So this is for an off-topic car, but I figured that the answer could be useful to others. What I have is a 67 chevelle, which was left outside with the back half stripped of paint. It is a solid car, straight and no through rust at all, but the back of it is covered with surface rust, a lot of surface rust. I do want it to be a nice painted car, but I am unsure how I should get there. First I would like to leave it on the chassis because I really don't have the room right now to take the body off. I could sand blast the car, but if I leave it on the frame, how will I make the frame look nice too. Mask and paint it? It seems like it wouldn't come out nice unless I took it off of the frame blasted and painted them seperate and reassembled. Like I said though, I don't really want to do that. I could chemically take the rust off, but how well would that work? Have any of you done that to a car with good results? Lastly, what kind of primer should I use and when? Should I put any filler on the bare metal first? Can I use an etch primer over filler? Should I use an epoxy primer? Which primer is best for bare/previously rusty metal? What if there is still rust pits in the metal? Have I asked enough questions?
For surface rust a 3M Roloc Clean and Strip disc works great. They are a stiff but flexible carbide impregnated polymer sponge that can be mounted on an arbor in a drill. They will take paint, surface rust, and old body filler right out. They will remove lead, but it takes a little longer. They leave a nice surface for going straight to body filler or primer. http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/Manufacturing/Industry/Product-Catalog/Abrasives/Product-Pages/?PC_7_0_2HO5_root=GST1T4S9TCgv&PC_7_0_2HO5_output=html&PC_7_0_2HO5_gvel=H55CPWS904gl&PC_7_0_2HO5_vroot=81LC4NNTD4ge&PC_7_0_2HO5_node=F4XCH1MTDSbe&PC_7_0_2HO5_theme=en_US_manufacturing_industry_portal&PC_7_0_2HO5_command=AbcPageHandler Chris
I'd be careful using stuff like this, if it has any sylicone in it or oily substances it can be a bitch to get off when you go to paint it. Even when you think its clean the paint will fish-eye sometimes. I'd use the sanding disc's those other guys mentioned just be careful not to put waves in the metal, keep moving all the time. Don't sand the same place for too long or you'll have a fun time trying to straighten it out for paint. Good luck, I'd suggest taking it off the frame and blasting it, that would be the "safest" way to do it...
Looks like it is worth a try, but I don't know if it would get this car clean enough to paint over. It sat outside over a year. I'm leaning towards a combination of a mechanical stripper and some metal conditioner, but I'm still not sure about what primer to use.
Hey, Be very careful not to grind any lead filled areas on your Chevelle. I'd also avoid having any plasting done on any '66 or''67 Chevelle, as the quarters on these are fairley flat and unsupported, thus lible to warp big time! After you have removed all the rust and straightened all the sheet metal, a major brand of epoxy primer , applied with a well fitting resperator, is a must. I don't think any of the really zinc-rich primers, that were so good at stopping rust, are on the market today. At least they arn't being sold in California! Swankey Devils c.c.
anything that fits in your drill is for amatuers. find the stripper discs that fit in your 4" or larger angle grinder. I just did my fucked up 57 chevy with harbor freight 4" discs... forget what they call it , but it ain't sandpaper... kind of like a scotch brite pad with some other crap inbedded in it. seemed to work well. I'm almost certain I got all the rust out. looks like shiney metal to me. think I'll go over it all one more time. one thing... watch the heat!!!. if you can't touch it with your hand it is too hot and is prolly warping before your eyes. do little squares at a time, then move somewhere else and do another little square. heat is the enemy!!! you can messup some nice parts with heat... even from sanding... touch it with your hand. rust sucks.
Thanks for the tip.... I guess I'll try some mechanical stripping discs and follow it with some metal prep and use an epoxy primer. Thanks to everyone for the help.
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