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Re: Request advice for first -time restorer

To: Thomas Wannenburg <twannen@bgsm.edu>
Subject: Re: Request advice for first -time restorer
From: "W. R. Gibbons" <gibbons@northpole.med.uvm.edu>
Date: Wed, 23 Apr 1997 09:46:09 -0400 (EDT)
On Tue, 22 Apr 1997, Thomas Wannenburg wrote:

> elected to treat all these areas by  cutting out rust to clean metal, 
> fabricating a patch and MIG welding it in. Then using  a little body filler 
>to 
> cover the welds.  I am also learning as I go and have removed and completeley 
> revised some of my first efforts.
> 
> Here's where I need some advice.  I am very slow and anticipate several weeks 
>to
> months of this body work.  I have temporarily painted over my patched areas 
> (bare metal) with  Corroless (using a brush) to prevent rust while I do all 
>the 
> other areas.  Next I will apply the filler as needed and spray each area. 
>Then I
> will do the mechanicals, drive the car for a year or two for fun and decide 
>how 
> far I want to go in terms of restoration / full respray / engine rebuild etc. 
> 
> Do I need to remove the Corroless / all other paint to bare metal before 
> applying body filler (it will be just a little filler)?  I want it to last 3 
>to 
> 4 years until I strip it all for a full respray.

I think you do have to remove the paint down to bare metal.  

I know of one paint that is recommended for use under polyester 
filler-- PPG DP series epoxy primer.  And in the case of that paint, I 
think the filler has to be applied within a short time after the paint 
sets up, like 48 hours.

Beyond that, it is a crap shoot.  I tried putting filler over Dupont 
variprime, and it peeled off easily.  Unless a paint is recommended for 
use under filler, I would not apply filler over it.  Carroless (sp?) is 
supposed to dry to a hard, impermeable finish, if I recall correctly.  I 
think it would be a poor substrate for filler.

If your car is in a dry garage, I'm not sure I would paint the seams.  
You might get light rusting, but it should be comparatively easy to 
remove that with vigorous wire brushing and/or metal prep.  If you feel 
you must coat them, you might try the so-called cold galvanizing paints.  
In my experience, they are very easily removed.  That makes them poor for 
their intended purpose, IMHO, but perhaps useful for temporary protection.

   W. R. Gibbons  Dept. of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics
                  Univ. of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
                  gibbons@northpole.med.uvm.edu  (802) 656-8629


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