cleaning up the chassis

[C3forME]

I've been using a wirewheel underneath the car on the chassis, rearend, and suspension components to take off the surface rust and road grime. Now I would like to paint it under there and was thinking of using black rustoleum paint either glossy, flat, or satin finish but I am not sure what to use. What have some of you used and and how well does it hold up? Is there something else that's better, maybe undercoating? I've also been taking the surface rust off the exhaust system as well, should I use the same high temp. black paint that I use on my headers for this and maybe even on the chassis?

 

[robert kirk]

I use POR-15, this stuff is really tuff. It leaves a nice shine, and is easy to clean. Also the frame and other parts don't have to be perfect before you apply. I cleaned everything real good, no grease, etc. But i didn't sand and go to the extream. Everything i painted with POR-15 looks like new. robert

 

[70 VETTE 454]

the wire wheel is the way to go, that is what I'm doing to my C3 as we speak too. I also have a sandblaster at home and I tried that, but it didn't work too well for me on the frame as it did on the small parts. so I'm sticking with the wire wheel and angle grinder with a flat wheel and a cup wheel, both come in handy.....
as for the frame.....POR-15 is the way to go, its a little pricey, but its worth it in the long run, if you have gone thru the trouble like me to take the body off to do that, why not do I right the first time. cause I don't really want to do it again, WELL unless its another corvette.....Smirk, Smirk.... but that's after this one.....
the web site for it is www.por-15.com or another www.por-texas.com both have the stuff you need......I got the standard POR-15 rust inhibitor and the chassis black top coat, and a few other colors and clear coat for other various parts....but its up to you, but you at least need the rust inhibitor.

Dave

 

[SwaveDave]

Por 15 is the best. Another good product is called Chassis Black from www.hirschauto.com . It covers very well and you only need to get the surface stuff off of the frame. Its good for 200 f. so you can use it on the walls of your engine bay too. I used it on the entire underneath of the car except for the exhaust system ; i used Header Paint on the entire exhaust incl the headers, of course.

Dont use Header Paint on your chassis, as , Header Paint requires heat for it to cure properly. The best Header Paint ive run across is from Eastwood. Good to 1200 f. I measured my Header temp to be 523 f right at the Head, after a good run .

Dave

 

[Juskie77]

How much paint?

For those of you using the por-15, how much paint do you need for the chassis and chassis parts? A gallon? 1/2 gallon?

 

[JohnZ]

Where do these six-year-old threads come from? :confused

 

[Phill]

Must be something in the water.

 

[Bob Chadwick]

We do tell people to use the search function.

 

[Red69]

For those of you using the por-15, how much paint do you need for the chassis and chassis parts? A gallon? 1/2 gallon?

A quart will do your entire frame and suspension. It goes on very thin, covers well and flows well to eliminate any brush streaks. Use a quality brush to avoid the bristles from falling out. It is best to have the entire area preped and ready to paint at one time.

I used gloss black and it still looks great after three years. It cleans easily and is impervious to chemicals. My car is garaged, though, and pampered when not on the track. A word of caution, wear an old long sleeve shirt, latex gloves and a hat. If you do get any on yourself, immediately wipe it off with acetone, or you will need to let it ware off. Good Luck! BTW...I did mine with the body on.

 

[Juskie77]

Thanks for the HELPFUL tips. I searched for "chassis paint" and this was one of the thread which seemed applicable. I also found another discussion on powder coatind and eastwood paints, so I did do some searching. I thought I was in the right place.

 

[jeffn]

It's really unfortunate that another poster with a valid question will be pushed away to another web forum because of the smart -ass know it alls here. Pretty soon you will be all by yourself.....Really unfortunate. Three responses in this thread are totally useless, self indulgent, non contributing dribble.....Make that Four with this one.

 

[Red69]

Thanks for the HELPFUL tips. I searched for "chassis paint" and this was one of the thread which seemed applicable. I also found another discussion on powder coatind and eastwood paints, so I did do some searching. I thought I was in the right place.

One caveat on using the POR is, after cleaning the frame of all grease and oil, finish the job with their product called Marine Clean, then etch it with their acid, I forget the name. You can buy similar products from building supply houses, but if the paint doesn't stick, you won't have a complaint. BTW....they do not reccommend the use of lacquer thinner in removing grease, but that works the best and what I used. The Marine Clean does not cut the grease anywhere as well as lacquer thinner. After grease is gone, scrub the frame with MC with a brush. This is the hard part of any paint job, the prep. After squeaky clean, there may be rust, but it will be clean. Now you will be ready for the Metal Ready, that is the name of their acid etch that gives the paint something to grip. Do it right and it will last.

