The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop '58 Apache chassis prep for painting

There seems to be a lot of questions regarding painting, so I'll throw mine out there, too. After getting my chassis blasted and primed for the second time, about 10 years ago, I believe the blaster primed it with some Rustoleum looking red primer. I recently removed all the running gear, and anything else that I could get off the chassis. My question is: " should I take the entire chassis down to bare metal or scuff the parts already primed and just blast the areas not blasted before". I plan to paint the chassis and running gear with POR15. I've read that would be a good choice for chassis paint. Can I use the POR15 for the leaf springs, axles, hubs, etc.? By the way, the chassis is all accessible. It is currently sitting on jack stands, outside, but covered. Slowly working on a frame-off restoration.

Thanks 'Bolters' for your wisdom.

John

Update on the paint used on my frame following the last sandblasting:

Sherwin Williams Kem Kromic, Modified Alkyd. Blaster stated, "Can top coat with any paint. Pressure wash gently prior to painting."

Yes you can use the POR15 on springs,hubs axle housing ect. NO problem. I used it on all my underbody stuff. I like it. Follow directions on can, use OLD clothes and an old pair of gloves or rubber gloves. The stuff is TUFF. Proper ventilation is critical, not for the chassis but for YOU.

...if you take your springs apart you may want to consider the poly liners between the leafs.

"... Pressure wash gently prior to painting.", is what bothers me.

If pressure washing with any reasonable force blows the paint off, I would question the primer adhesion to the frame. You can check it by sanding down to metal to test it. If the primer appears to flake off the metal when sanded/feathered down thin, I'd take a closer look at much of the old primer work. The blasting should have provided a good surface to paint over so it shouldn't be a problem, but strange things have happened.

POR15 is very durable and even likes a little rust, but requires a top coat if exposed to UV. The instructions are pretty clear on that.

Alvin,

I'm not familiar with the poly liners you refer to. Are these a thin sheet made to lie along the length of the leafs that provides some means for them to move with the leaf on top of and underneath a leaf?