finally, after three months of not doing anything, i have a free week to work on the car...
but i presently have a dilemma which is what do i do?
the top thing in the priority list is to paint the chassis so it wont keep on rusting as it is covered outside in my terrace.
but in order to paint it, i must finish the welding on it... and so, as i dont have the rear axle yet (waiting on d**** at G**) i can't weld the
brackets, and so i can't paint the bloody thing...
i have this week to do whatever it is necessary to prepare the chassis for another 3-5 months of not doing anything... and i'm getting antsy
since the really bad months are coming (rain, more rain, cold, maybe snow)
any opinions/thoughts?
thanks
Get a good layer of primer on it, You can always sand it back to weld it
I agree. As you are painting it rather than powder coating, it will be a lot less work to sand back, weld and repaint rather than ending up with a huge de-rusting job.
Why not paint it but leave bare patches where you still need to weld, that way at least most of it doesn't go rusty - primer won't stop rust as it is porous to water!
just give it a coat of anti-rust paint, thats waht i have done
you can weld the brackets on the chassis if you know the hole spacing.
Isnt there some weld through primer about??
Id paint it with red oxide or something and grind off to weld.
quote:
Originally posted by Peteff
you can weld the brackets on the chassis if you know the hole spacing.
Hi,
Just to be different, I wouldn't paint it unless you intend to sand off the existing surface rust, prime it properly and then seal it with some
sort of water proof top coat.
If you are going to do this then I'd recommend a quick drying brush on etch primer followed by Dulux weathershield black gloss. There is also a
good top coat from the "POR" range (POR15 is it?) - Plenty of info on the site here anyway.
Nothing wrong with painting it all and grinding back future weld sites although ideally don't paint the weld sites but paint up close to them
leaving a 1" gap. The primer and top coat will scorch a bit but you can scrub this with a wire brush, sand and repaint easily after welding.
In short - either paint it properly or don't bother and just accept that it will need sandblasted later if you don't paint it now.
That's my tuppence worth...
Cheers,
Craig.
ps. Don't both with the weld-through primer - I tried it and it just causes messy welds and lots of smoke. Your milage may vary of course.
quote:
Originally posted by CaLviNx
Hi
It shouldn't matter if your using a de-dion OR live axle you should be able to use the book measurements for the brackets on the chassis, no matter what axle setup your using, so you can do it even if you want to blame someone else for it.
paint it. the amount of point you'll have to remove later for any welding, planned and unplanned is not going be that huge is it? Better do it now before the rust gets a hold.
quote:
Originally posted by robertst
really? i mean the position of the brackets depends much on the measurements of the rear axle (if the gts de dion uses book sizes then fine)
quote:
Originally posted by MikeRJ
quote:
Originally posted by robertst
really? i mean the position of the brackets depends much on the measurements of the rear axle (if the gts de dion uses book sizes then fine)
The GTS de-dion does use book dimensions for the trailing arms. However, I personaly would wait until you have the axle before welding the brackets on, this gives you the ability to perfectly match the position of the brackets on each side so the axle isn't under any torsion when you assemble it. You can't guarantee this without the axle.