Duffontap's 9/76 FJ40: From Here to Daily Driver in Two Weeks?

[ducktapeguy]

Thanks bikersmurf. I did a lot of image searching and I haven't found any with the all-thread going through the tank. Also, looking at my frame, it looks like a hanger or two was cut with a sawzall to get the tank free. At any rate, I'm going to back burner this part of the project in an effort to get back on the road sooner. Who can afford to fill two tanks at once anyway?

Thanks again.

I have a very similar tank with 3 bolts going through the tank to support it. On mine Its not exactly all thread, but more like a really long bolt with a washer for the head. It was originally mounted through the sheetmetal of the tub. I didn't like e mounting method so I welded some brackets directly to the tank so I could mount it to the frame.

As far as I know there were quite a few copies of the con-ferr, mine was made somewhere in southern california. Where is your pickup tubes? Mine has three ports right next to the filler tube on the flat side, I think the con-ferrs are located on the angled portion.

 

[duffontap]

True... Although, 400 mile range is nice. Now I can pick when I fill up which is helpful when prices in is area have been going up and down $0.80 over a week. Filling up once ever month or two is nice.

I grew up here in Oregon but attended TWU in Langley, BC. The first time I saw Canadian gas prices I thought I was in heaven until I realized I wasn't seeing the price per gallon!

Your truck is coming along nice, I wish I could make the same progress.

Thanks again. I'm only making so much headway because I'm on a Land Cruiser vacation.

I have a very similar tank with 3 bolts going through the tank to support it. On mine Its not exactly all thread, but more like a really long bolt with a washer for the head. It was originally mounted through the sheetmetal of the tub. I didn't like e mounting method so I welded some brackets directly to the tank so I could mount it to the frame.

As far as I know there were quite a few copies of the con-ferr, mine was made somewhere in southern california. Where is your pickup tubes? Mine has three ports right next to the filler tube on the flat side, I think the con-ferrs are located on the angled portion.

It looks like that is how this one was mounted. As for the plumbing, there is a pickup on the front of the tank at the bottom edge, and a capped vent next to the filler neck. There is also a sender for the gauge. I don't see a fuel return or anything else. I may still install this down the road. Thanks for the help. JD

 

[FJsnoozer]

after power washing, what did you do to prevent flash rust? did you say you used a phosphoric acid product? If so, what kind, and what was needed after that. I too have been plasting all of my hinges with a water sand blaster using black magic coal slag media.

That stuff is NASTY on the skin. I also go through the same amount of media as you if not more. which will probably make me switch to the sand. The first hinge i did I was wearing shorts and short sleeve shirt with safety glasses. Afterwards I had a ton of pinholes that I was bleeding from (very entertaining).

 

[duffontap]

after power washing, what did you do to prevent flash rust? did you say you used a phosphoric acid product? If so, what kind, and what was needed after that. I too have been plasting all of my hinges with a water sand blaster using black magic coal slag media.

That stuff is NASTY on the skin. I also go through the same amount of media as you if not more. which will probably make me switch to the sand. The first hinge i did I was wearing shorts and short sleeve shirt with safety glasses. Afterwards I had a ton of pinholes that I was bleeding from (very entertaining).

Yes, I used phosphoric 'Prep & Etch' from Home Depot. I usually use an Ospho knock-off I get at the local marine store, but I think the phosphoric acid is the key. I put it in a spray bottle at full strength and drenched every surface, keeping it wet for at least a half hour. Then I washed it off to keep that white powder from forming.

That black magic sounds brutal! I'd be interested in hearing how you think the sand compares. It has to be sifted (I used an old window screen).

 

[FJsnoozer]

I had to constantly move the siphon around in the media, which was quite annoying.

 

[duffontap]

Got started with the Satin Black AG111 today. It's hard to believe that little quart is going to be sufficient to cover the whole frame and axles, but man does it spread! No teaser pics. You'll see it when it's done.

All in all, not the most productive day, but I did manage to take care of one really dirty job: removing the undercoating from the underside of the tub and wheel wells. Egad. Does anyone know if that is factory or dealer option? Whatever it was, it worked. The coating came off easily but the steel was mint underneath it. Honestly, it was probably a totally unnecessary exercise but I was sure I was going to find a rust ant farm under there.

