I am debating how to finish the chassis of my restoration. 50% of the metal will be new. The rest of the unseen stuff will get a quick sandblasting, but probably only enough to remove the loose stuff, as I can't stand sand blasting. There will be some lite rust left. I'm talking about the area under the top of the quarters, underneath the trunk lid frame, inner wheel wells, under the roof, etc.

Most of the bottom of the car will be new.

Now, should I spray the original metal areas with a rust converter, then a do the whole car with a epoxy primer, or should I use a rust encapsulator like Por 15 or the Eastwood stuff? Should I do the whole underside with it or just the old metal?

What have you guys had luck with? I plan on keeping this car forever and I don't want to restore it again.

Mike

 

I would lay down rust encapsulator, then undercoat it. I did this on a 66 we're workin on and it turned out great.

 

Me, too.

 

I'm a fan of Ospho. Its a phosphoric acid product that converts iron oxide (rust) to inert iron phosphate.

 

Doesn't that, in some ways, work like an encapsulator? Ospho will convert the top layer of the rust to an inert material which accepts paint. The rust still exists underneath, encapsulated by the inert layer and the paint. The advantage with Ospho is paintability. POR-15 is a difficult base to paint over. I think either would be fine.

 

Basically, thats what the encapsulator does, it neutralizes the rust, stopping it from spreading and causing more damage.