The Stovebolt Site Forums Welcome! Welcome Centre New Guy who doesn't know

Hi, I'm Kevin. I got a '51 3/4 ton chevy this past summer. I'm not a mechanic. It's in the garage, I have the bed off - down to the frame. Is there a better way to get rust off besides a wire brush on the end of a drill? Thanks K.

sand blasting. check your yellow pages, sometimes monument companies (headstones) provide the service.

Welcome Kevin. Your in good company. Lots of guya around here from Ilinois. I'm sure you will hook up with them along the way.
Sounds like you have a good start on your project. Keep us posted and how about some pics when you can.

Welcome to Stovebolt!wire brush worked for us!;-) Lots of work.Good luck!

Hi Kevin,firstly welcome to the 'bolt.
Certainly blasting is probably the best option,but at a price.
You also have the logistical problem of getting the chassis to the sand blasters,unless you can find someone who does 'mobile' work.
Then you've got the mess to contend with.

I,like Joy,did mine the hard way and have been pleased with the results,it's a dirty job....but someone's got to do it!

Kevin,
welcome to the Stovebolt! For removing rust from the larger areas, I use a 3M rust/paint stripper wheel on a drill. They do a great job and they won't harm sheet metal. I like using a cheap drill that has high RPM. Since it is tough work for a drill, it is another reason to use a cheap one.

If you go to any auctions, you can usually pick up used drills pretty cheap. A friend of mine picked up seven for me last fall at $2 apiece! I won't have to buy any for a long time! And best of all, I'm not tearing up my good drill!

Rich, I agree, I 'killed' my good Bosch drill pretty quick.....
The motor seemed good enough,it's just they don't like the side loads imposed on the chuck too much!

From a fellow Illinoisan, and relatively new guy, WELCOME! This site is agreat place to learn and exprience!

Sounds like I better keep going with the wire bruch. Thanks for all the suggestions. I would love to add a pic but don't seem to see how to here.

Look on the left side of this page for the image posting policy and read all about it. You have to load them on some other site like photobucket and post links here.

i've been using an angle grinder with a wire brush as well as a 3m paint removing pad.

if you dont already have an angle grinder it may come in handy on some other project as well.

welcome to the bolt

Look for sales on a good angle grinder. My Dewalt has done extremely well and taken a heck of a beating. I'm sure everone has their favorite brand as well.

Hank

Welcome to the Bolt! I agree with Hank Dewalt is hard to beat. It takes a beating but keeps on truckin! I have a 4 1/2" Dewalt and a 6" Metabo. They're great with wire brush, cutting wheels, grinding discs, abrasive pads. I also purchased a air die grinder which is excellent for those hard to reach spots using a 2 or 3 inch stripper pad. 3M makes the pads but if you do a little looking you can find them at harbor freight or tool wholesale shops at quite a savings. Have fun and wear a dust mask!

Hi, it's Kevin again. If I did it right here is a link to some pics. Note the last, my quesion is...do I need to take the frame all the way down to the "shiny metal" or just down to the 'black'? Here is the link http://pbckt.com/sZ.w1d Hope it works.

Welcome brother. I would look into chemical strippers for that as well.

Kevin, what are your plans for coating your frame? If I am going to be welding on an area I'll take it down to clean shiny metal, the mig doesn't like rust. Otherwise I use the wirebrush to clean off all the loose particals clean it and coat it with Por-15 (It likes seasoned metal the best) If you have the means sand or media blast will clean it up nicely. The path we choose is usually dictated by time, money and rescources and what we are able to do ourselves. I travel through the week with work so one the weekends I have to divide my time between family, farm chores and my truck. I have had mine a year now and slowly making progress.

Kevin, your link works fine. Nice truck BTW.
Try and remove as much,if not all the original black paint.
(It's tough stuff!)
I then used POR Metal Ready which neutralises the rust and provides a good key for the top coat and as Gmans 46 already mentions it likes 'seasoned' metal.
Here's a pic of my chassis after painting.
I brush painted and was more than happy with the results!

Looking Good Jock!

Thanks!

That's a nice looking truck! Did it run and drive when you bought it? Looks to be a great find.