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TR2/3/3A Refinishing TR3 Frame

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mountainman

mountainman

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I am getting close to sand blasting and preparing the frame [1959 tr3] for a finish.
Has anyone used Por15 on their frame and if so how did you like it?
How about the products from Eastwood?
Thanks
Greg
 
It's a bit soon to tell long-term, since the project is in early stages, but I'm very happy so far with POR15's Chassis Black pain on a GT6 chassis. Nice coverage and finish (all done with foam brushes), and so far it seems pretty hard and durable.
 
Greg, I used eastwood chassis black, thought I was doing the right thing. About a year later I was doing some touch up and found the the new paint wrinkled the older paint I had used. Eastwoods comment was "yes we have had some problems with that, sorry"

What I have been using since, is Rustoleum primer and Rustoleum gloss black. Seems to work fine. I figure I'm not going to be putting it through the tough times the first 100000 miles put on it.

You will probably get a bunch more theories on painting the cahssis so good luck.

Cheers, Tinkerman
 
I've had similar thoughts to Dick's approach. I have a TR3A frame blasted and primed, I've purchased a gallon of semi-gloss farm implement paint from Tractor Supply Co, and I'm planning on loading the paint gun and having at it. For the miles and use I think it should last a long time, hopefully will look good. Price is excellent, less than $50 for the gallon.

Randy
 
I used POR 15 and I'm very happy with it.

Believe it or not, it spreads out so well the cost was not bad. About $60 worth, using the small cans so as not to waste any by drying it up. That was for two complete coats of my TR6 frame and under body, so a frame alone would be a good deal less material.

https://www.74tr6.com/framestripping.htm
 
My son and I have used KBS Rust Seal and we have been amazed at the abuse this stuff takes. We did everything under the car in KBS black. I haven't used POR15, but I can tell you that KBS stretches to cover a LOT - we did all of our front suspension parts plus the differential and driveshaft as well as the fuel tank mounting straps, and other miscellaneous parts with a single quart, applied using throwaway foam brushes. I did two coats of KBS on everything followed my a single coat of their UV protective black topcoat.

The stuff resists removal even by wire wheels, which we learned the hard way when we had to free up an adjustment nut on a tie rod - had to take a high-speed dremel "brown wheel" to it to make a dent. You will want to buy some throwaway latex gloves to use when applying KBS - if you get it on your skin it will be there for a while :smile:

I would estimate that you could cover your entire sandblasted frame with a single quart of KBS, but I would probably order two to be safe.

Your can order directly from the website: www.kbs-coatings.com

If I ever have to protect anything from rust for a long, long time, I will most definitely use KBS.

FYI - if you are applying directly to recently sandblasted metal, you don't need the rust removal and prep stuff KBS also sells.
 
By the way Greg, it took me 400 pounds of sand to take the frame down to bare
metal! of course that was a 100000 mile daily driver. Must have ot of my gourd to buy that one!

Ah well, Tinkerman
 
If you go to the T&E to blast a frame to bare steel,please have it etched and primed before painting.There are several fine paint systems that can be applied wet on wet(no sanding) This talk of implement paint makes my skin crawl....
MD(mad dog)
 
To each his own. The cars left the factory with minimal protection, and survived this long. Modern catalyzed paints are quite durable and I bet will last a long time. And they don't have to cost an arm and a leg!
 
I had my frame and many other parts sandblasted in 1988. Then I had it vinyl washed (etched) and primered followed by spray paint (Dupont Imron aircraft & truck paint). It has been driven over 100,000 miles since 1990 and there are a few scrapes on the bottom that I have covered with ordnary paint and a small brush. During that time, I'd guess that about 4,000 miles were in the rain.

I wouldn't suggest the Imron as it takes a long time to set. Any good 2-pack body paint will last ages when you consider how few miles you will be driving in the rain and throught salty snow slush.
 
Took my TR3A frame to a local garage that did blasting of wrought iron fences, tractors, etc. Took him one day, the job was perfect, and he charged me $175. Didn't know the guy from Adam, so he wasn't cutting me any special deals. I felt so guilty about paying him such a low fee that I gave him a $25 tip for getting it done quickly :smile:

FYI he used a portable tow-behind gas engine compressor and a commercial blasting setup.
 
MDCanaday said:
...This talk of implement paint makes my skin crawl....
Click to expand...
Why? Look at all the old tractors and such out there, still looking good and doing their jobs after decades? (Hey, I'm not even going to talk about the commonality the early TRs have with certain Ferguson tractors.... :devilgrin: )
 
Quick question:

Sandblasting the outside of a frame removes the rust, leaves a clean surface for prep and painting.

How about the inside?

Is just an injection of waxoyl (spelling?) or similar sufficient? Should it be coated with a rust converstion paint? Or is dipping the frame the best solution?

Just some thoughts that crop up as I am progressing on my TR4A...

Thanks,
Mike
66 TR4A
 
Any sort of paint that is semi-flexible like Tremclad (which has the advantage of bonding to any remaining rust) works well.

Frankly, the Triumph frames are some of the poorest I have seen in terms of quality of construction. They are full of cold welds and poor design (lower A arm mounts tearing off the frame etc.) so blasting and then taking advantage of the opportunity to carefully inspect it for defects and repair them is a great way to start a restoration. You will probably find that you'll need a wire feed welder to stitch up welds and a grinder to expose clean edges.

My impression is that late cars suffered more from these problems than early cars.
 
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