wallifishrmn

I'm doing a frame on restoration of a 71 and trying to remove all the undercoating. I am using a needle scaler and then a wire brush on a drill. It still is rough. What is the best paint to use and should I use a rust encapsulator primer first. Which paint will give a smooth finish when applied to a rough surface? Should I use spray paint or paint it on to get a thicker coat. Would you recommend using an internal frame coating paint? I know there are alot of questions--sorry. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thank you for your help and input.

twinpack

What I did. Mine is a body off so I did the whole frame but you can do pretty much the same. I did sand blast so a little different from wire brushing. I used Eastwoods internal rust coating (4 cans), extreme chassis black primer on the exterior and extreme chassis satin black will finish the frame. My frame is surface pitted from rust like a lot of these frames and you will see it. However the paint does smooths things out to a exceptable level for me. If you really want a factory smooth finish you will have to use a filler. Hope this helps. Others will chime in with other approaches that will also have satisfactory results. Just choose your battle and follow through it will workout fine. Good luck.

LT1driver

closest to original is krylon semi-gloss/flat or several others out there are close

Alan 71

Hi W,
No paint "will give a smooth finish when applied to a rough surface" without building up thick layers of paint.
There is no easy or quick method to prepare a frame to be painted so that it's appearance will be similar to what it was when it was new.
Putting on layers of various material like rust encapsulators may be very suitable for some cars but you have to be very careful when using those on a frame that will be on a car that will be Flight Judged.
I found that the steel of the frame itself must be cleaned of all rust, then smoothed to the degree you want it to be (original frames weren't pitted), and then rather thin coats of paint (2-3) applied. Even then, restored frames end up with a more 'prep'd' appearance than the originals.
The complete restoration of the frame is certainly one of the main reasons people lift the body. Since you're not going to do that, I believe you were going to talk to Bill L. about the process and materials he's used on his frame….have you done that?
As Bill's pictures show, excellent results can be obtained with the body in place, but it takes a tremendous amount work, a LOT of disassembly, and a good bit of ingenuity.
Regards,
Alan

If you're going to be painting using spray cans…it's hard to beat the appearance and versatility of Krylon 1613. Be sure it's 1613 and not 51613 which is a completely different paint.

redvetracr

you see gallons of the GM stuff on ebay every once in a while, I think it`s know as chassis black, also investigate blitz black from John Deere

vettefred

I used the Eastwood internal rust coating and encapsulator on the frame (body on ) after wire brushing and nuetralizing any rust. I must say that it came out pretty nice, not smooth, but looks factory. Good stuff!



Fred

1974ta

If you are trying to take care of minor pitting so the frame appears smooth as Alan says, may I suggest you use UPOL #5 high build primer.

This is a high build primer that will fill in minor pits and slightly deeper pitting. The primer is easily sandable and the results are excellent. For deeper pitting spray and sand 2 or three times so the pits are filled and primer is level with surrounding steel.

I did not have to worry about pitting on my 70 frame but did have a little pitting on a rally wheel. You would never know when looking at the final results with Upol primer filling the pitting. I did not have a correct dated spare and the correct wheel I bought had some pitting.

If not to be judged I love the John Deere Blitz black for the frame. Much more durable then Krylon but a little too glossy IMHO. It is just a tiny bit glossier than a satin finish.

You may want to consider Rustoleum Satin. It is a very nice match to the original frame paint and pretty cheap. I do not have any experience with durability. Rustoleum is what I used and it is easy to touch up as is the Krylon 1613.

If you are planning to drive your vette a lot, maybe consider Eastwood 2K matte paint. Expensive but very durable. It is a 2 part epoxy.

A lot will depend on what your plans are for your vette when finished.

Bill:thumbs

porchdog

spi epoxy works very well for underhood and chassis . you can adjust the sheen with reducer amount and temp .

Jebbysan

The GM chassis black is a one shot deal and is excellent out of a spray gun.
NAPA and Sherman Williams also sell chassis black.....same stuff.
Very stinky stuff so be prepared!

I use a cheap Warwick or equivalent Gravity feed gun and it goes on well.....covers quick.....takes FOREVER to dry.

You can also reduce it for a slightly flatter sheen....

A gallon goes $60 or so.

Jebby

DUB

Need to know what you plan on doing this the car??? Just a driver or a judged car???

