Soft frame paint ?!?
Thread Starter
5th Gear
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
Soft frame paint ?!?
Hi,
I discovered something strange on my '80. I was doing some cleaning under the hood and found that the paint on my frame is soft. I can scrape it off with a fingernail. Does this sound right? The metal seems to be in pretty nice shape - hardly any surface rust at all. I just don't understand why the paint is so soft. The paint on the control arms and steering components seems fine, but anything on the frame is soft, at least near the engine - I haven't checked further back yet. Does anyone know what the frames were originally painted/coated with? I never noticed anything like this on my first '80, but that beloved beast had more surface rust than paint on the frame anyway. I just bought this car a little while ago and was shocked about the soft frame paint.
Thanks,
jcd - Red '80 L-82
I discovered something strange on my '80. I was doing some cleaning under the hood and found that the paint on my frame is soft. I can scrape it off with a fingernail. Does this sound right? The metal seems to be in pretty nice shape - hardly any surface rust at all. I just don't understand why the paint is so soft. The paint on the control arms and steering components seems fine, but anything on the frame is soft, at least near the engine - I haven't checked further back yet. Does anyone know what the frames were originally painted/coated with? I never noticed anything like this on my first '80, but that beloved beast had more surface rust than paint on the frame anyway. I just bought this car a little while ago and was shocked about the soft frame paint.
Thanks,
jcd - Red '80 L-82
Race Director
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 16,945
Likes: 9
yes, the factory coating is pretty soft and easily peels off, it's some kind of tar like stuff, more like underbody coating or soemthing. It's not paint, it's a sort of grease that doesn't really dry out at all.
Thread Starter
5th Gear
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
Hi,
Thanks for the info. I just assumed it was paint on there from the factory. It surprised me to find this stuff. Like I said, the first '80 was more surface rust than black. I did a lot of work on that car, but I guess there wasn't any of this coating to encounter.
Is this gunk still available anywhere? Is there a comparable treatment I can use? I'd like to recoat the frame where this stuff has been scuffed or rubbed off?
Also, is there something I can use to clean the frame to make it look nice and black without removing the coating? The years of dirt, grease and general crud is kind of stuck into the coating. Just washing it doesn't work.
Thanks again,
jcd - Red '80 L-82
Thanks for the info. I just assumed it was paint on there from the factory. It surprised me to find this stuff. Like I said, the first '80 was more surface rust than black. I did a lot of work on that car, but I guess there wasn't any of this coating to encounter.
Is this gunk still available anywhere? Is there a comparable treatment I can use? I'd like to recoat the frame where this stuff has been scuffed or rubbed off?
Also, is there something I can use to clean the frame to make it look nice and black without removing the coating? The years of dirt, grease and general crud is kind of stuck into the coating. Just washing it doesn't work.
Thanks again,
jcd - Red '80 L-82
