68 door surface rust advice
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 1,912
Likes: 12
From: Schaumburg (Chicago) Illinois
68 door surface rust advice
I have begun working on my doors. Pulled all the guts out. Rust is very minimal surface rust in spots. Heres what I plan to do to restore. Please advise if anyone would do it differently
I plan to wash well with soap and water.
Then sand rust as best as I can by hand.
Then I will apply POR-15 on all metal surfaces, especially the bottom and hinge areas.
Then a coat of paint on the outside of the inside metal door panel.
Change as many rollers or slides that are available
Heavy grease on channels
reinstall all window parts
Door locks and associated hardware. Grease where parts move but leave rest oil free. I figure if they are oily they collect dirt too quickly. Or is it the lesser of 2 evils to just grease and oil up the mechanisms to keep them from corroding?
Let me know what you think as I'm going to work it hard this weekend.
I plan to wash well with soap and water.
Then sand rust as best as I can by hand.
Then I will apply POR-15 on all metal surfaces, especially the bottom and hinge areas.
Then a coat of paint on the outside of the inside metal door panel.
Change as many rollers or slides that are available
Heavy grease on channels
reinstall all window parts
Door locks and associated hardware. Grease where parts move but leave rest oil free. I figure if they are oily they collect dirt too quickly. Or is it the lesser of 2 evils to just grease and oil up the mechanisms to keep them from corroding?
Let me know what you think as I'm going to work it hard this weekend.
TheCorvetteBen
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 4,987
Likes: 144
From: Van Alstyne, TX
Thats exactly what im in the middle of right now. What you have planned sounds great, but as some on the forum have told me, the channels for the windows dont necessarily need to be greased. To most it seems to be a matter of opinion. Personally i plan to use white lithium grease on mine.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 9,192
Likes: 27
From: Boca Raton Florida
I would grease them, but thats my opinion, the grease GM used lasted for a lot of years and the grease we have now is even better.
Use a Phosphoric prep to neutralize the rust, then prep and paint all the metal.
You got a good plan
Use a Phosphoric prep to neutralize the rust, then prep and paint all the metal.
You got a good plan
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 1,912
Likes: 12
From: Schaumburg (Chicago) Illinois
Phosphoric prep and thoughts on to grease or not to...
Where do I get this phosphoric prep? I assume you mean to use this on all the mechanical parts not the body. There I'm going with the POR-15
Greasing Channels, not sure what I'm going to do but heres what I think happens:
You get good corrosion protection for the rails and smooth operation. minimum resistance and binding on the rollers so they don't break.
5-10 years down the line the grease has years of dust and dirt rolled into it, turning it into a sticky paste. Rollers gum up, bind and then break. Door handle teeth strip from forcing it open.
BUT- preliminary inspection tells me that all my hardware seems to be ok after probably 20-40 years of my scenario above. Definitely took alot more effort than it should though to operate.
So, there are arguments both ways. I like it when there are no wrong answers. That way my chances of doing it wrong are only,,,,50% ha, ha.
I think I will not grease the tracks other than some light lubricant. Only grease the rollers. After all, most of the clean-up work I have to do now is the dirty, varnished grease.
Greasing Channels, not sure what I'm going to do but heres what I think happens:
You get good corrosion protection for the rails and smooth operation. minimum resistance and binding on the rollers so they don't break.
5-10 years down the line the grease has years of dust and dirt rolled into it, turning it into a sticky paste. Rollers gum up, bind and then break. Door handle teeth strip from forcing it open.
BUT- preliminary inspection tells me that all my hardware seems to be ok after probably 20-40 years of my scenario above. Definitely took alot more effort than it should though to operate.
So, there are arguments both ways. I like it when there are no wrong answers. That way my chances of doing it wrong are only,,,,50% ha, ha.
I think I will not grease the tracks other than some light lubricant. Only grease the rollers. After all, most of the clean-up work I have to do now is the dirty, varnished grease.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 1,912
Likes: 12
From: Schaumburg (Chicago) Illinois
Just read a old post somewhere. A guy was hesitant about using grease for ther same reasons as I am, especially in the lock mechanism. He soaked it with silicone spray and hasn't had trouble for years. i think I will start a new thread on this question.
Team Owner
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 38,923
Likes: 1,482
From: Southbound
Cruise-In II Veteran
White Lithium, good stuff
