Interior Patina / Further rust prevention (1 Viewer)

[RiggityJ]

I find myself with mixed feelings and lost. So I’m reaching out to fellow patina enthusiasts. My 71FJ40 has enough patina on the outside. Ive drunk the coolaid and rub fluid film on it a couple times a year. Where I’m struggling with is what do do on the inside.

I drive my 40 and want to take it on more cruises/overland trips. The challenge is that at SAS6, we got rain on a couple days. Couple with the numerous drilled holes left by the previous owner. (I have recently plugged as many holes as I can, but don’t want to rely on that.) All of this has resulted in rust forming on the inside!

This doesn’t bode well for longevity of the body here in Houston TX. I was thinking about putting some sort of internal storage inside (possibly a plywood drawer system) that used bolts previously welded into the body by the previous owner.

TLDR
All that preamble to ask, how to you preserve patina on the inside? Should I just clear coat the inside? Is there some secret sauce I can use???

 

[sid79]

i got some rust under the dashpad that im trying to address, havent figuered out how to preserve the rest without being all sticky from fluid film, but i read about PB Blaster undercoating, and that it stops creeping after a while. im thinking i can wipe it off but still have it under the dash pad or the knobs so i dont get oily when im driving the FJ

 

[kudzugypsy]

you can neutralize rust...for a time. once the protective barrier between the steel and elements breaks down...you cant really stop it. fighting rust on these (in most environments) is a continuous process. if rust starts getting/creeping into the seams where the panels meet...gonna get nasty quick.

you could *try* a ceramic coating - a good one like 3M - not cheap - that will be optically clear and at least shed the water and its not really gonna hurt anything, BUT if you top seal rust in one direction (the surface) - its just gonna go the other way.
this wont stick to a previously oily surface though if you have put something down

 

[Grayscale]

Patina for the interior...

I like to sand my rust down a bit, say 320 or 600 grit silicone carbide paper, then steel wool, and then apply some whatever with a rag. If your rust is rough to the touch, it becomes a lint catcher with a flat waxy dandruff look. But, if you bring your rust to a greater smoothness, it can handle a more conventional approach to maintenance with wax. A clean paper towel can buff it and whatnot. After a few months, just enough rust will appear to make it look dull again, but, this time you apply wax or oil to some steel wool, and it is as easy if not easier than maintaining the good paint that surrounds it.

I have a couple of vintage wheelbarrows in my yard that I use as a patina laboratory. I'm kinda into it.

 

[Grayscale]

Here is an example. One of the license lamp hoods has been basically clean. The other has been sanded to get the, albeit minimal, layered rust forming under the factory enamel. I like using baking soda on the rust because it seems to remove the red, which allows the paint color to be restored by juxtaposition. Also, i get so see the awesome primer from the factory. Both basically handle the auto wax, but, when the rust gets even worse, it really loses shine, which is okay for some, but, I like to wax an automobile, and sneak some polishing in there from time to time as well.

Baking soda is great stuff. It is partly abrasive when you are working it kinda wet but not totally dissolved. If you get yourself a cheap dental mirror, you can easily remove stains and calculus from your teeth as good as a dental hygienist can. Back when I visited a hygienist, I would take a hardwood toothpick and use it like a mop with a tiny bit of baking soda the night before the appointment. I was trying to remove stains from smoking, coffee, and wine from my teeth, and the smoking stains behind your two front teeth can get horrendous. I did it so well that she questioned if I was seeing someone else for services, and she was not particularly happy about my answers either. She didn't know that in crystal form the stuff is a perfect abrasive for cleaning, and it works better than the pumice in regular toothpaste. However, it will really dry out your gums and mouth so have something kinda fatty like butter to chase it with.

I used to do this with the paraffin wax professionally. It was fun having that big old roofers torch to heat stuff up. Basically birthday candles plus wrought iron, nothing too technical.

 

[RiggityJ]

@Grayscale, interesting stuff. Hadnt even considered a wax. On the outside, I use fluid film. My only hesitation with inside use are 1) longer term exposure to chemicals and 2) I don’t wanna have to decrease my hand everytime I touch the interior.

