body and interior Painting a front subframe - can I do at home with spray cans.

[72_02]

Excuse my ignorance here..
 

I have a '72 which I want to restore. Ideally no cutting corners, I would love it to last!

 

This weekend I plan to drop the front subframe (doing the wood over the strut method to hold engine) to install new rods, bushings, balljoints, discs etc, as my plan is underbody / mechanical, brakes/suspension, then bodywork, and finally the interior.

 

I wanted to know if I should be dropping the frame off at a powder coaters to have re-done? It's got a little surface rust, nothing major. Is this worth while? Should I just sand back to metal, prime and paint myself? (Or, does anyone know from experience a rough cost to have done?).

 

I can do most things but not body work. I am yet to learn. Figured it'd be worth a shot. Is there any specific paints or methods to do so? I also don't have a spray gun. But I'd love a shiny new subframe! So far I've looked into just wire brush on a drill, that red anti rust primer, not sure what to do next.. 

 

 

Sorry if this has been posted but I couldn't find much info. Thanks. 

 

 

 

[Tommy]

Have it sandblasted and powder coated or epoxy painted. Before that you should consider reinforcing the left motor mount unless that's done before. More information using search if you're not familiar with the "weak spot". 

Spray can stuff is so thin that if you spray 20 coats it's still not going to be very durable. Also the subframe is very difficult to clean well by manual methods because of complicated shapes. 

 

[72_02]

Thanks a bunch Tommy! Will have it done in that case. Cheers, Chris.

[2002Scoob]

I 2nd the above- After years of driving, oil seepage, etc, it's an absolutely pain in the ass to clean and remove all that gunk. It really needs to be steamed, media blasted, and then I'd go with a powdercoat or POR 15 treatment. 

[dasfrogger]

I recently spent a long time cleaning my front subframe up DIY style and was happy with the results. While it would be preferable to have it sandblasted and powder coated, if that's just not feasible you've got to do what you've got to do. The key to any paint job is the prep, so make sure to be extra diligent in getting the subframe ready for paint. 

 

My formula was:

Brush as much of the grime off with a harbor freight brush as possible.

Douse surface with zep purple degreaser (home depot) and let soak for a few minutes

pressure wash as clean as you can get it.

Inspect to see what you missed, repeat, but set the subframe at a different angle each time.

 

It took me about an hour, and i was pretty happy with the results. I let it dry, then hit it with compressed air then a heat gun to make sure it was all dry. Make sure to hit the rusty spots with a metal bristle brush and then some etching primer or the por 15 system.

 

then you can paint it - lots of coats with a regular spray can, or ideally order one or two of the small POR 15 cans. You can even get one of those aerosol sprayers where you can add your own paint (home depot/o'reilley/etc) and spray the por 15 that way for the hard to reach areas.

 

Good luck!

 

['76mintgrün'02]

If you do spray POR-15, they sell special thinner for that purpose... and be sure to follow all their steps for prep.

 

I too did the hand cleaning method on a dirty old rear sub-frame.  I like to start with homemade plastic scrapers, cut into useful shapes, with straight edges and various round ones.  That lifts off the bulk of it, before getting into chemicals.  I love my pressure washer, but hate to blast that crap into my yard, so scrapers and brushes it is.

 

The rear sub-frame I cleaned up was covered in welding spatter.  Little BBs all around the welds.  I highly recommend shaving them off with a sharp cold chisel, or the like.  You cannot possibly get all the crud out from under them and they look like crap under the new paint.  

 

Another thing I like to do is to lightly break all the sharp edges, because paint does not like to stick to them.  The parts were simply stamped out, bent and welded on.  There is much room for improvement, if you are so inclined.  I know it does not 'show' in the end, but I could not help myself.  Fussing is fun.

 

Tom

[scabzzzz]

I second the DIY method. Unless you've got a mint Tii that could be considered for shows, or if you're just that OCD, or just have too much cash, then DIY method is good enough in my eyes. Spend that extra loot on good body prep and paint. Or a nicer steering wheel. Just my opinion though.

[harold]

I took mine to a powder coater.  I pressure washed all the parts first.   For the subframe, control arms, struts, and brake backing plates (and a few other small associated parts) it cost me $380.  They blast everything to bare metal and coat them.  It really looks good.   I did reinforce the LH engine mount first, and also had to straighten and repair the tow hooks and control arms. 

[2002Scoob]

Honestly, that's not a bad price at all. To do it yourself with POR15 you're over likely well over 100 just in epoxy/prep materials. Let alone the time it would take to clean and strip everything on your own.

[TobyB]

Do reinforce the engine mount.

 

The problem with DIY spray paint is that it's brittle, and the subframe gets pelted with rocks pretty regularly,

so the paint starts to chip.  

 

But that's what I do (rattlecan), when I bother to do anything to it at all.  We just don't live in an aggressive enough climate for it to matter, here.

It's just a subframe, after all- it's biggest fear is curbs, not rust.

Now the BACK one, that can rust through from the inside out..,

 

t

 

 

 

[FrictionTape]

I had mine professionally blasted and primed, then I painted it myself using a paint gun using Eastwood Chassis Black.   Feel like it came out pretty decent.

[gregpark]

I've been experimenting with "FlexSeal" for this sort of protection. For a seemingly cheesy late night TV ad rattle can product I can't seem to find any draw backs so far. It adheres like a mother, is flexible and really tough. It's cheap and home depot carries it. One coat seems sufficient and the appearance is like a mild bed liner finish. Much cheaper than bed liner however. So far it's seems like great stuff

[72_02]

Cheers for all the comments. Bloody amazing!

 

Going to see how much I can clean this up myself on the weekend before taking it in. DIY sounds alright to me. Wish it was a show car but it's definitely just a Sunday hack and I can spend the cash on new panels. It's a tight budget!

[bento]

15 hours ago, 72_02 said:

Cheers for all the comments. Bloody amazing!

 

Going to see how much I can clean this up myself on the weekend before taking it in. DIY sounds alright to me. Wish it was a show car but it's definitely just a Sunday hack and I can spend the cash on new panels. It's a tight budget!

 

Around here, the self service coin op car washes have an engine degreaser option on the pressure washer wand. Maybe pay one a visit late at night and hose down the subframe?

 

I found a powder coating shop that did regular batches of large parts in gloss black for an industrial customer. They were willing to throw my subframe, along with a few smaller parts I had, in with one of those batches and they just charged me their minimum fee of $150 or so for it. 

[fjord-tii]

I used Eastman Chassis Black. Looks good initially but suffers from chips and scratches quite easily, though easily repaired. I used to like powder coat until I bought a used trailer coated with that. Where ever rocks chip it, rust forms and grows underneath the coating and causes it to peel off.

 

I would get a catalyzed (2K) primer and single-stage paint from Summit Racing or a local auto paint store. If you thin it enough, you can even use a roller or paint brush if a spray rig is not available--buy appropriate reducer (thinner) when buying the paint. Next option would be POR15, also properly thinned, IMHO. As said before: prep, prep, prep. Needs to be degreased 1000%.

Edited June 9, 2016 by fjord-tii