I had this body "dipped " 36 years ago, fast forward>>>>> it sit and now I want to paint it with brown rust-tol-leum. will washing it with vinegar "clean" it up?
Vinegar works good for light rust but the metal needs to be submerged in it. Wire brush the part from time to time. Put something over your container if possible. Once clean flush with clean water and dry the part(s). Prime/paint. I just stuck a steel flywheel in an oil change tub about 2 hours ago. I’ll report back when it’s done to give you an idea how long it took.
Hey, it,s a Dodge. Very nice. Does,nt look to bad. You might get away with wet-sanding to remove that thin surface rust.
Might try a simple scrubbing with CLR using a scotch brite pad. I've had good luck using it for surface rust like this. Good luck!
The flywheel had a fairly light rust haze. I left it in fresh vinegar for about 3 hours and then wire brushed it and then hit it with some hundred grit, washed it and then WD40 with some scotchbrite. Pretty much all gone and quite presentable. I like the vinegar because I can do something worthwhile as it soaks, like read the HAMB.
The Tall T has some Competition to Dodge......It is interesting the side window trim looks like Old Wooden Picture Frames... What's the plans Verde? I am thinking of a Black Drag Coupe from the 60s right now that was a real looker...it was fenderless and it would be a fitting inspiration for this interesting Project...now if only I can find a pic...my suggestion might make more sense... ...Found it and it isn't black maybe not a T but this is what I was referring too... Credit to Photographer, Owner
A little more work but I just used a 3M bristle brush on a Model A fender that was sand blasted almost 20 years ago and covered with flash rust. Works on my 3" Rolox angle grinder and doesn't remove metal like sanding.
As Charlie Chops says the item needs to be submerged in the vinegar to work. In my experience I've found that when the item is removed and dried, a very light to medium surface rust quickly develops. When this happens, a light going over with a fiber rust/paint remover wheel in a drill takes all the rust off and leaves the surface ready for body work and/or paint prep. The wheels are usually sold in most hardware stores, are quite inexpensive and come with the mandrel already attached and usually last quite a while. They're the ones that look like the old horse-hair padding that has been dunked in a thick black or purple paint. Also find that these take off a surprising amount of heavy rust as well.
I had a 53 chevy cab and doors that had been blasted and set in a barn for 5 yrs, an elderly gentleman told me to go to Home Depot and buy a gallon of etching something. It has etching on the plastic container and is phosphoric acid, mix it 50/50 with water and spray it over the surface. I done it twice and washed it off the next morning. I then painted it all with etching primer. Worked great just wear rubber gloves and a mask. I can get you a pic if you want of the label on the container, it's in the paint dept.
Thanks but NO WAY CAN I DIP MY COMPLETE BODY IN VINEGAR there is NO WOOD ANYWHERE in body, there was a small amount for interior, and around top. I recently had my friend , expert metal man, Alyn Swedberg shorten body 7" thru the side 1/4 windows. (note the difference between the two bodies.)
Vineger is only 5% acetic acid so it's gonna take time to work it, you can get 10% from places that supply the food industry but it's hard to find some one to sell one or two five gallon buckets. You can buy citric acid from the same sources it's less dilute but more expensive. Phosphoric acid for cleaning etching concrete works and mutiatic works to. I used muriatic acid when I striped my car. You can also get this stuff which is the muriatic acid in a spreadable paste the sticks instead of running off or require items to be submerged. Then you need to rinse it to neutralize and dry it to keep it from rusting again. Most folks use os pho to check new rust from forming. https://www.duraamen.com/tek-gel
you can try soaking a rag in vinegar then spread it out on the body and cover it with Saran Wrap or shrink wrap to keep it wet. Ospho and a scrub pad in sections will take the rust off. But you need to make sure the first coat of primer will work with both ospho And the next coats. Ospho can make that first coat of primer come off in sheets along with everything on top of the first coat. But that rust is everywhere and you’ll not get it all without a re dip.
Well ,,,seeing as how it is in Arizona,,,it is only surface rust anyway . That little green pad will amaze you,,,,,they will slick it right up,,,,you might also use a Scotchbrite pad as well,,the 6x9 pads . It should clean up really well . Tommy
Looks like awesome body an start on cool hot rod. Rust color primer? why not really paint it,so it will look as cool as it can? Primer is not a finish!. That's very cool looking body shape now with it being a little shorter,that I think needs some nice shiny.
Vinegar is super weak, even the "cleaning vinegar" that's 10%. Try concrete etching solution at your local Lowe's/Home Depot. Much faster!
Be careful with the acids,,,,,if you leave any residue,,,,,they can keep on working for a while . Please be careful ,,,it’s only surface rust . Tommy
I think Mike Colemire was talking about OSPHO. i have used it on the underside of fenders, top & bottom of running boards, inside trunks etc. always painting over with Rustoleum after it dries. if he's going to topcoat with rustoleum it should work. pics show OSPHO wet then painted with flat Rustoleum
I use the blue 4 1/2 inch rapid strip wheel on a cheap HF grinder to remove rust from steel.Works well,just round out the edge of the disk so it won't dig into the metal and let the disk remove the rust.Don't use a lot of force.
I've used the vinegar treatment a lot, but no longer use it for sheet metal after damaging some parts that I left to soak too long (I'm talking multiple days). Even though it's a mild acid, it's still acid and takes away metal. I prefer feed-grade molasses for sheet metal. Buy it cheap at feed stores in 5-gallon buckets, mix at 10:1 with water, and let the parts soak as long as they need (can be a month or more). You won't lose metal, only rust, and it won't leave a residue that can harm paint. Problem is, you would either need to dismantle the body or find a really big tank you can immerse it in. So it may not be practical for you.
The basis for your paint is the prep work, I spent about an hour on the Model A front fender and it is clean metal and self etching primer will bond to it. I would have it media blasted before I would try to clean it with vinegar.
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