Help - I suck at frame work......

I've been working on my frame. It's a bare frame. It was covered with something very, very attached to the frame. And it is in fairly good shape. Some rust, but no holes. Darn hard and wirewheeling took a long time. So I spend 5 hours working on the back passangers quarter of the frame. Where I can't wheel, I sandblast.

SO I get the frame down to the steel. Then I use Ospho wash. Next day, I take a sandpaper and smooth down the converted rust. Wipe witha denatured alcohol. Let dry. Prime with an etching primmer. According to the directions, I have to topcoat within two weeks. Spent two fairly full days on just that 1/4 of the frame getting it cleaned and ready to paint.

So the next weekend, with one day of rain, I go out and hand sand the rough spots of the primmer, getting ready to topcoat the frame with TSC black implement paint with hardner added. Going to use a HVLP sprayer.

When I start to sand, I see the tale-tale signs of rust starting to form at the corners of the frame rails and the body mounting points where they attach to the frame.

I own a woodshop and bought the primmer from the guy that sells me my finishes. The primmer is an etching epoxy sandiable primmer from Coronado. He said the Navy uses this stuff.

Why am I incapable of getting a rust free prime coat on this frame? What am I doing wrong? I want to paint this frame but I'm tired of redoing this.

My next try is something like Eastwood's Rust Encapsulator.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

converted rust... IMO no such thing regardless of what the label says. It may slow the progression at best.

Rust is like cancer, if anything is left behind, it comes back. Technically speaking, you can sandblast a frame on a humid day and it starts oxidizing in seconds. Metal prep immediately after is best but nothing is perfect.

I know your frustration but dealing with old steel is even more difficult than modern. Spray it and drive it 8)

 

i've used phosphoric acid (por-15's metal ready) on my frame and body parts. i've noticed that the parts always had a very subtle yellowish tint by the next day especially if it was mildly foggy the night before. i see the frustration also...i agree with just spraying it. but if it was mine, i would use a rust encapsulator...

 

Oxidation is natural so wipe down the orange residue and seal it then top coat. It will last longer than we will, enjoy driveing it.

 

SUCKYJUNK is right, oxidation will occur when exposed to moisture. I've used many industrial products from Ameron, Tnemec, Carboline and Plasite. Most were applied after a dry media sandblast prep. Lot's of things can happen during application.Topcoats get scratched....rust! A drop of sweat...rust!
The one thing that all manufactures spec is to brush the welds. Brush the primer in before you spay and then the same for the topcoat.Welds have voids,weld spatter, high spots and low spots that a gun won't fill. Also, while drying, thinners, trapped air and such will expand and rupture leaving a pinhole.

 

You're living in Florida? R) Seriously,though, it's hard for me to comment on rust problems since here in Colorado, where the climate is usually as dry as a popcorn fart, our rusting issues are much smaller than you guys in wetter climates. FWIW though, when I use a metal prep (phosphoric acid), even here the surface gets a light tan coat of rust on it immediately after it dries. It doesn't seem to affect the primer. Even the urethane primer I use for body paint. On frames and other steel parts (brackets, wheel cylinders, etc,) I use a rust converter (like Bill Hirsch's Miracle Paint) after wire brushing. You don't need to sandblast the metal to use a rust converter. Just get the larger goobers off.

tommy b

 

Most primers absorb moisture, they must be topcoated right away. They are not paint and won't stop rust. There are automotive primer/sealers available, but even they only slow down oxidation, they don't stop it. The good part is that you can throw a fog of relatively cheap pain on the primer, then sand that off before doing your final paint coats. Something like Krylon, applied lightly, will sand off pretty readily but still protect the primer.

 

I wirewheeled my entire frame and undercarriage. anything i couldn't wire wheel i sprayed with ospho (inside the hat channels, etc) I hit all the bare metal with high quality primer then covered it in two coats of eastwoods rust encapsulator. to finish i threw a coat or two of gray durabak bedliner on it. Oh, and i rough sanded between every coat to give it a little "tooth". anyways...from what i've heard the worst thing you could ever do is let a vehicle sit on grass. i moved my project from my garage to my lawn for to make room for another project that was suppose to take a few days. its been months now and not even the slightest sign of anything having to do with rust beginning. The jeeps not even covered. its looks great too.