What steps must be taken to paint over rust?

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PostPosted: Sun Jan 12, 2020 10:33 am
I’ve got a heavily rusted roof on my 1980 pickup, and it is almost time to start on body work with this little truck. I can’t find any answers to how I’m going to get the roof to a paintable stage. People say use Picklex 20 then epoxy over it. But the rust has fairly noticeable pits in it, how would I apply filler to it? Because others say don’t apply filler over chemically treated rust, and the only other option is to apply it over the epoxy. And others say don’t do that either because it has poor adhesion qualities when it is only a mechanical bond to the primer. I’m now more confused then when I started looking for answers. Any advice is appreciated, thanks.
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 12, 2020 1:08 pm
Sand it and clean it the best you can, even a wire wheel if needed.
Then epoxy primer it.
Don't worry if you can't get all the pits completely rust free,
as long as there's no loose rust
the epoxy will take care of it.
JC.

(It's not custom painting-it's custom sanding)



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PostPosted: Sun Jan 12, 2020 1:47 pm
Great. That saves me a ton of expensive steps on it.

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PostPosted: Sun Jan 12, 2020 5:07 pm
That will work in a pinch however media blasting is always the best option as it removes all the rust.

Upper Control Arm.JPG


Upper Control Arm Blasted.JPG
1968 Coronet R/T


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PostPosted: Sun Jan 12, 2020 6:53 pm
you can also do liquid rust remover.
Jay D.
they say my name is Jay



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PostPosted: Sat Jan 18, 2020 5:54 am
'68 Coronet R/T wrote:That will work in a pinch however media blasting is always the best option as it removes all the rust.

Upper Control Arm.JPG


Upper Control Arm Blasted.JPG


I would, but it’s a lot more money and time I don’t want to put into the truck.



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PostPosted: Sat Jan 18, 2020 5:56 am
badsix wrote:you can also do liquid rust remover.
Jay D.


Can you apply epoxy or body filler over top of it? Because I would, but others are saying that they have problems with primer reacting to the chemicals in that stuff Picklex or Loctite extend.

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PostPosted: Sat Jan 18, 2020 10:09 am
If you go the rust treatment route there are steps you have to take to be sure there is no film left behind.

I found this out the hard way when I had to strip and respray the roof on my '68 Coronet R/T.
P1010001.JPG


It cost me a lot more in time and materials than a small pressure pot media blaster.

If you go with a rust converter then be sure to neutralize it. This means after the rust is converted you apply one more wet coat and then before it dries wash it immediately with soapy water and a Maroon Scothbrite pad and then rinse with clean water.

Let it dry, wipe with Wax and Grease remove, let that flash completely and then apply a quality epoxy primer.

Otherwise, I would follow JC Clark's advice.
1968 Coronet R/T


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PostPosted: Tue Jan 21, 2020 4:10 pm
All the rust must be removed! Whether by sanding, blasting, or scrubbing with acid (metal prep). If there are pits, then blasting or acid works best, as sanding/wire brushing will not get inside them. I recently did the loooong roof on my Nomad project. I sanded it as best I could, but there were lots of pits. I went to Lowe's and got a concrete stain remover, that was based on phosphoric acid, same as body supply metal prep. Applied it, let it sit, scrubbed it, then carefully neutralized it with water, then an alcohol wash to get rid of any moisture, and prevent flash rusting. Neutralizing any acid wash is imperative, or most primers won't stick to it, especially epoxy! I like using House of Kolor epoxy, as it is a great filler, as well as an adhesive primer, and sealer. 3 coats and a 180 sanding will fill any rust pits you have. Most epoxies are more for adhesion and don't have good filling qualities, so you'd have to put some high build primer on top of it.
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 21, 2020 7:39 pm
:goodpost: I've done that several times with vintage tin that was maybe to fragile and rare to trust sand blasting.
Jay D.
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