other ingredients are. I'm not sure why it's so expensive other than hype.
I had a thought about a cathodic protection system using sacrificial annodes similar to rust removal methods or boats but apparently wouldn't work. Someone even tried marketing a product. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cathodic_protection&action=edit§ion=0
Hype is defined as excitement generated over something that may, or may not be what it is claimed to be. This product is what it says it is. It is more expensive because someone did all of the research and development into the proper ingredient formulation that produces the desired results. If you can pony-up all of the cash required to come up with a uniquely functional product, that has yet to be duplicated, you too can charge whatever you want. The rest of us get to buy it, and many of us do, by the case. That's basic Capitalism 101.
I sent all the bare metal 32 roadster pkg cars I built out the door with a light wipe of Gibbs. Never had any negative feedback about painting from the buyers.