Here we go again...

[Crazyswede]

If you just want to remove the paint I have heard of people using Baking soda as the blast media. We use the Aluminum oxide to blast aircraft blades at work...removing a ceramic coating...works well and doesn't damage the surface...well it does damage it but we dont do it to any final blades.

To put things in perspective I worked on the rover today and got both front fenders off...no rust whatsoever...but they are 100% aluminum. The bulkhead aka firewall on the other hand is going to need some creative reconstruction.

[Jordan]

My desired result of getting the car blasted is to make sure the shell is clean and free of rust. I've looked at soda blasting and that does a good job of paint removal, but will not remove deep rust. It also leaves behind a residue which prohibits flash rusting, but needs to be rinsed off...If not all rust is removed and you are adding water back into the equation, it doesn't sound like a good idea to me. Plastic media is abrasive enough to get out rust and will also not damage the underlying metal if done correctly. It also leaves no residue that can't be removed with some Pre or lacquer thinner. The problem is finding a facility to do this at a reasonable cost , getting it it there and painting it quickly, praying it won't rust on the way back. The other problem is that because I have to remove the undercoating, it might be prohibitively expensive for my current budget ( I don;t think plastic media can cut through undercoating). Most places I have found charge 150-200/hour and estimated time ~ 4-6 hours. Plus the cost of getting in there since I don't own a trailer or truck.

I've been reading a lot on hot-rodder forums and it seems like most of them use several applications of phosphoric acid and wire wheel to remove all of the underlying rust. If it is really bad the only choice is to obviously cut the area out , which I'm prepared to do. Some sort of sealer should be applied afterwards also. New epoxy primers contain etching agents for adhesion and zinc trace. They also seal the area from oxygen prohibiting rust even if traces are left. Following that by some high build primer and then an epoxy top coat I think that should leave the underlying metal pretty well protected.

It is a tough decision since it is obviously a lot of work going into this project and you want to shoot yourself in the foot by trying to save a couple of bucks. Blasting seemed to be ideal at first, but there is going to be so much work that has to be done afterwards it seems not worth the cost since the end result of a clean shell is not really what I'm going to get.

[Jordan]

Here are some pics I took of the damage:

Passenger rear wheel well


Passenger Floor



Drivers Floor





Rear Quarter below window



Passenger Fender




Drivers Fender



Roof



Drivers Rear wheel well from underneath


Passenger Rear




Sigh

[Crazyswede]

Airsweden has access to a clean 72 or 71 99 shell that I was pursuing at one point in time but have since decided to not pursue. If I were you I'd ask him about that and just start with a clean shell instead of having to fix all that nasty stuff. Holes in the floors are not so bad but the wheel arches and roof are going to be a bitch.

Some shots of the 71:

[Jordan]

Thanks, but I think that a known problem is better than starting all over for the unknown. I'm not ready to give up on this car just yet. Its sort of a pain and more work than I was planning , but not impossible with some help. The roof probably won't be too bad since the gasket covers most of the repair, the surface can be resolved with a little filler. The fenders I'll do my best and/or get some rally flares to cover as long as I can seal the fender back up properly.

I've been doing a ton a research (yes, books too) and it seems like if I can be meticulous enough with some phosphoric acid and a wire brush then seal the thing up with epoxy primer followed by seam sealer in the tough areas I should be able to ward off any future rust issues. Either SPI or Kirker Epoxy seemed to have high praise are not egregiously expensive. SPI (Southern Polyurethanes Inc) and maybe Kirker have self etching properties for rust inhibition and adhesion The epoxy will also seal out any moisture/oxygen to stop any trace remains of rust, the end result after acid treatments is not to leave any anyway. It is also now acceptable to put filler over epoxy leaving that moisture barrier intact. Finally , sealing again with epoxy will make it ready for top coat which I plan to outsource.

[Luke]

Its amazing how a seemingly solid car can hide rust under the paint. Your car, my 74 and Per's car all had similar issues.
I still like the idea of blasting, the place near me will use different media for different parts of the car... they will use sand for heavily pitted area and the underbody and use plastic for the body panels.
You'll be able to get good results with chemical stripping, spot blasting and acid, but its just a tremendous amount of time and labor.

I used the Kirker epoxy on the new rally car, awesome stuff.

[Jordan]

I like the idea of blasting too, it just hasn't worked out for me in reality. I found another media blasting facility that is a possibility, I'll give them a ring tomorrow to get a time/cost estimate.

BTW, for our color experts, it is better to use white or grey primer for orange? Interior is going to be urethane'd black or dark gray. Exterior is sunset orange.

[DeLorean]

Looks like you have your work cut out for you... Get to it! There is a 99 near New-hope, PA I am tempted to pick up, and though it appears really solid, it has been used as a winter car for the past several years... Runs and drives great, though I suspect that once some poking around was done it might reveal similar rust to what yours has going on. IMO, more trouble than I care to get into if I can avoid it.


I think people up here need to go down south to get 99's. These N-E cars require too much "no-fun" type repairs

[Luke]

Looks like you have your work cut out for you... Get to it! There is a 99 near New-hope, PA I am tempted to pick up, and though it appears really solid, it has been used as a winter car for the past several years... Runs and drives great, though I suspect that once some poking around was done it might reveal similar rust to what yours has going on. IMO, more trouble than I care to get into if I can avoid it.

That thing near me is beyond gone, much much worse than Jordans car.

[DeLorean]

The $500 one at Mosiers place? Just making sure this is the same one. I would call it pretty rough, though compared to my 78 99 turbo, it's pretty solid...

This is if we are even talking about the same car that is...

[Jordan]

The $500 one at Mosiers place? Just making sure this is the same one. I would call it pretty rough, though compared to my 78 99 turbo, it's pretty solid...

This is if we are even talking about the same car that is...

I think Luke showed me that car, once you look fairly close without even poking it , its pretty bad. It is repairable, but only if you are a serious masochist, or expert bodyman. My car is not nearly that bad and I've got my work cut out for me (like you said).

[Jordan]

I think people up here need to go down south to get 99's. These N-E cars require too much "no-fun" type repairs .

Oh my car is actually a west coast car. But it has 2 things against it.

1. It's a Belgian car.
2. The previous owners crappy "restoration".

[max]

Damn belgians and their....waffles, and rusty Saabs.

[Crazyswede]

The problem with the Belgian cars was that they did something silly like prime the shells and then shipped them over to Sweden for final assembly and paint....or something along those lines.

[Jordan]

They used iron phosphate instead of zinc phosphate for dipping...that makes sense to me. I don't buy the sea water explanation.

Basically it gives the cars like zero corrosion protection once the top coat is infiltrated. My car was driven in one winter and then sat in the driveway and then the garage for a couple of months. On the other hand Luke's '74 sat in a field for 12 years and held up much better in comparison.