Frame Cleaning & Painting On A Budget

[jrdamien]

Alright, thanks to a fellow board member I have sourced a frame for my built.

This is literally the first time I have ever done something like this, let alone worked on a car beyond basic suspension and engine work. I already have the sense I am in way over my head.

This is going to be a budget build in the truest sense - a mostly traditional frame up build sourcing used parts when I'm able to do so. In that spirit I need advice on cleaning and painting a frame on the cheap.

I've read you can scrape it down then sand it down then Rustoleum Metal Primer as a base and Rusto black for the top coat. Any other advice on the matter?

[sqrlnts]

My frame was pretty nasty from the years of grime. I stripped mine down to the frame, left the front and rear suspension in place. I towed it down to a sandblaster and he charged me $160 to make it look like new. I then painted it with a brush using standard Rustoleum paint, took less than half a gallon.

FYI, I am a cheap ass by nature.

[Dan in Pasadena]

If truly cheap is your need then even that $160 for the sandblaster will be too much

Scrape the hell out of it. Wash every single bit of grease off it with degreaser or solvent you can beg, borrow or steal! Then sand only the absolute worst of the rust.

In another recent thread on this same subject I posted pic's of some structural steel I used Rustoleum Hammered finish on in silver. I did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING for prep. Nada! Used a $2.79 disposable foam roller. It hides imperfections and comes out hard as a rock > 5-7 days. Two coats recommended with a lot of time between. I did that on a wood workbench and it IS hard as hell. By the way, black hammered isn't truly black. More like very dark gray, but attractive.

[Kim57]

Like Dan in Pasadena I scraped and sanded mine then brushed on Rustoleum primer and covered that with two coats of Rustoleum Hammered Black.
Takes time doing it by hand but a lot cheaper in the long run.
Kim

[OrrieG]

Here are 50 more answers....

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=599952

[jrdamien]

Shopped around some for quotes on blasting of all sorts: sand, media, soda.

Nothing for less than $200. Lame.

[Dan in Pasadena]

$200 doesn't really sound all that bad ....unless you don't have $200. Then you break out the tub of elbow grease and get to it. We've all done it. Your turn!

[Daze57]

^x2 dan -been der done dat !!!!

[jrdamien]

Originally Posted by Dan in Pasadena

$200 doesn't really sound all that bad ....unless you don't have $200. Then you break out the tub of elbow grease and get to it. We've all done it. Your turn!

Exactly. I was hoping to get lucky. Instead I'll be going to HF for brushes and degreaser.

[jrdamien]

Although one guy did just call me back to offer $150 if I pay cash. That might be worth it.

[Dan in Pasadena]

If you can swing the $150 and still eat, go for it. If not, DO NOT PUT IT ON A CREDIT CARD!!!

....buy the radioactive green-yellow stuff from Harbor Freight - it works pretty good.

A 99 Cent store or Big Lots is a good source for cheap bristle brushes and those old fashioned copper colored metal kitchen scrub thingies works great too once you get enough degreaser on the crud.

Post pictures!

[1project2many]

Pressure washer can do great things, too. Use a cleaner with a very high PH (very basic) like Purple Power or (gasp) Lye and brush it on all the rust and grease. Fire up the pressure washer and rinse, rinse, rinse. DIY car wash bays usually have reasonably powered pressure washers you can use for a couple of bucks. Then use an industrial primer made for rust followed by heavy, hard drying industrial paint.

Sandblasting doesn't remove grease well. It doesn't remove thick, old undercoating well. And it leaves sand in corners, in spring pockets, between riveted pieces and just about everywhere which means a trip to the DIY car wash anyway.

[mechanixman]

After doing using a pressure washer, I took a grinder with a wire brush attachment and cleaned the frame the best I could. A few cans of undercoating from napa, and I finished my frame.

[roger55]

Here's my '57 3200 frame:

During Blasting with an HF blaster and Black Diamond media:



All blasted and ready to spray:



After the first coat of SPI epoxy primer in gray:





After the second coat of SPI epoxy primer in black:





Just for information, I used 2 1/4 quarts of epoxy (mixed) per coat. So, total thats 4 1/2 quarts and is a little under $100 worth of epoxy. I used about 3 bags of blasting media max and at $8 per bag that's $24. So total, it cost right about $125 for materials to do the frame.

[_Ogre]

Originally Posted by Dan in Pasadena

....buy the radioactive green-yellow stuff from Harbor Freight - it works pretty good.

i think dan is exaggerating a little, it only makes you grow spare eyes, nipples and thumbs.
i scraped, scraped, scraped, degreased and use blast-out-out-of-a-bucket to clean up my frame.
$25 for the blaster, it's not quick but it gets in all the nooks and crevices and preps the frame for painting.
also used a 3'' right angle die grinder with 36 grit sanding discs to cut heavy rust, paint and scale.

