Opel GT Forum banner

Anti-rust treatment thread

12K views 19 replies 17 participants last post by  DGBG 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hi,

Please share in this thread your anti rust treatment methods, so we can exchange ideas and technology.

After reading the forum for about a year now, I never really came across this subject so let's give it a shot :)

For the bottom i use some special tar-like roofing with anti rust mixed in it. Gives great sound insulation and stonechip has no chance! I always grind rusted spots down first, apply Brunox (rust inverter with epoxy coating) and then use the roofing.

I haven't done rust treatments in beams yet, I will need to get some materials/special nozzles and products for this I guess? Any recommendations?


Hope we can learn from each other in this thread!
 
#3 ·
POR-15.
Works great on sandblasted and rusty metal, but has limitations to being painted on paint and metal that has not been prepped properly. If applied as directed you will never have a rust problem again. Thing I like about it is that you do not have to remove all the rust. Just wire brush the flaky rust off and apply. It will actually build strength back into the metal and repair small holes. It uses mosture to cure!
 
#4 ·
Several here

POR 15 is hard to beat as a paint. Very thin, but durable and seems to work well.

Another paint that has held up well for me is XO Rust from TruValue. I've used quite a bit on my '48 Dodge. Cheap and flows well.

I like to use some rust converter from Lowes on a lot of things. The brand is Jasco. You can find it next to stuff like acetone and paint remover. It converts the rust and creates a white finish on the metal. Just rinse and paint on most surfaces. I've sprayed it on rusty surfaces and left them out in the elements for several months with no rust coming back. It all depends on the metal because some surfaces seem to want to rerust no matter what.

One of the coolest probably most impractical ways is with electrolysis. Not preventative, but it does convert rust back to the base metal. It involves washing soda, a battery charger and a couple electrodes in a bucket.
 
#11 ·
One of the coolest probably most impractical ways is with electrolysis. Not preventative, but it does convert rust back to the base metal. It involves washing soda, a battery charger and a couple electrodes in a bucket.
I've used the electrolysis process on a few items so far and I do not find it to be impractical. For large objects, you need a very large container, but they will be derusted. The process does convert the rust back into iron, but it does not plate it back onto the metalas I had hoped it would. I just converts it into fine iron powder which must be removed by some means before you paint or what ever you are going to do. Bill
 
#7 ·
AutoBody Anti Rust Suggestions

Having grown up next to my dad doing auto body and paint there are some pointers I can give that will hopefully be helpful. Some may be obvious others not. Here goes:

1. When you begin to restore your GT, IF you sand it down to bare metal or sandblast it, make sure you clean the car thoroughly, air blast, vacuum, wipe down with solvent. YOU MUST put a bare metal sealant or primer on as soon as possible (immediately). Exposed metal especially in humid environments will begin to rust. Even if you don't see surface rust, it may have started after leaving bare metal exposed for a week or so. If you primer/seal the car late, you're asking for trouble... your rust may come back AFTER you've painted!

2. Rust and Corrosion are not the same! After you have stripped it, by whatever means you choose, any sanding, grinding, or blasting should remove surface rust. AFTER the car is primered or sealed is when you should address cutting out and replacing corroded metal. This is the metal that has blistered and separated or completely rotted away. Only start what you can finish! Cut out one section of body panel at a time, prep the car metal and the donor part making sure all the metal is bare near the welding areas. Weld the new donor part in, do any grinding or sanding to smooth it out. Strip the entire donor part clean. Add and sand body filler. Primer/Seal. Once you're done with that ONE area go on to the next.

3. Anywhere you find surface rust that is beginning to pit or bubble into corrosion, sand/grind it down to the bare metal. Apply a rust inhibitor treatment (ie. Jaspers) and allow the product to work according to manufacturers directions. This should kill any rust and stop any up and coming corrosion.

4. Choose a sealer designed to inhibit rust/corrosion. Make sure you apply the primer/sealer when the temperature is 75 degrees F or more. Otherwise a heating unit must be used to warm up the car and paint booth. Low temps will inhibit proper curing and cause major headaches!

5. If you don't have experience painting and don't want to use your GT as a learner, PAY a reputable body shop or painter to do it. Call around and get estimates, ask to see the body shops portfolio, ask them what their refund/satisfaction policy is. Ask to see their business license and insurance policy.

6. You should have at least 2-3 coats of color for a one step paint, or at least 2 coats of color and 2-3 coats of clear for a two step paint. Once everything has cured you can colorsand the factory orange peel texture off and buff it out. One step paint with NO CLEAR will definately need a polish and wax to seal the paint. One step paint will give you that factory original look that our GT's started with. Two step paint will give you richer more even color coverage and high gloss that lasts longer.

7. Work SMARTER not HARDER! There are many new waxes and polishes out there on the market. My favorite is Waterless Dri Wash N Guard. Spray it on (without washing car) wipe to a haze, wipe it off with a polishing cloth and done! Keeping your car's paint/clear polished not only keeps it looking good, but prevents water and UV rays from penetrating and breaking down your paint. The longer you keep it out of the sun and polished, the longer it prevents the water and moisture from causing your car to rust again!

8. Anything worth doing is worth doing right! Never do a botched attempt at fixing rust or corrosion. I guarantee if you don't take the proper preparation steps IT WILL COME BACK!
 
#8 · (Edited)
This was my firts car to restore so I used A LOT of different things on different places to test things out. I even applied different tests on every single inside wheelfender (hope to learn a lot from that).

I used some hammerite as well. Tought of it as expensive at that time though, especially the spray cans and rust converter. But if it protects better it is deffinetly worth using it everywhere.

