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40 years ago when restifying my 64 I had my frame acid stripped and then I painted the outside. Took it to Ziebart rustproofing specifically to do the inside. Unfortunately they also did the outside. I wasnt to pleased w their decision but left the rustproofing on it, and a couple years later was able to paint over the rustproofing successfully.
Well its time for rebuild 2.0 so I want to strip it again, but sandblasters and my local acid stripper dont want to touch it because of the rustproofing.
Has anyone tried alternative methods such as paint stripper or ???
I’m surprised no one is willing to sandblast it. You might check with some of the specialty blasting firms, dry ice, soda blasting or vapor blasting. They may be able to do it right at your house. The pictures don’t seem to show a thick or gummy surface. Doesn’t look any worse than something with several coats of paint on it. I guess they are concerned about being able to screen and recycle their media.
I’m surprised no one is willing to sandblast it. You might check with some of the specialty blasting firms, dry ice, soda blasting or vapor blasting. They may be able to do it right at your house. The pictures don’t seem to show a thick or gummy surface. Doesn’t look any worse than something with several coats of paint on it. I guess they are concerned about being able to screen and recycle their media.
their explanation is that the blast media will make the coating gummy/runny and take much longer w more material used. Good advice on the other forms. I know soada (dustless) blasting is used on underbodies as well, Im sure they've had to deal w undercoating at some point!
Originally Posted by Railroadman
40 years ago? That would make a good Ziebart commercial!
well, it hasnt had much to test it…never driven in winter, and rarely in rain. And its stored in a controlled environment stall when not driven!
I had an 85 C20 ziebarted when new…cab corners and floor supports rusted through in 7 years! They paid for a half assed patch job was the warranty.
The important factor for rustproofing is not the name of the product used. What's important is the meticulousness of the person doing it. Most advertisments for rustproofing show a gun spraying a wide pattern over a large surface and it seems quite impressive. Unfortunately, it's the narrow little corners and difficult-to-access places that hold the dirt and moisture, which then rust. And it's these little spaces where you want the operator to be careful to ensure receive a good coating of thixotropic goo. And very very few of them do so. That's why I always do it myself, then I know it's done right..
I have been going through this on another car with undercoating from the same vintage, seeking advice, and testing a number of different methods
What makes yours different from mine is the paint on top, which may affect the chemicals getting into the undercoating.
If you have compressed air, a lot of people recommend the Harbor Freight needle scaler. Unfortunately, I don't have that big a compressor.
The guaranteed to work but is absolutely miserable is a torch and a puddy knife to scrape it off.
Others recommended a high temp heat gun and a puddy knife.
I tried a number of chemicals to varying success.
By far the best was Goo Gone, but again I didn't have paint
A friend used Goo Gone and then heated it with a torch and said his wiped off.
EZ Off oven cleaner worked for some but not for me
Acetone wouldn't stay on long enough
Citri Strip Paint remover didn't work that well
Although others said Aircraft Paint Remover would
Goof off didn't do all that much for me
MEK was used by some but not available in California
Laquer Thinner was so so
Depending on how hard yours is, a multitool worked well on my flat surfaces
I still have a ton to do, so I am curious what you end up with
especially if dry ice blasting works
I have a gnawing feeling that heat is in my future
I have been going through this on another car with undercoating from the same vintage, seeking advice, and testing a number of different methods
What makes yours different from mine is the paint on top, which may affect the chemicals getting into the undercoating.
If you have compressed air, a lot of people recommend the Harbor Freight needle scaler. Unfortunately, I don't have that big a compressor.
The guaranteed to work but is absolutely miserable is a torch and a puddy knife to scrape it off.
Others recommended a high temp heat gun and a puddy knife.
I tried a number of chemicals to varying success.
By far the best was Goo Gone, but again I didn't have paint
A friend used Goo Gone and then heated it with a torch and said his wiped off.
EZ Off oven cleaner worked for some but not for me
Acetone wouldn't stay on long enough
Citri Strip Paint remover didn't work that well
Although others said Aircraft Paint Remover would
Goof off didn't do all that much for me
MEK was used by some but not available in California
Laquer Thinner was so so
Depending on how hard yours is, a multitool worked well on my flat surfaces
I still have a ton to do, so I am curious what you end up with
especially if dry ice blasting works
I have a gnawing feeling that heat is in my future
Glenn
This worked for me but it can be tedious.
If you get the majority off the blasters can usually handle the rest
I had quotes for sandblasting as high as $1500, and chemical stripping didn’t want to touch it….I finally found a reasonable guy that does sandblasting as a secondary necessity to his primary business of building trash burning furnaces.
he charged me $450 for 13 hours of work. Came out great. He said it was a bit of extra blasting with the coatings of paint and rustproofing, but it turned out real nice.
now the shitty welds that GM let go will have to be addressed, especially in the rear diff crossmember mounting brackets and the kickups. At least they are good and solid!
No, the welds were not impressive back in the day but the car did hold up well. I know you use your car, hard at times so it could have been a lot worse. I don't think you found any cracks which is a good thing. You have a very nice shop to work in and I know you're going to take care of the frame to make it better than it ever was. I would use a 230vac MIG or even stick and just take my time going over the seams. Can you still get the frame dipped? I think all the shops around here are gone for that kind of work today.
Back then, the cars were pushing 300-400hp/tq and most times guys would break parts like a Muncie, diff, u-joint, outer axles, and the frame was fine. Then there were frames that ripped at the steering box mounting holes, like paper. Get through the warranty and sell or trade it in on a new car, was the logic. I wonder if Duntov and the crew ever thought they would have market for over 60 years on these old cars?
Post up pictures once you get it done. That is going to be a very nice car once you get it back together.
Imagine a shop putting out work like this and staying in business?
I guess your ok with this then?
That's always been my reasoning when restoring a vehicle. The factory never did anything great, but just good enough for mass production. There's no reason to strip a vehicle down to a bare frame and body and not correct sloppy work.
I will say that frame is in exceptional shape though!
Stripping a rust proofed frame
