Spitfire Spitfire sheetmetal prep and sealing suggestions wanted

[Norton47]

Hi
Am finally restarting on 75 Spitfire 1500. This is a fairly rust free car. I have attached some photos of the frame rails, and front quarter valance.
Looking for suggestions about sealing the edge joints of the quarter valance and with what? Or not seal them at all and treat with what before painting?
Similar on the frame rails, should I just wire brush off the rust and treat with POR 15 and paint?




Thanks
Mark

 

[dklawson]

My comments below are what I did but I was in a hurry and didn't want to invest the additional time or money that other methods might involve.

I cleaned all the under-bonnet surfaces with very strong caustic cleaner. My preferred chemicals are Dawn Power Dissolver mixed with "ZEP" industrial degreaser from Home Depot. Combine that with some rubber gloves and ScotchBrite pads and you will quickly get a matte finish without grease dirt or oil. I used parts cleaning brushes and small stainless steel wire brushes to get into the corners and nooks.

On the 1/4 valences I also rinsed the gap between the inner/outer panels with the cleaner mix, then hosed them out (as best I could) and left them in the sun to dry for several days.
　

I used an air brush to get primer into all the tricky areas and once cured I used a small touch-up gun to apply the primer to the rest of the surfaces. Once cured I went over that quickly with a dry ScotchBrite pad and a quick once over with prep solvent and a tack rag before applying the top coat. As with the primer, I sprayed the tricky areas first with the air brush.

POR is good stuff. However, it only sticks well to microscopically rough surfaces as left by the acid etch prep step. It will not stick well to smooth surfaces nor will other paints stick well to it unless you either use their special primer OR spray a fog coat of your primer on the POR before it cures. Don't get me wrong, properly applied it is great but if you are not willing to strip to bare metal and heavily etch the surface, consider other measures to protect the panels of concern.

 

[DNK]

Dang Mark
Long time no hear!
Did you get my "Happy Anniversary" text I sent you about your work milestone last year?

What was the out come of the TR6 accident?