[_Ogre]

first i did the front end with cab on. cleaned up the frame, installed the mustII and then painted with por15.
i fabbed up motor mounts with the cab on so i could locate the motor against the firewall
i boxed the frame in 3 sections, front, back and then under cab when i finally pulled the cab off



next i did the back end with the cab still on the frame



and then i pulled the cab and finished the trans mount, mc mount and cab supports

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

i think dan is exaggerating a little, it only makes you grow spare eyes, nipples and thumbs....

MWAAAAAH? Exaggerate?

Nah, that stuff isn't radioactive...it just LOOKS like it is!

Ogre, I've got an old plastic Craftsman siphon feed sandblaster that's been in my rafters for probably 25 years (eek!) and the hoses are rotten but I think I can use some fuel or heater hose to make it work.

I know it'll be slow, but how slow? For example, that little 18"-24" shown in your photo, how long did that take? Are we talking a minute? Or 3-5?
I know on a true commercial unit that would take only 10-15 seconds at most.

I'm planning on using Rustoleum Gloss black. I figure the gloss won't be seen much under the truck, the gloss will die down a bit after awhile, and 'cause it'll please ME....and what else really matters anyway?!

[jrdamien]

Originally Posted by Dan in Pasadena

....buy the radioactive green-yellow stuff from Harbor Freight - it works pretty good.

This stuff

http://www.harborfreight.com/1-gallo...ser-42997.html

or this?

http://www.harborfreight.com/1-gallo...ser-42998.html

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by jrdamien

This stuff

http://www.harborfreight.com/1-gallo...ser-42997.html

or this?

http://www.harborfreight.com/1-gallo...ser-42998.html

The couple times I've bought it, it's been the $8.99 stuff.

Truthfully? They MAY be exactly the same just different colors. But judging from my days as a paint salesman (many moons ago as a college kid) I was told, chemicals cost and better chemicals cost more. So I've used sprung the extra $3 and used it straight out of the bottle. It works as well as the Castrol purple stuff and is cheaper.

[_Ogre]

dan; the top pic is from the eastwood site. i'd buy a new blaster it will come with new tips and buy a carbide tip while your there.
slow as in extremely slow, i scraped and degreased first, then sanded and ground the flat areas,
only used the blaster to get behind the factory x-members and around all the castings.
i use mineral spirits and a stiff brush to degrease over a dish pan.
you can reuse the mineral spirits over and over it never goes bad,
just let the junk settle off over nite and pour the clean stuff into a jug, one gallon did my whole truk.

found these additional pics

[Dan in Pasadena]

Actually, I pulled it down last night and found the ceramic tip inside the metal cone was broken. Not sure if replacements are even avaialbe for it anymore. I'll probably replace it with a Harbor Freight item for the little I'll use it.

I'm gonna run it with a single stage 60 gallon upright compressor - think that'll be enough one a one time basis? What do you recommend for a water filter as I have none right now?

[Number 9]

The cheap way for dry air for painting or sand blasting. Simple separators don't always get enough water out.

http://www.rocketcityrockcrawlers.co...ir%20Dryer.pdf

[FarmerSid]

Originally Posted by Number 9

The cheap way for dry air for painting or sand blasting. Simple separators don't always get enough water out.

http://www.rocketcityrockcrawlers.co...ir%20Dryer.pdf

I agree 100%! What ever you do, the air has to be cooled before it enters the tank. That's the key! That short line from the compressor head to the tank gets really hot. I should be one for talking but I have the parts to cool the air before it enters the tank but I have yet to do it. Instead of the fan, I'm going to hang the coil off of the cage that covers the pulleys. The fins in the compressor pulley are designed to move air for cooling and that's where I'm going to hang the coil. I will also have a auto drain "T"ed into the line before it enters the tank. That auto drain will be tied into the port where the air exits the tank and out to my shop.

[_Ogre]

buy a new one dan, replacing the hose and the tips would probably cost more than a new one.
don't expect miracles from the blaster, it does rust well, paint and grime not so well.
when i first bought it my plan was to do the whole truck

i have a similar coil instead of the line from the compressor to the tank, i gravity drain into the tank.
i point a box fan at the coil/compressor head when using my compressor hard, like sand blasting.
the more line you have from your tank to your point of use the better cooling you have.
my home shop is all piped in 1/2'' copper, it was quick and easy to install.

here is a drawing of the system i installed at ''work''
40 ft of 3/4 black pipe on a block wall into a low drain and then back up to the main header in the shop
we also have a refrigerated air dryer that helps in the summer, especially for the paint booth

[DransportGarage]

Wow, Ogre. And you said I was a nerd for wet sanding my frame. Nice system.