What do you guys use for the underside of the car? In belgium everybody likes tar to coat things that would rust, but i have seen a lot of rusted (though tarred) equipment around...

I will definatly give POR15 a go. Heard about it a lot.



Meanwhile i found a great thread on another forum! It's long, but reading it won't take you as long as to cut out/weld in/treat again/mask that rotten platework on the chassis or body..
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=131753&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

And what with the places you cant get to with a brush? Blow the dirt ot of hollow beams and treat with some spray? People used to "dinitrol" their cars here, something like Krown does in the US i think.

Thanks grslightng02 for a nice reply in step to step form!
 
#16 ·
I have just tried Rust Bullet on my 73 BMW 2002 - frame rails and engine compartment. Can be sprayed, brushed or rolled on. Very informative website, they also compare all available products:

Rust Inhibitor Paint | Stop Rust | Rust Corrosion Inhibitor | Rust Converter

It is a silver metallic paint, they recommend 2-3 coats, and guarantee the results for 10 years. Advantage to POR15, it can be painted over existing paint (after sanding of course).

Dieter
 
#12 ·
I've used Permatex Rust Treatment (available at NAPA and probably other places), on my floorboards, bellypan and on the battery tray. It starts out a milky color, and turns the rust to a purple to black colored polymer, which should then be topcoated for maximum durability. It seems to work well, and shows no signs of peeling or flaking off, except where I accidently went past the rusted area onto the painted undersurface of the bellypan. In that location, it eventually started peeling off, since it didn't adhere to the paint.
I've attached a Technical Data Sheet of it to this post.
Randy
 

Attachments

#13 ·
#14 ·
There has been a lot posted on this subject, but my quick opinion on the subject.

Stay away from anything "tar like" .....it makes a mess and looks that way too. Just see what I mean when you try to work on the car later, or are trying to remove it. And it seems that it will rust worse than it did, maybe because it didn't actually do anything to the rust

POR15 is something I would only use on a frame. I would not use it on an engine bay nor the underbody. Sometime down the road you will want to touch it up, grab the rattle can black, and spray it in places to give it a fresh look. Then a week later, it looks like a chalky mess. You can only paint over POR15 with there products, or there topcoat primer. And the stuff is too expensive to be buying it up like that.

You know if you were to wire brush, sand and remove the rust as much as possible (if you insisted on not welding in new metal) You could go to a body supply shop and buy an epoxy primer and prime with that....it will probably last you a lifetime. It all depends on your efforts on removing the scale and rust. Also as stated before, Permetex makes a good spray rust inhibitor you could spray on the left over rust residue, and then prime with the epoxy. The epoxy can be had from 80.00-240.00, depending on brand.

Eastwood offers a ton of different products for rustproofing the inside of panels as well, but I have never resorted to using any. I know of the POR15 effects by experience.
Keith
 
#15 ·
POR15 is something I would only use on a frame. I would not use it on an engine bay nor the underbody. Sometime down the road you will want to touch it up, grab the rattle can black, and spray it in places to give it a fresh look. Then a week later, it looks like a chalky mess. You can only paint over POR15 with there products, or there topcoat primer. And the stuff is too expensive to be buying it up like that.
The secret to being able to paint over POR-15 with out much prep is to paint the POR-15 onto the metal and then do what they call a scratch test. You take your fingernail and scratch the surface of the the POR-15 once it is nearly cured. If you can scratch the surface with out removing any of the paint you can now paint the POR-15 with primer or paint. This will create a chemical bond with the POR-15.
 
#19 ·
bob legere says rino bed liner
Sorry Mike, I never said I'd be using Rhino Liner to prevent rust.

I did however say I'm contemplating a new procedure for making my latest car rust-proof even in New England. The first step is to remove all existing rust since you can't prevent rust over existing rust...especially in an area that uses salt and calcium chloride all winder long.

For starters I am having the body shell baked in a large oven @ 550 degrees to remove ALL traces of paint, primer, body filler, seam sealer and sound deadening/undercoating. Next the car will be lightly sandblasted to remove the burnt residue. The low pressure ensures zero warpage. Both these procedures are being done by a local shop who specializes in this sort of work (as well as powdercoating).

Immediately afterwards I'll prime the bodyshell with a self-etching epoxy primer. From there all remaining metalwork and bodywork will be completed and the upper body will be primed with a urethane high fill primer, then the undercarriage will be painted in a rust-preventative paint and all seams sealed. Then finally the paint (basecoat/clearcoat) applied.

The intent is to use my rotisserie to allow Line-X bed liner to be applied to the interior floor pan, the interior firewall, the complete undercarriage, and the wheelwells. Splash shields will be affixed inside the front wheelwells, and urethane rally-style mudflaps attached. I specified Line-X over Rhino Liner because of samples I've collected over the years. The Line-X was less rigid than the Rhino Liner as well as being nearly 1/3rd the weight. I figure that will save me close to 80 lbs. I'm also contemplating rally-style molded kevlar floor pan guards to keep rocks and sand from blasting the undercarriage.

Anyway, it would be an oversimplification to say 'Rhino Liner' would solve any rust problems.
 
#18 ·
As with any old vehicle, the main subject is always rust. There are hundreds of ways to resolve the rust issue, you just have to find one that suits your needs.

We only use a single product, Lab Metal. We use it as rustproofing, we use it as primer and tinted we use it as the final fill and sand stage. When it dries, it bonds air tight and becomes metal.

Metal repair and patching compound - Alvin Products - Metal Restoration and Repair

I have yet to see a car we have worked on rust.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top