please forgive me if this is a common topic. searching tells me everything but what i need to know. what is the best way to seal up the back side of a patch panel? i just welded in a new lower patch on my 63 c10. i have access to most of the repair on the back side except, behind the fender support. seam sealer? epoxy primer? glass? rust-oleum?
Spray cans of self etching primer then try to coat the area with either POR or Eastwood's rust encapsulating primer. Anything to cover the raw metal will help.
For hard to reach area's, I spray a good coating of 'Fluid Film'. This stuff is great. I spray the cylinders on my snow plow in the spring. It sits outside. Still on, in late fall when I prep for winter. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Por 15 needs the surface prepped as it's instructions says on the can or it will fall off new metal. More like the new metal without the prep will spit the por 15 off like we spit watermelon seeds. A good scrub with ospho and a coat of rust oleum sticks to just about anything. I don't know exactly what it is, but the tar ish kind of stuff Henry used 80 years ago has done a really good job of protecting.
Lots of luck,,if you try to seal a area that you can't gain access and do it prior to welding in the panel you will have a small fire so it really doesn't help at all. Most likely when the car left the factory it was raw metal. HRP
i use epoxy primer, then paint. if it doesn't show this is a good use for leftover paint or color samples as nobody will care what color it is. turn the air up on the gun, tighten up the pattern and blast it on. to get behind supports or panels the paint can be blown around with a air blow gun with a piece of brake line for nozzle.
As HRP says...you're a little late to be thinking about sealing it. But Chevy did put something on the bare metal before they built the truck, they dipped the fenders in black primer. Didn't help much, when it got mud and dirt in there and trapped moisture. So....even if you can get some paint in there now, be sure to keep it clean and dry, and it'll last for ever.
I have access to the back of the repair. I can't see light through welded area. I just want to seal up the seam to prevent any top coat issues in the future.
Don't take it personal and its no sense try to fix em but not to many people will actually read here. If they do, it will end by the 6th post. Some think my thread is about a polished transmission lol scary stuff when it catches on fire tomorrow after you've welded it yesterday.
We've got a lot of that to do too. We decided to use Herculiner truck bed liner. It sticks like crazy and is waterproof as hell.
Eastwood makes an aerosol with a flex wand to so inside of frames, you can buy Schultz guns with a flex nozzles and shoot any kind of undercoating or bedliner you want. Good welds is your best bet, shine a light into the panel and turn off your garage light, yoI'll see if you need to weld more.
If you've got good access like you say - a) prep the bare metal just like you would any other mild steel piece (degrease, wire wheel, roloc disc etc) b)Etch prime or epoxy, c)seam seal the weld d)once you've finished all your paint and bodywork hose a cavity wax or similar in there
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