Scrape and wire brush any grease & undercoating buildup

Sandblast it

Treat with a rust converter such as Ospho and wipe off residue with denatured alcohol just prior to powder coating.

 

I just had my frame powder coated. Had it sandblasted first then brought it home to repair one body mount hole. Brought it back to the blaster and they did a once over with the sand and then they put a zinc based primer on it before they powder coated it.

 

You need to clean it enough to weld on it for boxing and repairs. You also don’t want to put any paint on it that will mess up the welds.
When I did mine, I cleaned it enough to work on it. It was bare metal (indoors) for over a year without getting any surface rust. The powder coater also pre-baked it to remove everything else that was left, ie, all the remnants of grease and paint. I never had it sand blasted.
It’s been years and the powder coat is perfect.

 

My powder coater sandblasted mine as part of the coating job. I got it fairly cleaned up and cleaned up the welds gave it to him after frist sandblast found more bad spot, fixed and they sandblasted again. He would not poweder coat something he had not cleaned and blaster.

 

I'm about to dive into powder coating my frame as well. I put allot of effort scraping off 50 years of grease and oil from to rear top spring brace yesterday. Thinking of spraying degreaser on it today(depends how I feel later, I'm pretty sore today).

Is there a common area on the frame that welds needs to be addressed?
What kind of boxing are you going to do to your frame Upstate?

 

I have always been of the opinion that the cleaner parts are before I send them out, the happier people will be to work on MY stuff. On frames I have power washed them with one of those turbine nozzles to blow off every possible bit of old paint, grease and rust flakes and make needed repairs before going out if possible. On things like engine blocks, I usually knock 80% of the crud off before the machine shop ever sees it. I also do all of my deburring first and let the machine shop’s good washer clean out all the grinding debris.

 

What I do with frames (which is probably a little more than most):

1. remove from car
2. cut out any all bad body mount holes with a hole saw - rusted thin, rusted out, etc. (this allows blasting media to reach the inside of the frame in these areas.
3. grind off any "extra" factory weld spatter
4. I suggest visually going over the factory welds and opening the tops of them (when applicable) with a 1/16" cut-off wheel (factory welds are notorious for gas and inclusions) so as to take advantage of the blasting.
5. sandblast
6. weld in new body mount hole washers
7. rehab the factory welds - weld, grind, smooth, etc.

Any powder coater worth his salt knows full well you NEED to sandblast directly prior to powder coating for proper adhesion - as in, measured in minutes. Rust will form very rapidly on a microscopic scale given any humidity, especially if using sand. The best sandblasting media to help prevent rusting is aluminum oxide.

In my case, sandblasting is done the first time simply for the ability to clean all the crud/rust out and allow for the cleanest possible workpiece to weld on. You'd be surprised how many "uglies" it reveals; non-fused factory welds, missed factory welds, gas holes, other people's hack jobs, and even the occasional crack.

Here's a Hellwig install I did a few years back, it shows most of what I listed above: frame rehab

 

Thanks all for the input.

What I do with frames (which is probably a little more than most)

Here's a Hellwig install I did a few years back, it shows most of what I listed above: frame rehab

Outstanding work. I wish I had that level of skill. I have a decent MIG welder and can get stuff tacked enough for a pro to finish. Just because I own paint brushes doesn't make me Picasso... One day.

I still need to get the frame out into the daylight but my body mounts are solid and shouldn't need to be replaced fortunately. The C channel looks like it only needs some minor work on one side too. It will need some work around the sway bar mounts though.

Is there anything else you would have done differently?

 

I am not sure if anyone has heard about this, but CO2 blasting is much safer and does an incredible job. Just my two bits.
Cheers,

 

I am in fairly rural upstate NY and am still looking for someone who can do the work. I am not even sure if media choices are going to be a thing.

 

Unless your doing a 110% factory correct restoration, I would recommend boxing the frame. I didn’t on mine and it’s my biggest regret on my build. With upgraded suspension and tire/ wheel combo, the frame will be the weak point. I can feel it when I drive hard. These frames are noodles.

 

If boxing, I highly recommend MIG or TIG welding, not stick.

And I agree: unless it’s a restoration or something rare, I would box, especially if you’re going to 450-500hp/tq or more. It makes a noticeable improvement, and is really not that hard if you simply take your time and use some common sense.

 

hi
clean and restore frame b4 being blasted
Inspect every inch of frame and body bushing holes especially need inspecting for wear /pitting

 

Here's my 2 cents worth. I took the frame and washed it down with dish soap and rinsed it off. Use good dish soap. It cuts through grease. Not laundry detergent. Then took a spray bottle filled with mineral sprits and sprayed and wire brushed it using my drill and some various sized wire wheels. Sprayed it again with minerla sprits and brushed off anything left until I removed all grease and dirt. Then a day or so later bought some Red Oxide primer by Rustoleum and undiluted, brush painted the frame. I eventaully spray painted it with oil based gloss paint. This was done 6 years ago and to this day there is not one spot where rust has shown through. You might see a few brush strokes if you look close. You either sand blast it yourself or ship it to a shop that will charge you a thousand. Sand blasting is miserable. Especially in hot humid Florida. With a huge cloud of dust and microscopic glass particles that will damage your lungs. I actually think my method was very easy and can be done slowly over a few days. Do it in the shade. And high on the list. CHEAP but very effective.

 

How many hours did it it take for you to complete that job?
Thanks for you input.

 

What areas do you reinforce? Just the two frame rails on the sides?