colorado1967

I am having my frame sand blasted this week and will be painting shortly. Does anyone one know the best way to spray or coat the inside of the frame? I think spraying inside with chassis saver would work but how do you do it?

Thank you all once again for the tremendous ideas / suggestions.

munday

I wonder if it could be dipped?

Tom454

Sandblasting does not get inside the frame... only a few spots are accessable with the media. The only way to get the rust off the inside of the frame is to dip it. My C2 frame is nasty on the inside... I tried sandblasting it. NFG.

Dipping it is probably the only way to re-coat it effectively as well. Too many areas where you cannot reach with a spray process. Tried that too.

Having said that, does POR15 make a product you can spray inside the frame? It reacts chemically with rust instead of just trying to coat it or seal it.

rihwoods

Someone posted a while back about an extended spray set up where you can coat most of the inside....

aussiejohn

Guys,
James Pierce, RHD'68L89, had his chassis filled with foam before he put the body back on, and this will stop the water (and salt!) from getting in. Think about the floor of a C6, it's got balsa wood (!!!) in it. The foam isn't strong on its own, but inside the chassis, it makes the chassis stiffer as well as protecting it from rust.

Regards from Down Under

aussiejohn

wills670

when i repaired my frame i had it cut in two then i also cut the top off of the rear crossmember and the bottom section from the diff. crossmember. i sandblasted the inside of my frame then i primered it before putting it back together. after that i used a engine cleaning atachment with a 90 degree end on it to spray on the inside of the frame. i sprayed it good untill the paint ran out of the frame then i cleaned up the outside (runs and drips) then shot the outside. i bought the enginecleaning noozle from harbor freight it connects to shop air and has a hose you can put in paint can. also when you have the frame blasted remove the end plates on the end of the frame where the diff. crossmember attaches to the side rails. i removed mine and they were full of dirt. that part is prone to rust out and it doesn't make sense not to check and clean them out.

lostpatrolman

Doesnt that foam hold in moisture, which would promote rust?

ACECO

That's what I've heard.

Cmacsvette

colorado1967 and others,

I designed a spray tube made of polyethylene. You can make this 1/4 tube as long as you want and snake it around anywhere you want to spray. You can do the inner structure of the birdcage or the frame, you name it. I use a pressure pot to advance the chems. through it. I use around 70 plus psi, so I can get good atomization through the end of the tube. I melt the end of the tube and then cut 4-7 diagonal slits, approx 1/4" long,(with an e-xato) around the circumference of the tube at the end. As you pull this tube through the area, you will put a 360 degree spray out the end. You can move anything through it. On your heavy body(high build) materials, you might need to reduce approx 10% or there about. There are some tips to pass on, when preparing the end of this tube for a spray pattern, as well as the pressure pot set up. So let me know if I can help. If you go to vetteworksonline.com and go to Corvette Restos, you will see some pics of this set up. I hope this helps all.

Craig

ffas23

I would be reluctant to use foam in the frame of any of my Corvettes. GM use to put some foam in areas of the quarter panels on cars years ago. Don't know if this is still done today but I use to work for a body shop in the early 70's and we found that the foam would retain moisture causing the corner panels to rust out right above the wheel wells on these cars because of this foam GM used. I saw this on plenty of GM cars then. My 70 Monte Carlo was one of the cars that had this problem at the time. When we put new quarter panels on the car we left out the foam when I restored the car.

If foam is used in the Corvette frame and retains moisture between the foam and the frame I would think there is going to be problems eventually. I would think some sort of a coating like POR 15 would be better if it could be applied throughout the frame. Like paint the metal would be sealed from any moisture and the frame would be open for air to flow into it thus drying any moisture that would sit on top of the coating.

The foam GM used back then was very similiar to the spray foam that can be purchased at your local Home Depot to spray in walls of a home.

Cmacsvette

Craig

carl a

after sandblasting, my 73's frame was por-15 ed,,,and z-barted inside the frame rails

colorado1967

Thank you all very much. Craig, got your email and your help and tips appreciated very much.