How nice are you expecting the frame to look when it is done???

Do you want the fine details to show such as fuel and brake line not being painted, etc? ( which I know depends if you are going for judging or just driving it)

The only reason I am asking these question is that I do this type of work ( Corvette repair and resto)....and I am NOT judging anybody who chooses to do anything to their Corvette. But....( yeah..there is a 'but')...depending on the condition of the frame and how bad it actually is.....sometimes putting 'lipstick' on it can give a person a false sense of security and a hidden problem that can not be seen when the frame and body are attached shows itself. And like I just wrote and DO NOT want to **** anybody off...but in my professional opinion...trying to paint the frame when the body is on is not the way to do it...as I wrote...that is my opinion. I am sure some people have done it....but I prefer to have a frame with nothing on it.....thus...it has been off-framed. And...because I am charging a person to do this type of work...I have to warranty my work....so doing the frame when the body is on is something that I can not do in good conscience and be able to guarantee.

DUB

69FASTFUN

I restored my 69 without taking the body off. You just need to take your time and clean real good. I used scotch bright pads and sanding discs on the frame and used Krylon semi flat paint and mask off everything to avoid overspray.

DUB

From what I can see in the photo...looks VERY NICE! I would love to know how many hours you spent on doing the frame cleaning and painting. I have a good idea on what you spent for time...but the end result looks...as I wrote...VERY NICE!

If my comment came across harsh. I did not mean for it to. For me. I feel it is faster to remove the body and deal with everything and set it back down if I am having to do any serious frame painting or repair.

DUB

Torqued Off

Powdercoat.

DUB

YEP...it is what I prefer to do.

DUB

69FASTFUN

I started with a rust free car that has been in the dry southwest most of it time so it was pretty easy. I did take out a lot of the suspension component out to get a better job. My 72 that I am restoring is a body off so there is a big difference in quality of finish and coverage.

Alan 71

Hi,
Powder coating is a nice option.
I stripped the frame on my 71 by hand, by myself…. a pretty time consuming procedure…. but I had the time and I was working for free.
I didn't want the frame to look like it had been powder coated so I sanded the entire frame with 220 after it was powder coated. Quite a bit of work but nowhere near the stripping time.
I then painted the frame with Krylon #1613. I chose #1613 for several reasons….
I like the sheen it gives when sprayed normally.
The amount of sheen can be varied by how wet or dry the #1613 sprayed. Original frames seem to have different sheens on different parts of them.
The #1613 is very easy to touch up if the surface is scratched. I had to do some touch-up as I assembled the chassis and still do on occasion. The paint blends beautifully.
I think a well done chassis and running gear is a shame to cover up with a body!
Regards,
Alan

On it's way to meet the body.

DUB

When the body is off...the frame can be done completely done with much more ease....than if the body was on the car.

I have had some frames here in the south that were basically rust free...and it was BLESSING. When they were competed...they looked awesome and factory fresh.

DUB

Tommy79

I was also thinking of a frame on paint job. For me, I have a non show car that I just want to clean up the frame. I'm in no rush and can do a little at a time and cost would be low. I'm guessing a frame off paint job would cost 3k plus. Right?

DUB

If you are doing it all yourself...and depending on what you find wrong and how you choose to repair it....then 3K is 'do-able'...I guess. I HATE trying to put a cost on a repair when it comes to paint and body work...because in 30 years..I have never had two Corvettes be the same. AND I HATE trying to stay within a 'budget' ...and find problems that could not be seen when inspected....or are found and the owner just want to pass over them.

SO...it depends on what you find and how you deal with it like I wrote...and if this 3K is IT...then the FUN occurs when you find a problem and have to figure out how to repair it and still stay in this budget.

Like I have mentioned to many forum members who have called me in the past. There is no award for doing a paint and body work on a Corvette the cheapest. Like I tell them...if this matters to you...focus on each and every repair all by itself and decide what you want to do and NOT look at how much is coming out of the 3K fund. I know this literally makes the 3K fund a useless number to try to keep within...but...as I wrote...each car is different and just because a limit has been set...does not make this right. AND.. 5K paint job or a 20K paint job is not so much attributed to added materials so much...but rather the TIME spent on the body and paint to get it to that point.

DUB

MIKE80

I had mine acid dipped, nickel phosphate washed, and powdercoated.

Before



After