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September 8, 2003
2.0 Hours


Protecting My Old Iron

I'm one of those guys who over-engineers everything I do, whether it is a remodel in my house where I use 12 gauge wire where code only calls for 16, or with my racecar where I install coolers for the transmission and differential to keep them alive longer. I want everything I build to last forever and to show whomever comes along after I'm gone that I actually cared about what I was doing. I don't want to do anything twice, so it's worth the extra 20% effort the first time because 120% is a lot less than 200% when you have to do the job twice.

Part of that philosophy is a severe aversion to rust, even on a car that may never see rain again. Though my Century is 90% rust free, it will be 100% rust free when I'm done. I plan on keeping it that way. So with that in mind, I decided that I had to cover up the bare metal on that door that I stripped and take the second step in my sheetmetal restoration and preservation experiment. The first step, you may recall, was the application of Picklex-20 over the bare metal to neutralize any rust that remained after I got done sanding. Tonight I applied the first of two coats of Zero-Rust to the inner panels of the door to seal and protect the metal against any moisture that may accumulate inside.

ZeroRustStart.jpg (54104 bytes)
Before I started applying the Zero-Rust. I used red oxide color as a first
coat, and will follow up with a black second coat so I can see any spots
I may have missed.

The most important areas to cover are the seams where two pieces of metal overlap. This is an ideal place for moisture to collect and start rusting the metal. I made double sure to hit the bottom lip of the door where the drain openings are, as well as where the outer skin is rolled around the frame. For most of the application, I used nothing more complex than a cheap paint brush. I also plan to coat the entire inner panel, as well as the inside of the door, which includes the back of the skin and the back of the inner panel. For this, I'll use a rust-proofing gun I purchased from Eastwood that can spray in all the nooks and crannies. Unfortunately, it's back-ordered until later this month. But at least I covered most of the important areas of the door to protect them.

ZeroRust2.jpg (49196 bytes)
After I finished applying Zero-Rust to as many places as I could reach
with my brush, especially the window frame, which is quite intricate.

I think if I painted the whole body this color, I could clearcoat it and
call it Sienna Rust, and nobody would argue...

Though Zero-Rust can be topcoated, I avoided painting any edges that will be highly visible once the car is painted and reassembled, including the outer skin and the latch-side door jamb. These areas will be covered with epoxy for protection, which will be more than adequate for these areas. The Zero-Rust is cured by solvent evaporation, so I'm going to give it plenty of time to dry before I start applying the second coat to eliminate the chance of trapping solvent between coats. That will probably be sometime after I get the rustproofing gun.

ZeroRust3.jpg (55106 bytes)
I didn't use the Zero-Rust on the jambs that would be visible once the
car is painted and assembled, just in case the finish isn't flawless.

And to follow up on yesterday's project, I drained the Rusteco from the defroster core to see if it had done it's job. Apparently, based on the slurry that came out, it had. There was a lot of gunk in there, as well as a lot of solid matter that the liquid flushed out. I blew it out with air, eliminating even more junk. The only bad news I found was a pinhole leak in one of the tanks. I can't even see it, but there is some slight seepage at one point that appears to have been soldered at one point in the past. I'll solder it again to try to seal it up again. But other than that, I think the core is in usable shape.

Slurry.jpg (55510 bytes)
Dig the junk that came out of the defroster core! Nasty!

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E-mail me at toolman8@sbcglobal.net

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Last modified on 02/06/2005

Thanks, Fidget!