Phosphoric acid freshly applied:



After sitting a little while:



After getting rinsed off with water:

 

[duffontap]

Frame Under Paint

Frame is now coated with AG111 Satin Black. It's a two part paint that was developed as a bridge coating out east. This was a long day with a little brush. If I were to do it over, I'm not sure I would choose a system that committed me to application by hand. If I could have thinned it enough to spray it, I think I would have needed another 50% more. Not sure.

The color and sheen are completely indistinguishable from Rustoleum Professional Gloss Black. So I reluctantly used Rustoleum for those spots that I couldn't reach with the brush. This took me a couple hours yesterday, and then from morning until dinner today. My wife was good enough to come out a few times and remind me that the frame is covered by a truck and the details that were giving me fits didn't matter. Good gal that one.





Not sure what I'll do tomorrow, but the underside of my tub is ready to go for primer so I may do that. On that note, I have put a ton of thought into how I will treat the bottom of the tub, and I'm currently thinking about just using the Master Coat Silver with no top coat. I contacted the Master Series people and they said that was absolutely fine. The advantage of that would be that I could touch up easily and wouldn't have to do the grunt work of removing undercoating (or bedliner, or whatever) but could just wire brush or spot blast and re-prime. Three good coats of MS Silver, what do you think?

 

[thecrazygreek]

Looking good,

While the silver may hold up ok, I would go a black coat over the silver. Leaving it silver underneath would look a bit "off" to me.

 

[duffontap]

Looking good,

While the silver may hold up ok, I would go a black coat over the silver. Leaving it silver underneath would look a bit "off" to me.

I also have black epoxy primer and a black Raptor kit. I was hoping to save the Raptor kit for inside the tub though, and it would really be pushing the budget to buy two. Tough call for me but it's time to decide. Thanks for weighing in--appreciate it.

 

[duffontap]

First Coat:

First coat of Master Coat Silver is down. Now it's time to go to town with the seam sealer. I'll do at least one more coat of the MCS, but I'm still undecided on where to go from there. Raptor Liner would probably make the most sense looking at the number of vulnerable places. Still thinking.

 

[duffontap]

Underside of the Tub is DONE!

Thought it over and decided to go with the permanent plan. Shot it with a thick wet coat of epoxy primer and then laid down two thick coats of Raptor Liner.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q35/duffontap/Epoxy.jpg

Add mine to the chorus of voices praising this product. It's easy to use, lays down great, looks great, etc. The one stupid thing I did was add hardener and shake up a bottle before checking to see that I had the right 1/4" air plug for the gun that comes with the kit (I didn't). That was one stressful race to Home Depot, but it worked out fine.

I wanted to lay it down with a lot of texture to hide the irregularities in the corrugated floor I made--so I did:



After second coat:

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q35/duffontap/RaptorClose.jpg

I'm really new to welding/fabrication, so it's crazy to think that I put this tub together myself. You just have to love that old-school simplicity. It's also great to see part of it under finish, even if it's just the underside.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q35/duffontap/RaptorDone.jpg

 

[thecrazygreek]

Looks great. Just an FYI, it will feel soft for a couple days. Don't worry tho, it will get nice and hard. (not rock hard but u will know when it's set) Just try not to mess with it while it's in it's hardening stage.

 

[duffontap]

Looks great. Just an FYI, it will feel soft for a couple days. Don't worry tho, it will get nice and hard. (not rock hard but u will know when it's set) Just try not to mess with it while it's in it's hardening stage.

Ok great. I'll tackle the front fenders while I wait for it to cure. Thanks. JD

 

[mydogpea]

Sweeeeeeet!!!

 

[duffontap]

Sweeeeeeet!!!

Thanks! You've got to try this stuff Stephen!

 

[roma042987]

Nice build! I painted an entire 40 with the raptor stuff tinted a dune beige color. It covered really well.

 

[Pierps]

I love this thread. Very inspiring!

I think CJGoode might've talked me into using Mastercoat silver on the underside of my tub as well.

I'm really intrigued by the entire process you followed here. If you don't mind, I have some questions for you.

