The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Replacement Panel Prep

Hey Everybody,

Got a quick question. Working on the Gray Ghost (1953 3100) and am prepping the driver side inner and outer cowl panels. Since this is a later model AD truck, there is no vent on the driver side and consequently, there is no access to the inside of those panels once they are welded in place. So, now's the time to protect that new metal! My question: is primer and paint enough or is there something else that I could/should do? Once it's welded, it's all over but the crying.... Suggestions? TIA!

The welding in process will compromise part of whatever you put on the inside beforehand, you might just prime/paint the areas that won’t be welded on, or….
In the British car world Waxoyl has been the go to product forever, after welding pop small holes as needed from the interior to introduce in the product.

Chuck

I would definitely epoxy primer before welding together. Although it wasn't done at the factory, and lasted (mostly) 70 years without anything on the interior of the parts.

Chuck's suggestion is a potential solution to future rust, although even without that, it'll likely last your lifetime.

So...I may have jumped the shark, this time.... I've actually already primed and painted the inside areas that won't be welded. I'm assuming that applying epoxy primer over that primer and paint wouldn't work. So I either grind it off and use the epoxy or roll with basic primer and paint. I'd never heard of the waxoyl product and looked it up. Turns out there are kits for enclosed areas like I'm dealing with. A little pricey, but designed for my application. Accessing the area through the hinge pockets would be super easy! I am wondering if the wax ultimately migrates through the seams and weep hole? If so, do you have to reapply the waxoyl periodically to maintain the protection? I'm still a couple of days away from permanently mounting the panels, so any other suggestions are still welcome! Thanks, everyone!

I do not know how it will work in the long run but I coated the areas that were going to be welded with weld through primer. I figured that it would protect the areas that are not actually welded.

For several other areas that can not be accessed I have used an Eastman product that is marketed for the inside of frame box sections. It comes with a long flexible tube and multi-direction spray nozzle. The product is pretty thin and seeps out of every crack and crevice. I had not thought about using it in the cowl area but it may not be a bad idea.

WI,

I use the weld thru primer where the actual welds go. I haven't gotten that far in the panel prep yet, but I'll grind off the EDP that comes on the replacement parts, coat that area with the weld through primer, then mark and drill the holes for the plug welds. My hope is that the weld through primer won't completely burn away and offer some protection surrounding the weld site. I use the SEM Copperweld and am pleased with how it works. OBTW, you have to coat both pieces that will be welded, per the manufacturer. Marking and drilling first also works. I'll look into that product for the cavity.

You could use Robert's (MPandC) method for doing plug welds. He uses epoxy primer on both parts, the drills holes for plug welding in one panel, clamps the panels together, then uses a drill bit ground flat on the tip thru the holes to take the primer off the non-drilled panel. MIG welding needs clean metal, and the burn-off of the epoxy is minimized.

Cool video and process!