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TR4/4A Barn Find TR4 Up-date

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TRDejaVu

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Barn Find TR4 Update

Having driven the car for the last month, it went back up on jack stands for the winter. I finally got to the last unknown area of the car - the rear inner wings. There is always a concern that the saddle area has rotted away under the wing joint, so I had to know before deciding on what the winter project would have to be. This time all looks good (pic attached) with only surface rust that should clean up well. The B-posts are also solid. The undercoating seems to have done its job over the last few decades. My only area of concern is trying to contain the surface rust that is on the inside of the rear lower valance, as it is a very tight area to work in.

I may have mentioned before that this TR4 is in better condition than the one I had over 30 years ago. The fun continues...
 

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Re: Barn Find TR4 Update

I'd get some POR-15 chassis black and take a Saturday to paint over that rust.

Good stuff...and you'll never see that brown stuff again...
 
Re: Barn Find TR4 Update

Take a good look at your undercoating. After so many years it can get hard and separate from the metal. It will then work against you by holding in the moisture and contaminants that it originally was meant to keep out. I found many of these areas on my TR6 during restoration.
Another product on the market similar to POR 15, but available in most hardware stores, is Extend. It is water based(easy clean up) and very easy to use. Just follow the directions. It dries to a black finish and can be used as the top coat or as a primer. It works in the same way as POR 15 in that it chemically converts the rust into a very tough, durable finish.
 
Re: Barn Find TR4 Update

[ QUOTE ]
Take a good look at your undercoating. After so many years it can get hard and separate from the metal. It will then work against you by holding in the moisture and contaminants that it originally was meant to keep out. I found many of these areas on my TR6 during restoration.
Another product on the market similar to POR 15, but available in most hardware stores, is Extend. It is water based(easy clean up) and very easy to use. Just follow the directions. It dries to a black finish and can be used as the top coat or as a primer. It works in the same way as POR 15 in that it chemically converts the rust into a very tough, durable finish.

[/ QUOTE ]

Doug..I may be wrong but POR-15 isn't a "rust convertor" but a high-solids epoxy that simply "encapsulates" the rust, sealing out moisture and oxygen, and won't allow it to spread or return.

Comments are welcome..... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
Re: Barn Find TR4 Update

Thanks for the comments.

I agree with you about the undercoat, so I have already started to remove it and will re-apply fresh when completed.

While I would like to blast the rusty areas, I have had to take the following approach. After using a wire wheel, I have been using the Eastwood rust converter followed by their rust encapsulator. When I did some of the frame I also top coated with their new chassis black. I plan on using the same approach and time will tell. I will just have to do the best I can behind the valance.
 
Re: Barn Find TR4 Update

Do you guys use a grinder with a stone wheel to take off rust? Or a wire wheel, instead? I'm reluctant to use a grinder with a stone because I'm afraid it's overkill. My rust is just surface rust on parts of the frame. It comes off with a wire wheel (on a drill or grinder tool) and leaves the steel bright, but in some limited areas with some embedded orange. Any thoughts?
 
Re: Barn Find TR4 Update

Don't forget that with any type of grinding, you actually work the rust back into the parent metal, albeit, microscopically. If not chemically treated to remove completely and then sealed, it has the potential to resurface at a later date.
 
Re: Barn Find TR4 Update

For frame rust removal I wire brush and scrape off with a steel 2 inch scraper (putty knife) the loose debris by hand first. I then use a ninety degree air powered die grinder with disposable 2.5 inch circular screw on type aluminum oxide sanding pads or the bristle brush type pad in three inch diameter. For frame work I use coarse grit and then go to a medium grade grit. I think you can get this tool in electric as well if you do not have a compressor. I find this tool to work good even in some of the hardest places to get at (the pads flex). I then apply this rust bonding agent of which the name escapes me at the moment and it turns the steel black. Once the rust bonding agent is dry I spray paint it all black with whatever is at hand. Even with the best rust removal process I think you will still find little black specs and pits of oxidation through-out the steel on the frame.
 
Re: Barn Find TR4 Update

After sanding/grinding etc, use Marine clean, and metal prep that POR 15 sells. It's like a water base you can spray on liberally as soon as the prep work is done. No need to do anythiing but let it air dry & coat with your rust encapsulator, etc.

https://www.por15.com/

I actually got a bottle of Marine cleaner concentrate at the marine store for much less than POR 15's price.
 
Re: Barn Find TR4 Update

The Marine Clean is a detergent which is good for pre-paint cleaning. It gets most oil and wax off. The surface prep stuff is called Metal Ready by POR. The POR-15 is a urethane based coating. It is not UV resistant so must be topcoated if in an exposed area. Since it is urethane, nothing will stick to it except POR-15 top coat.

I found POR-15 itself to be a real pain to deal with. If you open a can of POR it is exposed to the air which contains moisture and the entire contents of that can must be used or disposed of. If you get POR 15 on something that you didn't want coated, it is very hard to remove. It is hard to remove unless the area wasn't exactly properly prepared so it often doesn't stick where you want it to. I'm irritated by the POR ads which claim "paint right over rust." They fail to mention the first 7 steps.

I use the Marine Clean then Ospho phosphoric acid based rust converter topped with Rustoleum Rusty Metal Primer and Rustoleum paint. No problems, easy to use, and the stuff sticks where I want it to stick.

Have a good day
Steve
 
Re: Barn Find TR4 Update

After cleaning and stripping my frame I prepped with "Right Stuff, formula 3000" which I found at Advance Auto Parts. It is labeled 'compare to OSPHO". I have finished the frame work using Eastwood's Gloss Chassis Paint. I am currently chemically stripping the body, and using "Right Stuff" after stripping a section to keep the rust away until it is ready for final prep. I have used it on areas that were heavily rusted to slow or stop the process until I could to those parts, Actually seemed to make mechanical removal methods more effective.
 
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