As I understand it, you used a sandblasting attachment for a pressure washer to remove the undercoating, followed by phosphoric acid to etch the surface and neutralize/prevent rust. After letting the acid sit for a while, you rinsed it off with a hose. Correct? My question here is whether you saw any flash rusting after that? Did you use some method to dry the surface before and after the acid? I've read about some people experiencing rust problems after rinsing off the acid. All of the water makes me nervous, but the pressure washer idea is fantastic and it seemed to work out great.

Also, with the Mastercoat silver, their website says you can paint right over the top of it. I see you laid down some epoxy primer before the raptor liner. Is this necessary for the raptor liner to bond, or did you do this just for added insurance?

Again, looking great. I have to remove a crappy DIY bedliner from the interior of my tub, and some undercoating from the underside. I'd rather not have to use paint stripper, and a blasting shop I talked to said that it's pretty labor-intensive for them to remove it. The process you followed here seems to be the ticket!

 

[Leaping Deer]

Got started with the Satin Black AG111 today. It's hard to believe that little quart is going to be sufficient to cover the whole frame and axles, but man does it spread! No teaser pics. You'll see it when it's done.

All in all, not the most productive day, but I did manage to take care of one really dirty job: removing the undercoating from the underside of the tub and wheel wells. Egad. Does anyone know if that is factory or dealer option? Whatever it was, it worked. The coating came off easily but the steel was mint underneath it. Honestly, it was probably a totally unnecessary exercise but I was sure I was going to find a rust ant farm under there.

Phosphoric acid freshly applied:

[URL="http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q35/duffontap/tub1.jpg"][/URL]

After sitting a little while:

[URL="http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q35/duffontap/tub2.jpg"][/URL]

After getting rinsed off with water:

[URL="http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q35/duffontap/tub3.jpg"][/URL]

Did you blast it using the powerwasher? Did you notice any warping?

 

[duffontap]

I love this thread. Very inspiring!

I think CJGoode might've talked me into using Mastercoat silver on the underside of my tub as well.

I'm really intrigued by the entire process you followed here. If you don't mind, I have some questions for you.

As I understand it, you used a sandblasting attachment for a pressure washer to remove the undercoating, followed by phosphoric acid to etch the surface and neutralize/prevent rust. After letting the acid sit for a while, you rinsed it off with a hose. Correct? My question here is whether you saw any flash rusting after that? Did you use some method to dry the surface before and after the acid? I've read about some people experiencing rust problems after rinsing off the acid. All of the water makes me nervous, but the pressure washer idea is fantastic and it seemed to work out great.

Also, with the Mastercoat silver, their website says you can paint right over the top of it. I see you laid down some epoxy primer before the raptor liner. Is this necessary for the raptor liner to bond, or did you do this just for added insurance?

Again, looking great. I have to remove a crappy DIY bedliner from the interior of my tub, and some undercoating from the underside. I'd rather not have to use paint stripper, and a blasting shop I talked to said that it's pretty labor-intensive for them to remove it. The process you followed here seems to be the ticket!

Hey Pierps (and Leaping Deer),

That's the process I used. The wet abrasive blasting is really powerful (with a strong pump of course) and it's actually possible to do at home because there isn't any dust, but it is very messy and it does take quite a while to wash the sand out of all the crevices.

The phosphoric acid eats any flash rust that occurs while the bare metal is wet and the directions always say to rinse with water, so I do. I have noticed that the surface turns a faint 'rust' color when it dries, at which point it seems very stable--but this is true whether I rise with water or not. If someone knows more about this--please chime in!!!! Even if there was faint flash rust, that would be an excellent substrate condition for MS silver--according to them anyway.

I'm actually using this system with Master Series and epoxy because they have different qualities and are supposed to work very well together. MS Silver bonds well to metal with ok preparation--which is how I would rate mine. I don't have a sterile paint booth, I have a crowded garage and a driveway. The epoxy bonds very well to the Silver, and is a better surface to lay paint on. In the case of the Raptor, I could just lay the epoxy, let it flash off for 30 min., and spray the Raptor without scuffing. In the case of auto basecoat, I can block sand the epoxy, and it's not recommended that you sand the Silver.

Thanks for your interest and kind words, JD

 

[duffontap]

Nice build! I painted an entire 40 with the raptor stuff tinted a dune beige color. It covered really well.

Thanks! Do you have a pic of that rig? JD