There are several steps in building a car from scratch that I find I really dread. Painting the frame has to be one of those steps. I think it's because of the finality of the whole thing. Once you put that paint on, if you want to make a change you have to scrape the paint OFF... That means a lot more work if modifications are required. At the same time, I felt that I needed to go a head and paint the frame so that I can put closure to this part of my build. That psychologically frees me up to proceed on the next major step in this car. Designing and building the BODY!

I built a paint booth in my garage using clear plastic sheeting of the type available at any home improvement center. I bought a 12' x 50' roll and it was exactly the right amount. Some high-tack painters tape afixed the plastic to the ceiling and to the adjacent sheets of plastic. The booth was by no means air-tight, and the ceiling was exposed , but it's a garage after all, so a little overspray was expected and accepted.

I did my due diligence and researched the various types of chassis paints and coatings available. A product called Rust Bullet seemed like the obvious choice since there was virtually no prep-work required, no primer required and apparently two coats of the stuff make a surface virtually impenetrable by anything this side of a small thermonuclear detonation. In addition it was the cheapest solution. How can you lose? Easier to apply AND cheaper?! That's my kind of product.

I ordered the paint and within a few days I had my $100 gallon. The decision was made to completely cover the topside of the car with two coats and then flip sideways and paint two additional coats over anything that was missed on the first run. This approcah worked pretty well in the end. I also covered the aluminum floorpan even thought this was simply for aesthetics.

Having read the directions on the side of the can and on the Rust Bullet website I decided to skimp on the respirator and use a simple "sars" mask to protect my lungs and breathways. I did manage to splurge on a tyvek painters suit and some nitrile rubber gloves. The headgear is my helmet sock! I don't think anyone will notice that it now has a silver/grey tint to it...

Painting started off uneventfully and for the first few minutes the fumes were not so bad. But soon enough I started to develop a cough and the room started to spin on me. Apparently the warnings regarding proper breathing apparatus should be heeded. I made a quick exit to the outdoors for some fresh air and to gather my thoughts. In my fume induced stupor I quickly deduced that the only way to continue the job was to buy the carbon filter particulate mask. My wife, seeing and hearing my respiratory distress volunteered to go to the store to buy me one. Pronto.

Once I had a proper respirator it was back to business.

Here you can see the chassis after it's first coat of Rust Bullet. The material covers very completely even on a single coat. But the instructions specifically and unequivocably state that at least two coats must be applied.

The entire painting of the frame and other components took 3 days.

This photo is kind of like peering into the womb of a strange beast.... What lies inside waiting to be re-born? ... Ok, that's a bit wierd. Possibly inhaling those fumes has had the effect of bringing out some college days flashbacks...

After the topside was completed, the frame was flipped on it's side so that the bottoms of the tubes could receive their coatings.

The suspension cradle got it's coats...

The deDion axle was next...

And finally the rollbar and the under-engine brace.

I can honestly say that painting the frame ended up being a very satisfying process. The final product turned out much better than I anticipated. If you are building or restoring a car or even if you simply have some metal objects that need coating, I think Rust Bullet is a great solution!

Here is the respirator that my wife bought for me. She splurged...

Using the right protective gear is of paramount importance in being able to complete this job. Don't attempt without it.

Goggles were rendered basically useless within a few minutes. During most of the painting they sat on top of my head. But certain areas of the frame would shoot the spray stream right back at my face and I was forced to don the goggles and paint basically blind. (I 'think' the car is over this way....)

Here are the tools: One gallon of Rust Bullet (1/2 gallon still left unused), Xylene for clean up, Nitrile gloves, good organic respirator, Air gun and a compressor. One more item of importance, your air compressor should have a moisture filter on it. Droplets of water coming off the gun will ruin the coating surface. Rust Bullet does NOT like water droplets.

The day after painting, and since the chasis was still up on its side, I decided to move on to rivets. First let me back up a bit and talk about the 3M VHB tape that was used to attach the ali pan to the chassis. If you have been following my project for any amount of time you will remember that my plan was initially to depend on the VHB tape and nothing else, to keep the tray attached to the chassis. Obviously- now you notice that I am using rivets. There is a story behind all of this and it can be quickly distilled into a dire warning. DO NOT ALLOW BRAKE FLUID TO COME IN CONTACT WITH VHB TAPE! In the process of installing and bleeding my rear brakes and clutch line a large quantity of brake fluid leaked down the chassis tubes and spread out along the entire length of the driver side floorpan in a capillary fashion. Imagine my horror when some areas on that side of the floorpan started to de-laminate!

I still think that the VHB tape would be adequate to bond the floorpan to the chassis, IF, big IF, proper methodologies are used to waterproof and seal the joints between the two metal components. I believe that a proper coating of Rust Bullet down and around all the VHB seams would provide the impenetrable seal I am referring to. Next time... Next time...

In any case, I was planning on using some rivets in the corners to help prevent peel-back issues, but now I am using more.

On a positive note, the VHB tape still provides a large amount of adhesion and it also isolates the two dissimilar metals.

I am using red painted self-sealing big-head Nascar approved steel rivets. I am spacing them so that there is greater rivet density in the corners.

All in all I think it looks pretty good!

 

Graber out.