Full Frontal

[gregski]

Are you tired of this stupid car yet? Yeah it's me again, another month another project phase. Last time I force fed you some pictures, we were shooting primer on the car. Now four months later it's time to address the front end, front clip, engine bay, what ever you wanna call it. Yes this is a sister thread to the "1968 289 H2O" but I want to keep them separate, that one is mechanical and this one will be more on beautification and aesthetics. Divide and conquer baby, divide and conquer.

This will deal with rust removal, prep, and finally painting with a focus on product evaluation. I will be trying POR15, Metal Rescue, and maybe even dab with powder coating.

I will not be fixing or replacing the brakes, (I will not be explaining the difference between brakes and breaks, but I reserve the right to use it inappropriately now and then, lol) I will not be fixing or replacing the suspension, and I will not be fixing or replacing the steering, IN THIS PHASE.

OK, what the he11 will you be doing then, drinking beer? First having a blast, doing stuff with my hands, using power tools, learning how a car is put together. I will be painting all sheet metal semi gloss black, and most brackets and pulleys gloss black, some brackets will receive silver paint for additional contrast, ie, tie rods, anti-sway bars, strut rods, etc.

But I am here to ask questions too and hear your advice, I know some of you may not agree with my choice of color, so focus on the durability of the product or it's effectiveness in rust removal, etc, or just hang out for the jokes.

 

[65fastbackresto]

I have some advice.

DO NOT GET POR15 ON YOUR HANDS!!!! You WILL wear it for weeks I promise.

But seriously, POR15 is top notch stuff, used correctly with the metal ready product they sell, it will stop rust in its tracks. I`ve done alot of it on my car, and everywhere its been applied so far the rust has stopped advancing. Dont be afraid to use a paint brush to put this stuff on either, it smooths out like you sprayed it, very user freindly product.

 

[mustangmutt]

+1 on the POR15. Their floor pan kit is good if you have small holes no larger than a Penney and don't want to cut and weld.

 

[gregski]

In the Beginning...

God created Mustangs, and then she created rust...

 

[gregski]

Back To The Future

some time later...

... dude that looks almost the same, yes but if you squint just right you can see that now the cowl vent area is primed, one drum is almost rust free, and what would be the wheel wells are clean(er) so it's time to do the front

 

[skywalker]

the roof under my vinyl top is POR15'd...I didn't do it but I can't see that roof ever rusting again.

 

[65fastbackresto]

Oh this reminds me...

I learned this one the hard way. Always wear quality dust mask when your grinding on rust, it will make you sick as hell if you inhale it...

 

[skywalker]

I learned this one the hard way. Always wear quality dust mask when your grinding on rust, it will make you sick as hell if you inhale it...

Metal toxicity is no joke...everyone should take this to heart.

 

[gregski]

Catch up

A family of tomatoes are walking through the mall, when the youngest daughter gets distracted and falls a little behind, the dad luckily turns around and sees her from the corner of his eye, "Ketchup" he hollers!

and so I need to catch you up on the work that has been already completed

 

[gregski]

It All Starts Here

Standard operating procedure, I "allow" myself $100 bucks every month to spend on the car. If I ever spend more it's because I saved it from the month before or I robbed one of my kids piggy banks, (hey I told them a million times deposit that into your Roth IRAs, but do they listen, no)

 

[horseballz]

Bro,
You don't have much REAL rust, you have all or mostly surface rust. Time to: A.Finally yank that boat anchor (uhh.. engine) from the the car, so that you can get to stuff
B>Go get a spring compressor loaner (try to make sure it's a new one) from Auto Zombie and dismantle that front suspension. It might be a good idea to test all the front end parts before/during disassembly, we can explain how. You may find that some of it's in better shape than expected.
Good Luck, have Fun & Drink 2 Beers In My Name,
Gene

 

[gregski]

Time to: A.Finally yank that boat anchor (uhh.. engine) from the the car, so that you can get to stuff

Gene

Hey Gene, the engine or what's left of it (if you've been following the sister post 1968 289 H2O) is coming out this weekend how should I yank it?

