There's paint under there!!!

[msstring]

I have forever been resigned to the fact that the sun or weather had taken all paint off any exposed metal on my 1950 F3. The entire truck was / is a rust color with a rusty texture. Today just in a whim I took a nylon brush to it to clean up the area around the gas fill spout. Loan behold there is perfect gray paint under that rust stuff. So now my question, now what? How Is the best way to scrub this rust stuff off without removing what's left of the paint? I proceeded to work on the door and it seemed to reveal a mixture of rust metal and paint but less of paint. You can see on the fender what the rest of the truck looks like. Any suggestions?

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[tomcarman]

I guess it would depend on what you want for the end result. Are you intending to put it back as close to original as possible or preserve the patina? Some here on the Barn go one way and others another. If it were mine I would continue to clean with the nylon brush to remove loose, flaky rust and see what I discover, then proceed from there. Should you decide to keep its patina there are varying opinions on how to preserve it. I started a thread some time ago on this subject. It is titled "preserving patina". You could easily find it in a search. I'm not computer literate enough to post the link. I will say that the end result of preserving the patina on an old rusty metal shed that I repurposed into wainscotting in my house using 3 coats of Penetrol yielded a high gloss finish. You'll have to form your own opinion.

[msstring]

Thanks Tomcarman, eventually I would like to get it back to original color. But that is a ways out. Really had no intent to think about paint or finishing today until I found paint.

Here is a link to your thread. Looks interesting. I'll have to read through it.
https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink/top...ink_source=app

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[tomcarman]

Original is always best however usually in vehicles of this age and particularly trucks body work can be a challenge. Whatever you decide is your decision, given your intent and resources. I'm attaching this pic of the repurposed metal shed discussed in the thread. This is the bar I built using it.

[dean333]

I used L A Awesome cleaner (a buck a bottle) and a green scuff pad with great success on surface rust. Exposes original paint nicely.

[FortyNiner]

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A few folks have used CLR with a scotch-brite pad to remove surface rust without damaging the paint. Wear gloves, do it with good ventilation, and rinse well afterwards.

[tomcarman]

Originally Posted by dean333

I used L A Awesome cleaner (a buck a bottle) and a green scuff pad with great success on surface rust. Exposes original paint nicely.

Good to know. I've not heard of L A Awesome cleaner. Where did you get it? I used hot water and Dawn dishwashing liquid with a nylon brush. Dawn cuts grease and wax which is why I used it, though I'm sure there are plenty of name brand car wash liquids that also do that at a premium price. They use Dawn to wash birds clean after an oil spill.

[tomcarman]

This will be my next cleaning project. '47 Chrysler. Super straight and only surface rust. No rust through anywhere. Keep the patina or not?

[GB SISSON]

Originally Posted by tomcarman

This will be my next cleaning project. '47 Chrysler. Super straight and only surface rust. No rust through anywhere. Keep the patina or not?

Gonna say patina on that one. It looks like a beautiful car!

[tomcarman]

[QUOTE=GB SISSON;1993284]Gonna say patina on that one. It looks like a beautiful car![/QU
delete

[cas3]

that sure looks like a nice clean old truck. She's a keeper

[tomcarman]

Originally Posted by GB SISSON

Gonna say patina on that one. It looks like a beautiful car!

Thanks Gary. My personal philosophy on restore vs. keep as is or modify: If there is enough originality to merit restoration then it should be restored to original. If it has been repaired, damaged, or otherwise cobbled together over the years then owner's choice. The Chrysler for sure needs a lot of work but it is all there and in great shape. It will remain original. It runs (on 4 out of 6 cylinders, stuck valves?) and drives but no brakes. Given my focus in life right now I'll keep the patina as the investment of time and money is pointed elsewhere. In this thread in my opinion if that beautiful old truck were mine I'd be inclined to clean it and keep the patina.

[Lanny]

If you want to dissolve the rust off of the metal,
just do a google search for rust dissolvers, and
you should see a lot of different products.




.

[ford38v8]

Whenever the subject of patina comes up, i always think back to my Navy days, when we used diesel fuel to put a shine on our older working vehicles. Paint or bare metal, it made everything shine! No rust on those trucks! Very quick and easy, but then, it got dull quick also.