Some people will tell you to top coat the POR as it will break down under UV light. That may depend if your car is left out in the elements 24-7. My car has been painted three years ago with POR and it still looks like new, but it is garaged. I also painted my fuel tank with POR silver and it looks great. I had IRS parts powder coated silver, but from my experience, I'd do my half shafts, diff and TA's with the silver gloss, it looks outstanding IMO. Will other products work OK, absolutely; I'm just sharing what I used, my experience and satisfaction. You make the call. Good luck!

 

[Juskie77]

Thanks for the tips they were really helpful. My vette will always be garaged when not in use and will be never driven in the winter. The paint should last a long time. I'll check out the lacquer thinner, but I have the marein Clean and the metal ready, I was just trying to figure out how much paint i needed. So thanks for sharing your experience. I think I will do the diff, shafts in the sliver. I saw the guy's paint job on the corvette-restoration.com website and it looks real sharp.

 

[Red69]

Whatever paint you use, when you are finished for the day, put clear plastic food wrap under the can lid. This will help seal the paint content from air, make the lid easier to remove next time and reduce rust that forms around the lid from condensation. After sealing with food wrap, store the paint can in your refrigerator. It will increase the paint shelf life. Right now I have three cans in my refrigerator.

What to do with the brushes? Wrap brushes in aluminum foil and store in the freezer. This will allow you to use it the next day, or few days after it thaws. It doesn't work very well with POR because of its chemical nature. That is why I suggest prepping everything first and paint as much as possible on one occassion.

You can paint the tough places on your frame with the body on by using foam brushes. Look in Wal-Mart's paint dept for small flat brushes. The kind with short white bristles, about 1/8 inch or less nap. These are flat, not a roller. For the large areas you can use the dense foam roller available at wally World. They sell roller refills for the same roller handle. Back to the brushes: tie the handle, or just the bristle pad to a coat hanger and you will be able to even get the top of the frame, as I did. This will be a challenge, but do it right and you will get spectacular results. Clean-clean and clean some more before you open the paint can. Most vette owners don't want to show you their underside. I judge an owners committment to the hobby by looking at what is underneith. If you have any future questions, feel free to ask.

BTW...while I was at it I also stripped the fiberglass underside and painted it with PPG epoxy primer with a brush and roller. It came out great and will distinguish your car from everyone elses. You can get this primer in many colors, I used red. Before I did this I molded the wheel wells at all four corners. This is another tough job, but not many Corvettes have this. On the front it helps seal the splash apron from letting water run down the frame rails. Yeah...I even drive it in the rain on the way to and from the track. Molding the back corners makes cleaning them a simple job. Did I say it is a bracket racer, not a show car. Pick your level of finish and roll up your sleeves. I apologize for the long story, but thought you deserved the full detail.

 

[C3forME]

It's really unfortunate that another poster with a valid question will be pushed away to another web forum because of the smart -ass know it alls here. Pretty soon you will be all by yourself.....Really unfortunate. Three responses in this thread are totally useless, self indulgent, non contributing dribble.....Make that Four with this one.

I am the original poster of this thread, yes it is 6 yrs old and I am surprised to see it back up again. I just happened to drop by here to see if anything has changed around here, but like Jeff said nothing has, and that is exactly why I frequent the other big 3 Corvette forums and not this one anymore. This was the first Corvette forum I joined when I first got my car 6 years ago and would be on here everyday. It started out great and I learned some good things here, then I started seeing guys defecting from here because of smart ass comments to noobs, including myself, from the so-called know it all's. I still don't get what's up with that BS, wasn't everyone a noob at one time or another?

 

[Vette79]

It's really unfortunate that another poster with a valid question will be pushed away to another web forum because of the smart -ass know it alls here. Pretty soon you will be all by yourself.....Really unfortunate. Three responses in this thread are totally useless, self indulgent, non contributing dribble.....Make that Four with this one.

WOW, really? After reading all the comments it seems to me that you are the one being aggressive. You could have used more tact to make your point. Bob is correct, we do encourage everyone to use the search function. It saves time and more then likely lead to a quick answer. As for the OP, everyone is welcome here and you will continue to find a wealth of information here.....