I am in the process of acquiring a ‘55 F250, and beginning to think about doing a full restore on it. Since I’ve never done this before, I’ve been doing lots of reading on this site and trying to absorb as much info as I can.
One question I have is about how best to restore and preserve the frame and its components. Do you recommend powder coating the frame, or something else? Is there a good, long lasting robust frame paint a guy can use that will protect it from rust and abrasion for a long time? I’m thinking there should be an epoxy product out there for this?
I would be very interested in what some of you have used, and why, and if the results met or did not meet your expectations.
Lastly, how far do you go with the paint? Do you use the same treatment on the axles, springs, drivelines, etc?
Thank you for your help. Would love to see pics of what you have done on your frames!

 

i pressure wash, then coat with ospho once dry and properly treated, the metal will be a flat black color. then prime with rustolium red oxide primer cut 40% acetone, and finish with rustolium industrial black paint cut 40% with acetone.
there are trucks i have painted the frame this way still on the road looking great 25 years now.

 

Me, after a good cleaning I went over any residual surface rust, that is all there was, all coated with Corroseal. Then Eastwoods Extreme Primer followed by their Extreme Chassis Black. Done in 2010 and still Ok. Today, since I am a firm believer in overkill, I would use the rust inhibitor primer I use on decks of the USS Hornet. Works fabulous. Then coat with an extremely expensive color coat that my paint chemist volunteer formulated so it can last a decade or more on a ship in salt water. The three gallons retails for $1000 but the plant gives it to me for $400. But, hey, that is overkill...

 

I am going to use this product in the next few weeks...https://nomorerust.com/store/home/14...assis-kit.html _ Tony.

 

There are a lots of processes and products on the market. I read a few years ago there were now over 600 products marketed to automotive frame coatings…

Epoxy paint and polyurethane is probably the oldest solution, and I’ve done that on steel tubing frames, works well. But those were not exposed to the elements that automotive is, such as road salts.

Rustoleum products have gone through many changes over the past 20+ years. I experimented with it 3 years ago on the bottom of a box, and left it outdoors. It is not holding up, deteriorating, and simply failing. Rustoleum of 30 years ago which I used quite a bit on large steel jigs and fixtures that live outside, still look decent to this day. Personally, I did not have success with the new rustoleum, I have read many online posts with the same results once exposed to the elements. It’s just not the same product anymore.

For my ‘96, I did a lot of reading and research, spoke to members on here, spoke to many people in the industry, and decided to use Mastercoat, top coated with a urethane enamel. The vast amount of coating options was overwhelming.

That was two plus years ago, and it is holding up well. It cures rock hard. Top coat it while tacky but transfer free (if you touch it, it is still tacky, but will not transfer to your skin/glove). That seems to produce the best adhesion. I would error on the side of wet, rather than cured for top coating. The manufacturer says you can brush it, but it is very thick and dries quickly in warm humid weather. I did that, it was nothing but brush strokes, looked terrible, and generally a mess. I ended up sanding the frame down, and sprayed it.

Once cured it is some of the toughest coating systems I’ve seen. (I ran a large aircraft heavy maintenance and refinishing shop for 17 yrs, and worked in it for many before). I have seen many different types of coatings, I am still impressed with it.

I used the same materials for the drive train. Axles etc.

As with any paint process, prep is more important than the product you use. It must be 100% clean, and if required pre-treated with what ever the product manufacturer recommends.

Most coatings adhere to a rougher surface better. Such as sand / bead blasted. If you use the master coat, it does set up quickly in humidity, best to pick a low humidity day to work with it.

Good luck, always rewarding when it is finished, looking good, and you can stand back and know you did it yourself.

 

Did you spray the Mastercoat or their top coat? I plan to pressure wash, sand blast, use their pre-clean, master coat primer, and their top coat. _Tony.

 

I’ve used it both ways several times now, spray and brushing on small parts. For a large area, such as frame I’d highly recommend thinning and spraying. For small brackets and such, brushing worked fine rather than setting up for one small spray.

If your aim is a trophy winning trialered restoration, I’d recommend only spraying, brushing will leave brush marks.

Personally I prefer cleaning / prep with (virgin) Lacquer thinner or MEK. Both of which require respirators depending on where you are working, or ventilation.

Im not familiar with the Mastercoat pre clean - Prep is a whole other topic.

 

I'm also a big fan of undercoating frames and undersides of my vehicles. So, I take interest in many ways guys are doing their thing. I've also used Rustoleum a lot in the past but found it loses its sheen pretty quick. Don't know if there a solution for that. I'm in an area where it's very wet in the winter with lots of road salt too. Your system seems to work well for you. I like the idea of powder coating too as systempurge but it can be complicated. Have you tried POR 15 for comparisons? It seems to have the same characteristics as the Mastercoat but I'm certainly no expert. Just interested in your thoughts.

 

Yes, I’ve tried POR several times. Never worked out for me, in the long term. It just peels off in my experience, no matter how I prepped it. Some last 1 year, other 5 years, and then start peeling. And you can’t use it on anything exposed to sunlight, it’s not UV stable. I tried that in a few places and top coated, it didn’t help. I do know of one person who used it on an entire chassis in a restoration of a ‘50’s Chev, and over 20 yrs later, it still looks great, he’s happy with it, but I bet it only sees sunny days, and lives a quiet life in a garage.

That said I really haven’t used the master coat in direct light either, but it is supposed to be uv stable.. and anytime I’ve used it, I do top coat it well.

Rustoleum, never holds its gloss in the sun/UV either in my experience. I do plan on using some I have on hand to paint the inside of my ‘06 floors, good enough and already here. The old rustoleum we used to use on equipment that lived outdoors, it held its gloss for many years.

The Tremclad/ rustoleum Professional in a spray/rattle can, I’ve had good luck with so far on small parts and brackets. I even tested some with brake fluid, and after several hours it only went slightly soft. I wiped it off, and the paint eventually cured back up again. I was impressed for a cheap paint ina spray can.


I also want to clarify, I use oil based coatings (Woolwax etc) for anything in the winter salt - My ‘96 is also a plow truck, but doesn’t see the road in the winter anymore. Only on my own property. It’ll never salt again, and I don’t want to oil spray that one anymore after rebuilding it. It’s nice to have one clean truck to work on, lol.

Im always interested in what others are doing too, I think the best we can do is slow the rust down as much as possible. It almost seems every year I’m doing a different experiment…

 

Imron paint..... it's almost like an epoxy......

 

I used VHT Roll Bar and Chassis paint.


It turned out nice, not bad for a 2016 F-150 that sits outside 24/7.




Just did the brakes and shocks/struts and painted everything this fall, so will have to see how it holds up in the spring.