[msstring]

Originally Posted by cas3

that sure looks like a nice clean old truck. She's a keeper

Thanks, here is a better picture of the whole truck. The hood was sprung a little so at a shop getting that repaired as long as I had it off for replacing the engine.

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[msstring]

[QUOTE=tomcar In this thread in my opinion if that beautiful old truck were mine I'd be inclined to clean it and keep the patina.[/QUOTE]

Thanks, I will definitely think about that and try some of the cleaning products suggested here. The outcome of that will probably make a difference in the decision. My hope is to have it drivable as a runabout for the summer and then do more on the appearance over the winter and next summer. Maybe during this summer I can try some of the cleaning products.

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[corvette8n]

Originally Posted by tomcarman

Good to know. I've not heard of L A Awesome cleaner. Where did you get it? I used hot water and Dawn dishwashing liquid with a nylon brush. Dawn cuts grease and wax which is why I used it, though I'm sure there are plenty of name brand car wash liquids that also do that at a premium price. They use Dawn to wash birds clean after an oil spill.

The Dollar Tree stores near me all carry LA Awsome.

[36and63]

F3.jpg

I think they look pretty nice painted like this one.

[5851a]

msstring a friend of mine has a twin of your F3 and looks exactly the same. He has probably owned it 50 years. If you do decide to try scotch brite pads be aware they come in different grades of coarseness like sand paper. At my age and having experienced body shop jail a few times the rest of my rides will be patina. Nice truck.

[alanwoodieman]

the tv show garage squad did a F3 not many years ago, sprayed it with gloss clear and even the names on the door came out great

[msstring]

Originally Posted by 36and63

Attachment 457642



I think they look pretty nice painted like this one.

That is nice!

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[msstring]

Originally Posted by 5851a

msstring a friend of mine has a twin of your F3 and looks exactly the same. He has probably owned it 50 years. If you do decide to try scotch brite pads be aware they come in different grades of coarseness like sand paper. At my age and having experienced body shop jail a few times the rest of my rides will be patina. Nice truck.

Thanks

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[msstring]

Originally Posted by dean333

I used L A Awesome cleaner (a buck a bottle) and a green scuff pad with great success on surface rust. Exposes original paint nicely.

Is this what you use? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004XTTIWA...345J2PFE061GGZ

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[mercman from oz]

Neat looking Ford Truck.

[Tinker]

I'm parcel to cream color. But big trucks almost call out of a color that can take a little wear. Greys are always good too.


There is a few colors to choose from that are ford.

[tomcarman]

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Originally Posted by 5851a

msstring a friend of mine has a twin of your F3 and looks exactly the same. He has probably owned it 50 years. If you do decide to try scotch brite pads be aware they come in different grades of coarseness like sand paper. At my age and having experienced body shop jail a few times the rest of my rides will be patina. Nice truck.

"Body shop jail" is hilarious! If I attempted body work I would likely end up in Body shop prison. Life without parole. Metal work is hard. Give me wood work. Any chance you could post a pic or 2 of your friend's truck 5851A? Also very correct regarding scotch brite pads and coarsness.

[tomcarman]

Originally Posted by alanwoodieman

the tv show garage squad did a F3 not many years ago, sprayed it with gloss clear and even the names on the door came out great

What a coincidence. I'd seen that episode some time ago and by chance it was on again yesterday and watched again. Misstring, if you haven't seen it you might be able to stream it? Worth watching for your project in my opinion.

[Tinker]

Don't be afraid of doing some metal work and paint. You could always make it mechanical safe and just run.




.

[msstring]

Originally Posted by Tinker

Don't be afraid of doing some metal work and paint. You could always make it mechanical safe and just run.




.

That is exactly what I plan to do. I just out of a sort of fluke decided to try clearing around the gas fill tube hole and was shocked to see it turn gray! I literally had no idea there was any paint left on any exposed surface. So that took me into this thread. But still the plan is to drive it now and maybe make it prettier over time. I have no goals to make it a show truck but will continue to tinker as time and money allows. I may try some of the products and preservation measures shared here along the way.

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[tomcarman]

Originally Posted by msstring

That is exactly what I plan to do. I just out of a sort of fluke decided to try clearing around the gas fill tube hole and was shocked to see it turn gray! I literally had no idea there was any paint left on any exposed surface. So that took me into this thread. But still the plan is to drive it now and maybe make it prettier over time. I have no goals to make it a show truck but will continue to tinker as time and money allows. I may try some of the products and preservation measures shared here along the way.

