What says the group- prime/ paint the frame or powdercoat the frame and suspension?
 

I took the plunge and pulled the frame off of the body. Was fortunate as the frame and body was out of Texas, so just some light surface rust. I am looking at what to do at this point. I live in Massachusetts, right on the RI border, and consider CT and NH "close"...

1. Sandblast the frame and suspension pieces- $600-$700 locally (unless any of the New England folks know of somewhere more reasonable). I then prime and paint.

2. I wire wheel/ hand sand- time, sweat equity, lungs

3. Powder coat- they will clean it all, and then coat it for a little more than option 1. However, I have heard of some horror stories of flaking/ chipping/ poor sheen...

?

Thanks!

Anything hollow should NOT be powder coated, as that will eventually fail from internal moisture.

Solid parts are fine powder coated, including those that flex.

Would ask about having a frame galvanised, thus best giving internal protection, then coated with the appropriate primer and paint.

I had mine blasted and then powder coated 20 years ago. No chips or rust on the frame. The car has not seen rain since I got it so I am not worrying about it rusting inside.

I had my frame and suspension pieces sandblasted for $300. The frame had a small crack and was repaired in my garage by a friend of a friend. I then used Eastwoods internal frame paint and primered and painted the outside 60% gloss black.

I would bring the frame home and carefully examine for cracks around the factory welds and front suspension brackets. Then primer and paint.

Here's what I did to the frame on my '55 Bel Air and am about to do the same with my '69 GTO convertible frame:

I use SPI epoxy primer. No topcoat is necessary. It's a perfect finish and sheen for a frame as-is.

I used gray for the 1st coat and black for the 2nd. It makes it easier to get the 2nd coat more even that way. SPI epoxy is a semi-gloss and I think it looks really nice on a frame and suspension parts. I use it for inner fenders as well.

Frame blasting 3/4 complete:

https://www.hotrodders.com/cdn-cgi/i...e1.108711/full

https://www.hotrodders.com/cdn-cgi/i...e3.108694/full

After first coat with SPI gray epoxy:

https://www.hotrodders.com/cdn-cgi/i...oat.70821/full

After 2nd coat with SPI black epoxy:

https://www.hotrodders.com/cdn-cgi/i...ame.61674/full

Frame, springs, A-arms and calipers are all done in black SPI epoxy:

https://www.hotrodders.com/cdn-cgi/i...rms.76296/full

https://www.hotrodders.com/cdn-cgi/i...ion.76260/full

Agree with OG68 and roger1.

I sandblasted my own frame. This allows you to see if there are any cracks or even incomplete welds. I added a couple welds to my frame that I felt should have been there, but were short and incomplete welding.

I did my frame in 3 sections to make it more manageable. My frame only had surface rust and dirt and cleaned up well and didn't take a lot of time.

I used POR-15 as my base coat. I only used a single coat, not 2. Let it dry a good week or so. Then shot a top gloss coat of Rustoleum to seal it. Let that dry out as well.

I used Eastwood's internal frame coating with its extended hose to get up into all the enclosed frame areas. I used the zinc green. The stuff is real runny like water and will drip/spray out the frame holes and of course show up on a black painted frame. But not a problem on mine my intention was to put 1 final coat of black on the frame once I had it all completed.

https://www.eastwood.com/internal-fr...lack-14oz.html

I had mine blasted for $300. Brought it home and primed and painted. If any touch up is needed in the future, your paint will match.

I think powder coating will be the most durable and long lasting choice, as long as you have it done at a place that does good work. That said, I assume the car won't be a daily driver, and will be mainly used when the weather is good - in that case, a good paint job done at home should hold up well.

The car will NOT see rain... It'll be garaged and only see nice weather.. Plus, it's a convertible...

Probably get a nicer finish if it was painted, easier to touch up if chipped or damaged. Have someone else sand blast it
and paint it yourself. Get the satisfaction of saying you did it. LOL

I elected to clean my frame up myself using an angle grinder and various attachments such as wire wheels and stripping discs, then primed and painted using Eastwood chassis paint. It was a lot of work to clean it how I did, but it came out great. Also, it was going to cost me over $2k to blast and paint, add I spent less than $300 doing it all myself.

