I am finaly getting back around to finishing the work on my Z28. Its been sitting under a car cover beside my garage for almost 9 months now, and a small leak formed around my drivers side t-top. Unfortunately I did not discover this leak until Saturday. Since the engine is in my garage on a stand I ad no reason to go and open up the Camaro. I mean I did have a 150 dollar cover on it that was supposed to be waterproof.
When I opened the door the smell of mildew hit me in the face like a ton of bricks and my heart sank. The new carpet (never even been stepped on in the back of the car) was soaking and the lowest point of the rear floor board had about 3 inches of water in it. So I removed the interior and pulled the drain plug. Then soaked up the remaining water with a towel. With the water cleaned up I noticed a great deal of surface rust and some minor piting beginning to occur.
So I spent all of Sunday stripping the rust away and also removing 99% of the seam sealer gm used on the over laps inside of the car. The rust under these seams was worse than where the puddles are. I removed all od the rust that I could with wire wheels, sandpaper and grinding. While some still remains (in corners and under the edge of seams) I would like to neutralize most of it.
What I would like to know is what is the best rust converter on the market. I know eastwood used to sell something that would neutralize rust and leave a protective coating that could be primed over.
The second thing is besides por15 what is the best thing to use to prevent the rust in a moisture prone area like the low spots in floor pans? I coated the front floor boards and some of the under carriage with por15 last year and it has worked well but it is quite expensive.
Any help and advice would be appreciated.
Best rust inhibitor?
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94 Z28, A4. 383 stroked LT1, d1sc procharger, nitrous works 200 shot. Sniper body kit, Black widow 3 hood.
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I've found out, like you, that the seam sealer in old cars holds moisture and promotes rust. Even worse is the foam filler crap they spray up in the pillars to quiet the car down. I always remove as much of this garbage as possible and reseal the seams with 3M brushable seam sealer. Prep and paint before applying the sealer. Screw the sound deadening crap; it wicks water like no tommorow.
You did good grinding all that crap away. Use an acid etch to prep the metal. Then the usual pre prep treatment. POR-15 is fine and dandy for this application. If you don't want to use that, 2K epoxy primer will fit the bill too. You say POR-15 is expensive, but I'll be damned if it doesn't work in places you don't have to apply a finish coat, and it's convenient and easy to use too. I brush it on and toss the brush when I'm done. I refuse to run it through my guns, so if I want to spray it I use one of those Preval disposable spray guns. You have to ask yourself, what is your time and effort worth? Do you want the floorboard to continue rotting after you put the car back on the road? |
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No Turning Back
Posts: 542
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2008 6:26 pm Location: Hollywood, Florida |
864 Metal Prep From R-M. It stinks but it turns the rust black and after you wipe up the residue it's ready for primer. The stuffs good too right after you strip a panel to wipe it down with this stuff. It prevents surface rust also if you're not going to work the panel right away.
Just walk away....
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What about a neutralizer?
94 Z28, A4. 383 stroked LT1, d1sc procharger, nitrous works 200 shot. Sniper body kit, Black widow 3 hood.
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A "neutraliser" (it's a misnomer) penetrates the rust, adheres to the unoxidised metal beneath it, and seals it off from oxygen. It may or may not also have other properties, like sandability, adhesion promotion, whatever. BTW this is what POR-15 is, but we all know it's not exactly sandable and adhesion can be a problem too. Why do you insist on a neutraliser? Do you intend to topcoat it, or are you only interested in arresting the rust? FWIW I've had fair success with Eastwood's rust encapsulator before. It's easy to use (rattle can), does an almost fair job of retarding rust creep, provides decent hiding, sands easily and provides decent substrate for topcoat. POR-15 does a better job of arresting the rust, though. |
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