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Keep after it. This to me is an interesting thread. Hopefully whatever you do could be undone without trouble in the future should you decide your project needs to go a different direction. Where are you located? Sometimes that helps to know if there are other Barners in your area.

[Gary-UK]

Saw this done recently, car was cleaned /scrubbed with fast orange, results were incredible. Went from virtually no visible paint back to a presentable blue car.

[Tinker]

Originally Posted by Gary-UK

Saw this done recently, car was cleaned /scrubbed with fast orange, results were incredible. Went from virtually no visible paint back to a presentable blue car.

Paint will always take away from the fun of driving. It's a big process. Best I'd say if you can have a car, have fun!!! and a you have another car then you can do another detailed rebuild.

Guess the the idea of a hotrod and a custom is not the worst idea. Drive the hotod while you are working on the custom. The original origin of the saying is, hotrods are for the guys, customs for the ladies. If that makes sense. Best of both worlds.

[msstring]

Great feedback Barn friends! Tomcarman, I am in Cambria, WI.

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[Tinker]

Just don't weld spiderwebs on it or put rubber rats on it. There is nothing to say that you can't fix a fender or anything else as time goes on. Really what hotrodding or building a car is about.

[Gnater]

Weak acids are great for paint/patina safe rust removal. Citric acid (the orange cleaner mentioned above), vinegar, and oxalic acid are good, just rinse well after and protect your eyes/skin.

[msstring]

Somewhere someone recommended Rust Mort. It works awesome! It devolves rust before your eyes! The instructions say to rinse with water after. But, now I have this white milky residue everywhere. Even on painted parts the got over spray from rinsing. Is there anything that will get rid of this white residue? I've tried dawn and the Totally Awesome mentioned in this thread, scrubbed with scotch pad, pressure washer. This white stuff is every where.

I also read, afterwards, that this needs to be top coatted right away. Is there non permanent protection I can put on temporarily?

In the pictures compare the grill and head light area with earlier pics in this thread. Huge difference. But, that was before I started rinsing and all the white stuff showed up.

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[RalphG]

Steel wool and diesel fuel worked wonders on my Mercury. Plus a few hours of rubbing the old paint. It was badly oxidized from sitting outdoors for 40+ years and the paint is right down to the undercoat on the roof. But what paint is left cleaned up real nice. A little wax to finish it off plus some spray on varnish where it was down to bare metal and I'm really satisfied with the results.

[Tinker]

There is no permanent coating for rust. Rust is rust it'll keep going. You can rub it down and clear coat it. But it will bubble up through the clear in a few yrs.

You will continuously have to maintain it. That's okay. Using a product like ospho will turn the rust neutral. but it may effect the look you are going for and eventually it will rust. If you have really bad spots you could do that.

You could on surface rust wet sand it till it's almost gone and then coat it. But it will rust as it goes deeper then the paint.

Rust is slow. We are fast. Have fun and do what you can. You could probably every spring rub it down with motor oil too. But there is no nasa coating that will make our cars not rust when it's rusting better then motor oil.

Even if you do everything perfect and spend all the money. It will rust but maybe not in your lifetime. Doing something will be better then doing nothing though.

[RalphG]

Co-incidentally on this topic, I tried out "claybar" yesterday on a couple of vehicles. I've seen a lot of comments and watched a few videos on how it can rejuvenate an old oxidized paint job so wanted to see how it worked. I came to the conclusion that my vehicle's paint were not bad enough to see any actual results from claybar. On the 52 Merc I could feel the painted surface was slightly smoother and more slippery than when I started but appearance was no different. https://youtu.be/TUdeiDEUeUA

[sugarmaker]

Folks,
Interesting thread that I know has been discussed many time. Trying to think about the exterior actions on my 32 dump truck project. It has a lot of rust and some visible paint too. I have not even washed it yet. Mainly just old and lazy on this end!
Regards,
Chris

[msstring]

I got tired of looking at the white stuff so tonight I wiped it down with motor oil. I imagine it just covered it up but I figured I don't have much to loose. It will protect it for now and I can always wash of the oil. At least I hope. I'll see what it looks like tomorrow, maybe the white stuff will be back...

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