Topic: Undercarriage Paint/Primer Repair

[Stangly]

I'm hoping to restore the undercarriage of this 68 San Jose car in lieu of blasting and trying to duplicate what I've found to be original. I was planning on blasting the few larger areas to remove the rust and to blend and match to the adjacent surface. On the areas of light rust and spotting I was going to use a rust converter and then blend and match again. I've cleaned and degreased the majority of it and you can see the original epoxy primer, body over spray and blackout mostly remain. You can see the uncleaned area at the drivers floor pan. It seems a shame to blast all this originality away and try to recreate it. This is my second restoration and the first one was very rusty so it made sense to blast down to bare metal. My plan is to do a concours restoration and drive and enjoy the car during the summer months. Please let me know your thought and concerns about this process.




Thank you,
David,

[J_Speegle]

Would think overcoat rather than trying to blend the new and the old. The finish will be more consistent but you will retain the factory drips and runs where they were after addressing the surface rust issue, smoothing the transitions from the fixes and the nice original, remove (after documenting) the seam sealers and make sue you have any old oil or grime removed that would react to the new top coatings

Done it a number of times on nice rust free cars  undercarriages and trunks

Looks like your off to a great start

[Bob Gaines]

Would think overcoat rather than trying to blend the new and the old. The finish will be more consistent but you will retain the factory drips and runs where they were after addressing the surface rust issue, smoothing the transitions from the fixes and the nice original, remove (after documenting) the seam sealers and make sue you have any old oil or grime removed that would react to the new top coatings

Done it a number of times on nice rust free cars  undercarriages and trunks

Looks like your off to a great start

+1 .

[ruppstang]

I did a 67 SJ coupe last year that also was nice underneath. It was not going to be a concourse car so I sponge brushed a coat of clear POR15. It was a bit shinier than I would have like but it saved all of the original details and it will easy to clean.
Good luck with your project.

[Stangly]

Thanks guys for the great suggestions and examples. Once I get the rest of the car cleaned I'll try a small test panel and see how the colors look and post some pics. 

Have a Merry Christmas,

[Stangly]

I was wondering what type of primer/paint systems you guys have used in the past. I believe and correct me if I'm wrong the existing surfaces are lacquer based. Did you guys stick with lacquer based paints. I understand that there are some newer systems that are compatible with the lacquer base.

[J_Speegle]

I was wondering what type of primer/paint systems you guys have used in the past. I believe and correct me if I'm wrong the existing surfaces are lacquer based. Did you guys stick with lacquer based paints. I understand that there are some newer systems that are compatible with the lacquer base.

Ford didn't use lacquer for these it was enamel for exterior application (overspray body color and pinch weld black out I believe) and an epoxy base for the floor (red oxide color epoxy primer/sealer)

Used the PPG/Ditzler epoxy red oxide as base and tinted the color to the original using exterior enamel tints to get a match.

[Stangly]

Thanks Jeff for the clarification on the original paint system. I used the PPG red oxide on my last project and was pleased with the outcome.