Here is a picture of what I’m working with. I have it the clr once and got rid of most of the sh1tty black spray paint from the previous owner. Unfortunately the places with exposed metal have rusted again.

Strongly considering doing another light clr & degreaser. Then putting some clear por15 down to seal in the rust. I did this to the air cleaner assembly housing with clear spray paint over rust. Looked terrible right after I did it, but once it got dirty from driving, looked surprisingly good. I’ll take a picture when I’m back at the cruiser.

Again, this is only for interior body panels. Exterior and underside, 100% don’t mind rubbing some fluid film to keep the corrosion at bay.

 

[Grayscale]

You bring up a good point. Any vapor producing stuff introduced to the interior will fog up your lungs and windows. Meguiar's auto finish wax is quite pleasant to be around, personally.

If I had that much floor pan, with that much obvious fresh rusting, I would reach for steel wool and my bottle of Boeshield, a towel to buff, and call it good. Your hands, clothing, etc, will not need to be degreased when working with this product. The little dropper bottle is also the perfect assembly lube, so it can be an aid in getting things put back together, torqued down properly. Maybe for the floor, sanding some highlights on the stamping, but, in general save the manual work for things like steel surfaces on pre '75 front doors, center console, shifter cane - refinements that enhance the driving experience.

Being in Houston, I don't know if you have a saline atmosphere ever, but, I wonder if that rusty floor pan in its current state can make water beads stand up like after you oil or wax it? That is always what I'm looking for after a rain or whatever, how does the truck look when it is wet tells me about its corrosion protection. Because, even the rough surface rust will just shed water if it still holds some wax or oil.

 

[Tank5]

On my patina build I tried as best I could to preserve the exterior patina but inside the cab I blasted it and painted it fresh. I did this for three reasons, first so my wife might ride in it, second I had to make a number of modifications and third I wanted to some spray on heat coatings. The inside will still retain some of the original look but will present as a good refresh.

I am not familiar with your 40 but don’t be afraid to make what you want and what works best for your intended use.

 

[Grayscale]

At some point you get to hardware. Now, put the patina buzz vocab down and lets get back to keeping something in basic service. Once they break free, clean them up. I use a wire brush to clean, then a die with some of that bicycle Boeshield to restore the threads, may not need it. Competence would mark their hardware as it is gone-over on a machine this big. A dot of paint on anything that has been torqued to FSM on the engine. How about a touch of sanding (lightly mount in the drill chuck), scotchbrite, scratch the washer edge and highlights on the hardware? I think that is what I'll do for my seat frames, etc. All cleaned up, then they get propane flame with paraffin or bees wax, excess removed while still warm with steel wool. Acts like anti-seize, allows for easy assembly, especially after the female thread is cleaned up and you use compressed air. However, the original Toyota lock washer is toast on all of them, so check your torque, for real with that wax it could be real trouble. You can always remove the wax by soaking it in gasoline for an hour, so no problem if you decide to paint later.

These screws basically started in the same state. The highlights glowing in the camera flash and weak azz factory incandescent lights on your dash help your ride not look pathetic like the same hardware when it was covered in corrosion. To me, the appearance between the two makes all the difference in the world. The other one will reveal itself as well, once I get to work it some more; it is also a #4. However, I'm also considering just painting the heads and washers with fresh paint, and call it good?

So, basic service also calls for replacing what is no longer good. Any time I see a deficit of material, say, sub root of the thread, I'll toss it for whatever that is good. This truck won't stop for cosmetics. Most of rust is under the flat washer. BTW, I am a total advocate of smashing some fresh split lockwasher, somewhere. Dude, I get up at 3AM just to check that my truck has enough whiskey in the carb bowl glass. There are tons of screws in a real 40 that this could take some serious time, so don't take on too much at once. This is kinda down-time activity.

 

[RiggityJ]

As promised, the air cleaner assembly. Previously patinaed, CLR’d, and several coats of clear gloss spray paint. Initially, it was disgustingly fake glossy patina. After a ~1500 miles the patina seems to have come back provided you are looking from more than a foot away.

Like my assembly drilled holes (+50hp!)?