Frame restoration

[leversole]

What is a good product to fill the normal rust pits before painting your frame? Always wondered what people use to get that smooth frame look...

Thanks

Leslie

[eddeere]

It is a good idea to treat the metal with an acid prep even if it has been sand blasted. Depending in how deep the pits are a good high speed laquer primer or a light coat of body filler for large and deep ones. Then a lot of block sanding.

[220cummins]

sand blast, body filler, acid etch (not on filler only bare metal), epoxy primer, high build sprayable polyester filler(slicksand), block sand and top coat. Of course you could skip the blasting,filler, and blocking sanding steps and just re-rail it with new ones.

[GEOD998]

After blasting, if needed, I've used the whole POR15 process when doing car and truck frames and underbodys. The stuff aint cheap,but it holds up really well -its very hard and very flexible when you use the whole system. You can topcaot with anything you want-but I suggest doing so soon after priming,so you dont have to sand as much( thus losing a few mils of protection and busting your hump to do so) I've never had a problem,and I have stuff out there working and abused thats at least 10 years since redo They have the wash,prep,primer and paint. I'm fairly certain they have a couple filler products for pits also. Just make sure to use respirator..even if spraying just a little outside-I've had bad experiences when I didnt-hack,hack. Check em out online-----George

[thomastractorsvc]

or if you just want to make it look nice and presentable you can clean the rust off, seal and use bed liner material then the pits wont be seen and it looks nice to.

[Maddog13407]

i put two coats of epoxy prime on mine and whatever other primer cause it sat in the garage for months and everytime i painted something and had primer left i kept coating the frame, the heavy spots i used ''Icing'' that comes in the tube. its like really thinned out bondo and easy to work with and sands nice. mix it the same as bondo just not as much hardener cause it dries about 3 times as fast haha. i welded up holes where my frame had helper spring bracket to and icing those as well. then of course it had 2 coats of seaer, 3 coats of red and 3 coats of clear . i recently even spread icing on my fifth wheel plate and repainted it to get it ready for Macungie.

[leversole]

Thanks all!

[E9V8]

I'm a firm believer in this stuff: Nitro-Stan Red Glazing Putty

Probably the same "icing" that's mentioned above.

[220cummins]

I'm a firm believer in this stuff: Nitro-Stan Red Glazing Putty

Probably the same "icing" that's mentioned above.

Nitro Stan is lacquer based and won't really "dry" meaning its flexible and that won't work well over time with a catalyzed epoxy primer, polyurethane, or base coat clear coat systems. You'll end up getting cracks where it was used. This is best used with compatible older Lacquer based finishes. The "icing" that MaddDog is talking about it a polyester filler which is available in spray form and what I recommended as "Slicksand"

[Maddog13407]

yup, Nitro Stan is old school and lacquer. we use to use it over primer all the time to take out the scratches.if you use it under any of the newer paints like Acrylic enamel or Urethane enamel it will dry and crack or 'Check' after time. Icing you can put right over paint after scuffin it up or over bare metal, pretty much anything un like Bondo where you pretty much need to pput it over bare scuffed up metal to make it stick. yup Icing comes in a tube and is mixed with regular Bondo hardener. they make Thin Ice to but it think its harder sanding.

[E9V8]

Mid to late 80's would be old school, right?

Sorry ~ I'm not up to snuff with the new stuff.

[Maddog13407]

haha yup mid to late 80's is old school when it comes to paint.back when they use to lacquer the hood of a new car cause the car above it dripped something on the car hauler and 6 months later the hood was all faded out and the rest of the car was shiney. had some good stuff back then like when Centari came out and 'Sealer 70' and nitrostan. nitrostan dries and cracks tho. all good in their day

[tippi98custom]

i used fine kitty hair where it was bad (under the 5th wheel plate) since it is harder than bondo. then I used glazing putty, which is the icing you are talking about. worked well. Then I put 2 good coats of Dupont expoxy primmer, then 3 coats of high build primmer. Then had to sand. and sand. and sand to block it all out nice and smooth. For the top coat I used 2 coats of this paint called Emron. The stuff is nasty, it is super sticky and goes on nice and thick but leaves a nice shiny finish and is very hard and durable when it dries. it isn't the cheapest stuff but now that I used it I will definitely use it for any other frame painting I do. at first I was turned off by the price but its well worth it for the final product

[GEOD998]

Dupont Imron is great stuff indeed-or it was last time I used it ...sure it still is. As I understand it Magnums were painted with it from the factory. Black metalic body and black on the frame. If I remember right, back in the day,there was an optional hardener you could add to it also,dont know if it got DEP blackballed or not . tippi98custom with that treatment,your frame should last forever.

[MACKS]

I would use a body filler type material like bondo to fill and smooth the rough spots and than use a paint like rustoleum [sp] that has good rust inhibitor in it.

[Maddog13407]

first of all ''Glazing putty'' is like nitrostan and is lacquer based. icing is like Bondo but with fiberglass resin in it to make it easier to spread and sand and also doesnt dry and crack as bad. also Rustoleum is pretty much crap. good for painting oddball parts but its straight enamel and will last at most 4-5 months in the weather before it loses its shine and you are not happy with it. if anything go to Napa or something and buy some cheap Martin Senour Acrylic enamel and paint your frame. never use straight enamel.

[fxfymn]

Another frame coating system is the Chassis Saver line from Magnet paints. Same concept as POR-15, but a lot less expensive.

If you are not sure of what product works with what paint check with the jobber you are buying the paint from. They will carry a complete line of glazing putties and fillers that are compatible with the paint you intend to use.

[220cummins]

Rustuloeum actually has a polyurethane line of paints that are really good. Rustoleum high performance industrial line of paints. My dad used it for quite a few years when he would rebuild concrete mixers for his employer. He'd use it for the cab, chassis, water tanks, barrels, and chutes. It held up really well and was resistant against the concrete and acid used to clean off the concrete. The trucks were fully sandblasted primed and painted. They would last an average of five years to eight years or more with daily use and abuse. In fact the last truck he did before he retired in 2002 is still looking good and delivering concrete.