Paint or how to protect (1 Viewer)

[Seth S]

The paint on my 84 is nicely faded and the roof is pretty much the color of the original primer and close to bare metal from the original root-beer color. I did some research on clear coating the truck as it is to help preserve and protect the body but it sounds like the work required to apply the clear coat will further impact what paint is left and it also sounds like the clear coat on its own won't last that long. The reason I worry is because I live in Vermont and we have lots of moisture here and any exposed metal will corrode. I am a fan of keeping the old paint because nothing is hidden and $4000-$8000 for a good paint job isn't in the cards right now. Any suggestions aside from keeping it clean and waxed and out of the salt?

I pulled it out of the garage yesterday and drove it 25 miles to blow out the dust and charge the battery. Unfortunately the roads were wet and I got salt spray on it . So i wiped it all down as best as I could before putting it back in the garage.

 

[mattressking]

Only way to 'protect' it without clear coat is to clay, polish and then apply a quality sealant. Follow with a couple coats of wax and hope for the best.

You could also buy a vinyl and wrap the truck yourself. Tons of DIYs on how to wrap, pretty tedious but another way to protect from the elements after you've cleaned and sealed the paint.

 

[aviafx]

Seal/Wax and enjoy the patina.

Alternatively, you could have the roof sprayed for now to fix the primer problem and re-paint the truck later in the future when the funds are there.

 

[SteveH]

the work required to apply the clear coat will further impact what paint is left and it also sounds like the clear coat on its own won't last that long.

This is partly true. You would have to scuff the original paint with sandpaper to prepare for clear coat. A quality clear coat (applied by a body shop) will last as long as any repaint clear coat will - which could be 10-15 years or more. What kills clea coat is sun (UV rays), and if you park inside, keep it clean and waxed, the clear coat will last longer than you will care. High quality clear coat can be 4x the cost of the cheap stuff.

 

[hj 60]

Rust is only a mind game, you cant win so relax.
If you replace rust with new iron, spray it with tar, paint with copper and it will still rust, and you can hear the rust laughing hysterically, then the doctor advised medication, but I did not need it because the others do, you know, ?

 

[antichrist]

I am looking into road salt protection now and have identified a couple of products to help Salt-Away Home Page I look up what the independent salt truck guys use and this is one of the products another is one by Simoniz. The thing is that rock salt does necessarily get washed off as one rinses the paint and /or under carriage. Something is needed to boost the ability of the salt to dissolve. The other thing is that a lot of municipalities are headed away from rock salt and are going to a liquid brine - because it “sticks” to the road (and your awesome cruiser) and it doesn’t readily wash away (which is why the authorities like it - as it they use less for longer)

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

I am looking into road salt protection now and have identified a couple of products to help Salt-Away Home Page I look up what the independent salt truck guys use and this is one of the products another is one by Simoniz. The thing is that rock salt does necessarily get washed off as one rinses the paint and /or under carriage. Something is needed to boost the ability of the salt to dissolve. The other thing is that a lot of municipalities are headed away from rock salt and are going to a liquid brine - because it “sticks” to the road (and your awesome cruiser) and it doesn’t readily wash away (which is why the authorities like it - as it they use less for longer)

What’s it mean by “over heating engine corrections” on the list of applications?
Also did you read through the SDS pdf? It’s 73% water and some sort of corrosive inhibitor.... so what is it exactly? And I don’t see prices... betting it’s up there? What would be an agent that can dissolve salt?

 

[antichrist]

Hey salt corrosion is bound to corrode the hell out of radiators etc. - I guess

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

Who here on mud is a chemistry guru?

 

[Seth S]

I have the basics down chemistry wise...what are you thinking?

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

Seems that to remove the salt brine you need a neutraliser. Some say baking soda, some say oxalic acid as in the article below. But the kicker is ph and how to tweak it so you come out ahead of the effect the salt brine has on metal. Photo added below. Is that guy correct in his explanation. Ph and how it works always fumbles me. I find I really have to think about it to remember which way is acid and which is basic. I never took chemistry in high school for that exact reason.
Course now this thread has me thinking. The Simoniz stuff has this huge long ass chemical name which pops up in pesticide use. Bleh. That other above Salt-Away simply says corrosive inhibitor.
Would “seem” that if they’re was a natural product useful to neutralise that calcium chloride and magnesium that some person would have figured it out.
Found this interesting short thread...
https://www.turfmagazine.com/snow-ice-management/avoid-rust-neutralize-road-salt/

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

And here’s the Hotsy Salt Lick cleaner the last guy mentions...
check out the SDS where it lists out the second agent in it... Monoethanolamine on page four. Moderate - Rabbit? What?
http://hotsyequipment.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Salt-Lick-SDS.pdf

 

[Seth S]

So the basics are that we paint and plate things to provide a sacrificial layer to expose to the elements and protect whatever lies beneath them. Even rust in itself will protect the metal underneath for a time. So the brine mixture reacts with the exposed steel and if left unchecked accelerates corrosion. I'm thinking that the moment salt water hits exposed steel the corrosion begins. A quick pressure wash will remove much of the contaminant but to your point you may need some sort of sacrificial material to spray on the metal that will react with the corrosion reaction and neutralize it. Here is where my knowledge gets fuzzy...NaCL and H20 sitting on a primarily Fe surface. Rust formula is Fe2O3 I think....the salt water is so much worse than plain water because it is a good environment for electrolysis which speeds up the rust process.

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

Yes that was essentially what I got from a couple chemistry sites I read about how salt causes corrosion.
You know your up in VT and there’s a company that way that does an oil film to frames. My truck got it from them well before it was mine or even the guy before me. It’s thick and black in color. PO said it rubs off onto clothing but I’ve not tested it out.

 

[antichrist]

OK - Wikipedia doesn’t make me an instant expert but does help understanding some basics - MEA ( monoethanolamine) is a common feedstock for pharmaceuticals, detergents, corrosion inhibitors and a lot of other basic chemical agents. The salt away product “appears” to be a bit more friendly to people and planet than the Simoniz cocktail - which appears to be intended for a place that collects the run off and contains or processes it. I am going to throw the salt away SDS at our plant chemist to understand if my “read” is correct

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

The Hotsy one really sounds like the ticket winner to me over the Salt-Away who doesn’t even list the corrosive inhibitor... other than the rabbit issue. I don’t own any so I’m not worried about hurting any bunny eyeballs.

 

[FJACS]

Paint the roof white with some rust paint and a foam roller. Repaint it properly when you have budget.

You’d be much better off letting it sit all winter, than trying to “blow out the dust” and getting it coated in salt.

 

[Seth S]

Yes. True. But it was 41 deg and I wanted to take it for a drive.

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

@Seth S, hey if your up for it, wanna go in on a 5 gal bucket of the Hotsy brand or if you find that other isn’t gonna kill anything in our time... (That is if either are not priced completely absurd). We could meet up and split it.

 

[Mister Earle]

@NeverGiveUpYota, what some of these garages are using for undercoating up here is waste oil. The new big thing that I'm liking the looks of is called FluidFilm (sp?). It's lanolin based and doesn't dry up or fall off like oil undercoating does. I think if I had the itch to drive mine in the winter, I would wait for a day when the roads are dry (hardly ever, right?). Salt does nothing for corrosion until it's mixed with water.

So, while I'm here, I'll introduce myself... I just bought a 62 back in October.