any suggestions in keeping a bare metal non-finish truck? understanding that it will rust, but want to keep it to a minimum.
What chaddilac said! Just have to hit every spot of rust that comes up right away with the scotchbrite. Spray wd-40 for some protection. Buy it buy the gallon and a spray bottle you'll save money this way.
couple of real good products for that job.....protective film for bare metal when stored: 1) boiled linseed oil applied w/a hand pump sprayer will dry and leave a film that will last forever......old trick...works great....linseed oil can be got from any paint supplier. 2) starret makes a spray lube in a red can that is designed for this purpose....leaves a dry waxy like film... 3) RONSON multi-lube works great as well....drys and leaves a protecting film linseed oil works great for stuff stored outdoors or in areas of high humidity..... matter of fact, when you buy brake calipers and rotors and other such stuff, the waxy film is linseed oil...lots of parts rebuilders use it... hope this helps.... by the way....wd40 sucks for this job...wd is only varsol mixed w/10 weight mineral oil and in time evaporates.... the stuff I mentioned leaves a permanent long lasting protective film.....that can be washed off w/varsol, acetone, laquer thinner, etc....
i seen a product on Hot Rod tv that you can spray on bare metal and it want rust for months...even in the rain. But i forgot what they called it.
Have used Picklex.Blast parts for people and use it to coat because sometimes people don't pick up right away and it does not take long to start rusting.Doing it twice sucks. So far it works fine.Had bare metal sitting for weeks and not a hint of rust.Don't know how long it would last because I have not put it to the test but I should do it just to find out.Supposed to last for 6 months to a year.
If you ever plan on or for that matter even if you don't plan on painting it, Hell, you could change your mind, do not spray it down with WD-40. You will have to practically grind off a layer of metal to get anything to stick to it. Take it from me, I'm a painter who just had to do exactly that. Go with the Gibbs brand. It even adds a cool sheen to the metal. Just my 2 cents.
Gibbs brand all the way but it's $$$$ WD40 works and Ive even tryed ATF fluid a few times... But the rust will come back... good luck
fiddy.... i have seen a few non-rat rods blazing the sheen of natural tin. whats your definition of a rat?
all i am saying is maybe my definition isnt "correct" or maybe mis-understood. and just wanted to get an honest input. believe me, i am by no means challenging anyone.... and i would be the first to admit "ignorance" in this field. and i also admit that some people may tell me to go to a different board if i want to talk about my truck here.... but i have a rod heart and am wanting to be different with my truck in relation. so i apologize to anyone who would think the same.
what should be done with the window channel under seal if i were wanting to just go bare metal? i would think that would be a gathering place for moisture and promote rust 10 times over.
Okay, no one else seems to have said it so I will: you keep bare metal from rusting by spraying it with a nice coat of epoxy PRIMER. There is no good reason to keep it all bare, other than to impress your buddies. Any further welding you need to do, you can easily sand or grind the primer in that area, any hammering you do can be done with the primer there, and any bondo filling you do will adhere BETTER to epoxy primer than to bare metal. I like DP90, but there are plenty of others available these days. Once you spray that stuff on, the metal is sealed. Period.
i understand the use and quality of the epoxy primer but i am debating keeping the whole truck in bare metal and was wondering what others have done about it to prevent issues under it.
Here in the Southeast, if you take it out much in bare metal it can be a full-time job keeping it bare. Looks cool though. Cooter
I have a 40 Ford Sedan in bare metal. The best thing I have found is a resin clearcoat called DoubleHorn Products. Just do a search and it should come up. It will protect the bare metal for as long as you want it too!! This stuff works great! If you want to take it off you just wipe it off with Xylene or you can just prime right over the top of it. My car has been in bare metal stages with this on it for a while, it was originally sold through another restoration site under a different name I think. I live in Georgia and fight surface rust from overnight humidity so I had to find something. They are local so I can find out more info if anyone's interested. Hope this helps.... Tudor40
i'm sorry i can't stop laughing at this... i'm with you, i love the look of bare metal on a nicely finished body. like a rodders journal spread. but i think if you drive it a lot in ohio (i'm from michigan originally) you're going to have a lot of upkeep no matter what you use. like you said you're going to have troubles in the channels etc... give the linseed a shot, but take many pics cause i think it will get old quick imo.
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