A. Together with the transmission

B. Separate from transmission, pull engine out first by itself

 

[gregski]

It's Not Rocket Science

All you need is some safety and basic tools, angle grinder although an electric drill with a brush attachment will suffice. A pair of gloves and of course eye protection because THE WIRE BRISTLES GO FLYING EVERYWHERE, I was using either goggles or a full face shield.

Note: The Tennessee Chrome on the angle grinder is strictly optional, lol.

 

[gregski]

This is how it starts, inch by inch by inch

slow and steady wins the race, actually this stuff moves pretty quickly, I like this project way better than the last one, ie priming the entire car because this project gives you instant gratification, I started the day with a rusty radiator support and by nightfall it was semi gloss black (two coats mind you)...

The goal was to remove the rust and not to strip everything to bare metal. So if I ran the wire brush past the painted parts and the old paint would not come off easily I just moved on. However when I came across a rusted surface, that rust was coming off, you better believe it.

 

[65fastbackresto]

You might want to cover all the pretty bare steel

and quick, it`ll start to haze on you in one humid day or so.

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

and quick, it`ll start to haze on you in one humid day or so.

He's not living in the south like us. Then again I don't know, maybe Sacremento Ca. has the same "ocean in the air" humidity that we have.

I know what you mean though. I had bare metal parts sitting for months during winter stay clean,...that is until I lifted the garage door the first humid day this spring.

 

[gregski]

and quick, it`ll start to haze on you in one humid day or so.

what's humidity?, it's dry as a bone here in sunny Sacramento California, USA, Earth, I can leave the metal bare for weeks, I won't do it but I know I can, LOL

 

[gregski]

Moving Right Along

So 2 or 4 hours later by lunch time anyways the surface was rust free and ready for paint. That's because I did fart around and work on the passenger wheel well a little too. So I will be painting the front sheet metal and the top of the fender aprons only as this is the first go at it.

Notice I removed the hood latch middle bracket and the two small side brackets I don't know what they are called, I think the fender extensions bolt up to them. These will be painted later.

So why go through all that work if the POR15 process claims to paint right over rust, I don't know, it's just how I roll, it wouldn't seem right to me, it would be like sweeping things under the carpet, know what I mean?

I picked up the products: Marine Clean, Prep & Ready, and the star of the show, POR15 Rust Preventive Paint.

Couple initial observations, this stuff was expensive, $106 bucks for all three products. The guys at the store said I really didn't need the Clean or the Prep just the paint, but I didn't think it would be fair to evaluate a product and critique it and not follow the Tech Sheet, so I bought them all.

Note: I did vacuum the garage floor before starting the painting process, but I already took this first pic.

 

[gregski]

Marine Clean

Marine Clean is the first product you use in the three step process. This is nothing more than Wax and Grease remover. However it is water based. This surprised the heck out of me, and I should have bought the quart instead of the gallon, since a little goes a long way. They recommend you dilute it at least 1:1, which is what I did. They recommend hot water, so I used steaming hot water. I thought water based means crap, but it worked I used a brush to applicate it and later cold water and paper towels to wash it off.

I like using paper towels because I go until the paper towels come off clean. So I take a new paper towel soak it in water then wipe off a surface. Then I toss the paper towel, I NEVER dip it in my clean bucket of water again, that way I do not contaminate it. I may go through a lot of paper towels, but I don't care, I don't want to do this job twice.

The folks at the store told me this product is optional, I do not have to buy it. I respect that type of advice especially coming from the store employee rather than always trying to up sell you on stuff, you know the type. However I spent the extra $21 bucks to get it so that I can follow the manufacturers Tech Sheet and do it right, otherwise how can I criticize their product if it doesn't work.

Some of these products you can NOT put into metal containers, so I went to Home Depot to pick up some disposable .66 cent plastic cups and cheap .99 cent one inch brushes. I labeled the cups and the brushes so I wouldn't mix them up. (38 going on 83, I'm just sayin')

RESULT: The product cleans, it works, but I'm sure your PPG DX330 Wax and Grease remover would do the same thing.

 

[68GT500KR_Vert]

You should atleast add front discs and a dual master cylinder. You could put up some disc brakes and master on ebay for almost nothing. I wouldn't want to drive around with old drum brakes.