The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop What is black

I saw it some where on here the other day and was wandering where. If any one can help that would be great. What is supposed to be black on a AD truck? IE.. frame? brake drums? what else?

Kenny Broomfield

Kenny, Not much else. Axles, backing plates,steering parts, driveshaft,tranny, springs, left the factory bare metal.
The question may be, do you want it bare metal so it can rust just like it did originally or coat it with something so you don't have to look at rusty parts.
I realize some guys are stuck on original, but I prefer to look at paint not rust.
I also think the factory would have painted stuff if they were not so concerned with producing something as cheap as possible which is why I paint what they forgot to paint.
I don't intend on entering my truck into national competition for originality so if someone says those parts on my truck were not factory painted, I say ya your right, and they're not rusty either.
Do what trips your trigger, have fun with it, it's your truck.

Dan

If I left them bare metal is there something that I could put on them so they would not rust? Can you clear coat plain metal?

Kenny Broomfield

I use a Loctite product called "Extend Rust Converter (Neutralizer) "

Do you sandblast first than this or what? I have never used this product or heard of it. Will it leave the metal "clean" looking?

Kenny Broomfield

Ken - a rust converter is for use over surface rust, any scale or loose flakey bits should be cleaned off first, but blasting might not be necessary, and if done, converting isn't needed .... converts the iron oxide [rust] to something stable and well bonded to the metal - leaves any rust area black, doesn't change the texture, so pitting still looks like pitting but the rust is gone and the metal's protected

Bill

So are you guys saying that if you had a 100% correct AD truck in 5 years you would have thick rust on the non black parts? What would someone that wanted a clean nice truck do to keep the non black parts looking nice?

Kenny Broomfield

Bill, I love your bus and have always wanted to do a project like that. Maybe after I finish my Chevy oh and find one.

Kenny Broomfield

I've been driving a '58 every day in any weather for 15 years [coastal BC, think lots of wet roads, snow and road salt] - it had no paint on the trans, driveshaft, frame, springs, rear end or brake drums from the factory or when I got it, and it still doesn't .... there is no "thick rust" on any of that, there's surface rust on most of the undercarriage, and I'd expect it to be about the same after another 50 years - where real corrosion happens is where water gets trapped, under the paint or between riveted members or in pinch welds .... gonna take all the frame cross members off and paint the pieces before re-assembly? how about the rivets?

if you want to have a show truck, paint it up - but keep it clean and dry or be ready to repaint everything regularly not too many folks be crawling under your truck to check the paint

you should be able to find an old Flx down there, lots built, every bus company on the continent had'em [probably your local] .... with unpainted undercarriages no less the only place corrosion on the Clippers was a problem was the spring mounts, which are open top 'boxes' with no drainage, I dug about 2" of stuff out of them, fortunately it was such fine silty stuff it was packed enough to keep oxygen out, wasn't hard to cleanup, then I used some good rustproofer in those - go another 60 years easy

Bill

And I would like to add that nice and even surface rust looks quite nice, it certainly does not look "dirty", bits of rust will not fly away as you drive! Go for the clean rust!

Thanks to all. I would like to make my truck as nice and as original as I can. I would like to have a show winning original looking truck so I will leave my metal clean and not painted.

Kenny Broomfield