Hi everyone- I am fairly new to the ground up restoration scene, and i need some advice on how to restore the frame of a car. For instance? Could you use a rattle can, or do you HAVE to use a paint gun? And could you use some of that por15 stuff, where you can paint over rust?

Its all in how far you want ot go or what your budget will allow. I've seen everything from scrubbing the frame with wire brushes and using por15, to spray painting,to brush painting, to having it sand blasted and powder coated. Do you have just the bare frame? If you do I would make an effort to clean it as best as possible and then painted as good as I could afford. Me personally I can't afford to do any frame off restoration now, so I wire brush any rough spots use a good rust killer, and then undercoat over it.

Well, I have a decent budget. I dont have acess to a sandblasting service or anything, so sandblasting is pretty much not an option. Right now, the frame has surface rust with a whole lot of grit, grime and mud. I would like the frame to look presentable.So, however you can accomplish that goal with as little money is the way i would like to go.

Check the phonebook for high pressure wash services that come to your home, or find somewhere and rent a heated high pressure washer such as a Hotsy. On one of my projects (not the 70) I had a guy come out with a portable Hotsy in his truck and spray the entire under side of it getting rid of any old undercoating, grime, etc. Of course you'll have to have it up on ramps or something. After that I just shot some spray undercoat on it and some good rust inhibitor primer on the frame followed by some semi-gloss rustoleum. Looked great for not being a body off resto.

Body off is the best way to go though. Did one on my 70 and took the bare frame in to get blasted. Turned out better than I could have hoped.

I was in college when the body was off the frame, so I had more time than money. I cleaned up my frame with an angle grinder, sanding wheels and wire brushes in a drill motor. I spent a LOT of time and got very dirty. But it worked. I primed and painted it in my dad's garage with and low end paint gun and air compressor. I still hear about it from him 15 years later. But the frame cam out great and has held up well.

I would avoid rattle cans if you can, it will take a lot of them (6-8 each primer and paint) for a minimum and you'll have a very thin layer of paint.

If I were to do it again, I'd probably try to get it sand blasted if I could.

Thanks, guys. That really helped me. I plan on taking it down to bare metal this weekend.I actually have a high pressure washer.So i will use that.

Thanks again, Team chevelle

PS. thats a good looking car, Got_CID. Mine is(will be) a clone too.I also have a 454 from a 70's chevelle to put in it.

Thanks, guys. That really helped me. I plan on taking it down to bare metal this weekend.I actually have a high pressure washer.So i will use that.

Thanks again, Team chevelle

PS. thats a good looking car, Got_CID. Mine is(will be) a clone too.I also have a 454 from a 70's chevelle to put in it.

there were a few posts here about having the frame hot dip galvanized. I think they were saying $300-$500 to have it dipped to remove all rust, and then galvanized. A lot less time plus it gets the inside of the frame too. Then you just paint it the color of your choice.

Andy

there were a few posts here about having the frame hot dip galvanized. I think they were saying $300-$500 to have it dipped to remove all rust, and then galvanized. A lot less time plus it gets the inside of the frame too. Then you just paint it the color of your choice.

Andy

That's fine if you don't find soft spots when you get it back that need to be cut out and new metal welded back in....

That's fine if you don't find soft spots when you get it back that need to be cut out and new metal welded back in....


Gotta fix 'em anyway right?

there were a few posts here about having the frame hot dip galvanized. I think they were saying $300-$500 to have it dipped to remove all rust, and then galvanized. A lot less time plus it gets the inside of the frame too. Then you just paint it the color of your choice.

Andy

Herb has been posting about his project several times, and there should be at least two long threads on the subject if you search for it. Lots of good info there, and I'm sure Herb won't mind if you PM him. Pete Lohr is the guru when it comes to galvanizing, and you can find tons of info on his web site (http://www.einstyn.com/). I think it was acually $250 to acid dip and galvanize the frame and all the suspension parts. There's no way you can beat the price, not to mention the rust protection. I'm still just dreaming of a full resto, but that's definitely what I would go with.

That's fine if you don't find soft spots when you get it back that need to be cut out and new metal welded back in....

Yeah, if the frame is that bad, you need to just wire brush it and cover it with cheap paint. :D Seriously, the acid dipping can reveal bad spots, but you can grind the zink off and weld a patch. And if you don't acid dip, you might never notice that soft spot, and that's not necessarily a good thing...

PS. thats a good looking car, Got_CID. Mine is(will be) a clone too.I also have a 454 from a 70's chevelle to put in it.

Thanks for the compliments. Good luck with your project!

On second thought, is it possible to lift only part of the body up and paint the frame right there, and then do the same everywhere else? I mean, this is only a parade car.... Thanks again for all the advice Team Chevelle

Here are the nost recent links.

NOTHING you do to the outside of your frame will stop it from rotting from the inside out. And there's no reliable way to clean, derust and coat the inside except the one shown in the links below. Your choice, but why not do it the best and most cost effective way possible the first time.

BTW - if there are "soft spots" in your frame, removing the rotten metal is the right thing to do, no matter how it's done. The right thing to do is to remove it from INSIDE the frame too. Also; A. they're easy to find and should be repaired BEFORE treating it no matter which method of rust prevention you use; B. after galvanizing, if something needs repairing, you can still patch it. You just need to use proper precautions and methods. Having a patch or weld not gavanized is no big deal. Having the entire inside of your frame unprotected after investing several hundred $$$ in sandblasting and paint or coating, not to mention the time, may be a bit silly. But that's just an opinion. Some guys have even had their frames powdercoated after galvanizing. To me that's a bit of overkill, but I'll bet it looks nice.

http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=96218&highlight=Herb

http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=97067&highlight=Herb

the frame is in good condition.. I have been contemplating whether i should go and have it treated. I might as well, if I want it to last. Thanks a lot team chevelle!!
Levi

I paid BIG bucks to powdercoat the frame on my Corvette and I used POR15 on the Chevelle's frame. After a few years on both you would be hard pressed to see any difference.

If you use POR15 don't get any on you! It took two weeks to wear off and I had gotten some on my face! I took skin off to get it off my face and wore long sleve shirts for 2 weeks. I couldn't get all of it off my hands so even then I looked a bit weird! I wore gloves but the rough frame put tiny holes in the gloves and when I took them off I had pretty much black hands!

I used the mini foam rollers and one inch throw away bristle brushes. At first there were millions of tiny bubbles from the rollers and I thought I had just created a mess! After about 15 to 20 minutes they just disappeared.

I am still deciding what to do.. Thanks Redrum for the advice about the gloves. Thats one of those things i would probably have overlooked. lol

thanks