As for paint vs. powder coating, I personally think either is fine on a car that will probably never see rain ever again, or at least very infrequently. I prefer paint for the ease of touch up.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...264e15dd4a.jpg
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...d647d045c8.jpg

Powder coat cannot be touched up or polished if chipped or scratched, closes up gaps and tolerances, can trap moisture, much overrated. Other than that, why not?

Thought you could not paint over POR unless you used their special primer?

I am in no rush so I think I will just use wire wheels and stripping discs.. Little bit here and there. Then prime and paint. Thank you for the guidance!

I have had no issues, but, I only applied one coat to protect the frame and I think it says to use a second coat. I don't know if you would have problems if you didn't use the primer, but it might be that some primers may react with the POR-15 if you use a primer, or if you use less drying time? I did not use any primer over it, just rattle can black. Still looks good today after 3 years and my car sits outside under an A-frame roof in the open air. Car is still apart, but with the body attached.

The important part is to let it dry thoroughly - which I did for a good week. The can instructions even mention about outside heat/humidity with regards to drying time. Then I did a light scuff with a greeny pad just to break the surface a little and the way it scuffed I could tell it was thoroughly dried of its solvents. I wiped it down dry, no chemicals. Then used Rustoleum black over that.

What I did learn, and many do, it that the newer paints are reformulated due to EPA requirements. I did what most do and let the Rustoleum dry a good day or so, and applied a second coat. Big mistake. It softened up the paint underneath and crazed and crinkled it in several areas. Had to rework those.

The solvents in these newer paints do not evaporate quickly, so when you put a second coat on top too early, it can crinkle or check the paint and you'll have to rework the area if it matters. If you only spray a single coat like the Rustoleum, your best bet is to let it dry for about 2 weeks before applying a second coat.

The other option that seems to work when painting my smaller parts like pulleys & brackets is to first apply a light fog-like coat just to get the surface tacky. Let it set about 5 minutes and then put your coat on like normal. Let that dry about 10 minutes, then apply a second coat, but not so heavy as to drip or run. Don't get wrapped up in trying to get that perfectly smooth glossy top surface - it always seems you get some area that looks a little dry.

I have even wet sanded and tried clear coat. Again, if you do not allow the paint to thoroughly dry, especially when you have 2 coats applied, the clear can still cause problems 2-3 weeks later and now you have a part looking worse when the parts was acceptable, but you wanted to go the "extra mile" and make it really stand out.

Rattle can painting can get tricky. The best of course would be professional automotive type paint and spray gun application. I can spray paint and used to paint cars in a body shop in my youth and have all the equipment, but the price of automotive paints isn't 1980 prices anymore. So in many instances, not trying to create a show car, the rattle can works out fine for me, its just getting a technique down on applying the crap.

Pics 1-3 are the bare frame and the POR-15 applied with a brush. The 4th pic is the frame painted with a coat of Rustoleum. You can see the Eastwood internal frame paint at the right rear spring pocket where it dripped out of the frame holes. I let everything dry several weeks as I worked on other parts of the car, and then put a final second coat of black over everything.

I did mine with POR 15 after sandblasting myself. Only issue is that it MUST be top coated or will go chalky.
I used their top coat and look great to this day. Did mine 16 years ago and it gets driven, yes even in the rain ( Just not by choice).

It seems to me there are some advantages of using SPI black epoxy primer over POR-15:
Superior adhesion to blasted steel
Doesn't need to be top coated
Can be touched up with no problem
Much easier to spray than POR-15 is.

Update: brought my frame home from the blaster. It is now bare metal... So, etch prime first or can I epoxy prime then use SPI or just lay down SPI on the bare metal?

SPI epoxy on the bare frame is what you want to do. Adhesion is the best you can get that way.

Etching primer is really a thing of the past. Epoxy primers are the way to go. Also note that epoxy primer should never be sprayed over etching primer period.