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Posted by Dave Austin [76.186.149.70] on Sunday, February 14, 2010 at 07:56:38 :
Gents, I beleive there is a wealth of information right here reading all the restorations that have been done by you all, so I hope to tap into that experience.
OK.. I am building, from scratch, an entire new cargo bed for my ww2 Chevrolet
4x4 1 1/2 ton truck.
ALl of the panels are pretty basic and flat, and all are made of a pretty stout thickness (11 ga = 0.119" thick)
I am welding the entire lot together myself.
My question is, how to clean and prep all the panels as I go along, to ensure that the primer sticks well. I beleive that the steel sheets come in with a light coating of some oil or something to prevent rust. Most of the "oily" film remains after all my parts have been sheared and formed.
I can easily clean with paint thinner and/or scratch up with sandpaper to remove the "slick" surface of the original sheet, and give the primer a better "bite" if you will.
Is this waht some of you do? Or is the surface good enough for primer with only a chemical cleaning of the surface?
I considered just assembling the entire bed, and once all welding and grinding is complete, take it to a sandblaster to prep the metal for primer.
However, as lots of areas will be inaccessable after the welding (inside stake pockets for instance) I have to do something as I progress along.
I am also concerned about priming areas that will be hidden later, yet be very close to where the welding will take place (i.e. burning away the primer and leaving it exposed?)
Also, what concern should I have for overlapping surfaces welded together. I mean, I need to leave them bare steel for a good weld, but underneath these surfaces that are joined will ALWAYS be bare metal.. Is there a concern of rusting in these places? Or will a heavy coat of primer/top coat seal it suffiecntly?
many thanks in advance..
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