Couple of welding questions

[Errol62]

I could eat my dinner off that floor.

What about the non welded contact surfaces and how to best seal them off? If the weld thru is only good in the weld pool is some other coating used?


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[rosco]

Clay - there are a hundred blokes reading this thread (your's, by the way - stop me if you ever believe it has become "mine") who have cringed at you asking about me painting things... do you really know what you're getting into?...I'll try and keep it brief (most likely down to about 10 pages... be warned!).

I became the owner of this wonderful old bus way back in October 1972... it was just 11 years old. It had lived in a garage for all of its life... except when being driven or parked for travel reasons.... it was, in effect - brand new when I got it...
I had to sit on my hands for some 6 months before I got my license. Working as a junior clerk, one of the chaps I worked with told me of the "known" problem areas of this model.... headlamps, lower fenders, floor etc. etc. etc.... so, I went "looking".
I was ever so lucky to find that the eyebrows had a lot of crud up on them... but when I brushed and sanded it out - only the slightest bit of rust come out.... so - fishoil... and coats and coats and coats of it.... over summer - I got it to dry out as best it could.

Some idiot then told me about body deadener - and I probably painted 12 - 16 litres of the stuff all over the car where it couldn't be seen... the absolute biggest mistake I have ever made with this dear old thing (apart from modifying it).

All was pretty good, and I was extremely confident that I had made the bodywork "bulletproof"... until some 10 years later, one day I had the carpet up and saw a "bulge".. the more I scraped - the more rust and metal (and body deadener) came off.... I panicked....

The best option was to cut the panels and weld.... but, when I took it to a panel beater - he told me there was plenty of "meat" still left in it.. and to use fishoil... in exactly the way I had done 10 years earlier in the headlamps....

The trick, is to paint the fishoil in.. leave it.. paint some more in.. leave it... until you have a reasonable "coating" over it.... leave it until it becomes "paintable" (Wattyl Fishoilene is good for this) and then paint some enamel primer over it... let that go off. You'll find that the fishoil will come through the primer.. but when that goes off - you add a second coat... if it comes through - you add a third.
Eventually, you get a solid base coat of enamel primer to work on.. then come the top coats.
My top coats were with a product called Rust Guard Epoxy Enamel... hammered metal finish in "Pacific Blue".. which is what you see on my floor.
That floor was done way back in around 2000.. the hump was welded in (as well as a new "arch" I made up) in around 2004 or 5... I'd have to go through my log book for exact dates - please forgive me, I'm not going to - but will if you ask.

A little further down the track - I came across another product... POR 15 (paint over rust). I was a doubting Thomas for a long time - until I tried it. Back then, it was around the $100 per litre... but, the blasted stuff is exceptional.. the finish is rock solid and it actually gets into rust and coats it better and with a harder finish than what it can on clean, bright shiny steel.... in fact, you literally have to "rust" new steel for this stuff to work on it..... they sell a product to do this....

I did not want to disturb my interior floor.. (as in the pix) nor the parts underneath which I had also coated in the same manner... but - any new work area which came up after that - has been coated in POR 15.... there is a thread I wrote on the stuff in this forum... you'll need a slab of beer to get through it.... impossible in one sitting.

The stuff is simply amazing... mine has not had one jot of any issue since I applied it... goes on paper thin - but you can't break if off with a hammer.... hence the $100 price tag.

With my already painted underfloor area... I used another of their products called "Tie Coat"... it then allows you to top coat with a POR product called "Black Cote"... not quite as hard as POR 15... but way past anything you could buy off the shelf at a paint supplier.. or what they'd suggest you use....
You'll have to look up a supplier of POR to get this stuff....

And, (nearly there) - I don't know about painting it directly over anything I welded.. personally, if I were to do this again and weld that hump in... I'd probably only treat the welded area and bit each side with zinc primer and an undercoat. I'd then go with Tie Coat and top that with Black Cote..... the bare metal original floor - I'd paint with POR15.. the stuff is amazing... don't get it on you, either - you'll have to wait until it "rots" out of your skin.... it hardens by moisture... washing it with soap and water will instantly "cure" it.... hence the rotting out....

I mistakenly rubbed my eyes whilst working under my old bus... the sweat that built up... well - they called me "Rosco Racoon" for a week at work.... even though I was rigged up with protective clothing and gloves... rubbing your eyes is not recommended when you "forget" you have the mist of this stuff on the back of your gloves....

As for which way I'd go - probably the POR way... but the fishoilene/primer/top coat path is probably as effective for what we do "inside" our buses....if you have the time and patience (and good weather) to expend on the project..

Ok - that should do for today's "episode"..... happy to answer or expand on anything further from the above.... POR 15 - amazing stuff!

frats,
Rosco

[Errol62]

Serious chemical habit you have by all accounts Rosco. I will check out the POR15. Sounds like the go for floor pan etc which has a lot of surface rust.


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[rosco]

Clay,
it's quirky stuff.... you have to make absolutely certain you have set it up properly before painting it on..
Oh - and, it gives just about as good a lovely mirror finish from a brush as it does out of a spray gun.... read the instructions to the letter and stick absolutely word to word with them.. you can have "failures" with it. Probably frightening you too much - it's good and easy.. but read those instructions.. every word of them!


This is the US site... I can't believe that the prices are so low.. but, this is in US $.... and not imported..
link..

http://www.por15.com/POR-15_Rust_Preventive_Coating

and the FAQ's.. worth a read...

http://www.por15.com/POR-15-FAQS_ep_61.html

frats,
Rosco

[parisian62]

...and don't forget the epic Rosco's paint tips thread!!!

http://www.fbekholden.com/forum/viewtop ... =23&t=3336

[Errol62]

Good info thanks. Stuart the link doesn't work for me


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[parisian62]

Oops let me try that again...I've fixed the link in the above message.

[Errol62]

Thanks man. Ah yes I have read some of this at least. Thanks again.


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