Thread: Roadster pickup getting closer

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I sure wish that I could have found that "stuff" before I did my frame but my 'coater said that there was really nothing that he really liked, that every product seemed to have some level of problems. Regardless, my TCI frame had very nicely ground welds, especially in the very visible front and whatever I put down had at least the rough edges shaved off before it went to be done and the coating softened them even more. Then of course, mine is a full fendered car and very few welds aft of the firewall can be seen anyhow

Don, I hope you document the before, during and after nicely for us as this has been a subject of much interest by many

Don, I hope you document the before, during and after nicely for us as this has been a subject of much interest by many[/QUOTE]


I will try to take pictures all through the process. Dan is still leery that the powder coat will not come out as good as he wants, but we figure if worst comes to worst we will scuff and spray it. At least it will have a good base that should be pretty good at rust prevention and the powder should get back into all those spots we could not reach with a gun. When I picked up the frame yesterday they had pictures on the wall of previous jobs they had done. Lots of motorcyles and a few cars. One car in particular was the undersides and they did all the parts in several colors. It looked very show worthy, so I am more optimistic than he is.

We'll see.


Don

We spent today doing our very least favorite thing...........sanding and grinding. It took about 10 hours, but we got the newly sandblasted frame smooth and clean enough that we could start applying the filler. I would like to say the Drylac stuff is easy to work with, but it isn't. First of all, it is very heavy and dense, so it spreads a little on the thick side. And it is VERY hard to get off of you when it starts to cure. We went through quite a bit of laquer thinner and a bunch of rags because it got all over everything. We used both kits up, but got most of the frame side rails skim coated.

The directions say if you air dry it the filler takes 2-3 days to dry for sanding. It also said you have 4 hours working time, but it was starting to kick after about an hour, so we had to work pretty fast. I hope it sands like the rep from the company said, but it seems a lot like JB weld to me. We are going to sand most of it back off, and if it is tough to sand we have our work cut out for us.

Anyway, here are some pictures of when we got started and what we ended up with just before we applied the filler. I didn't want to take any pictures after the filler was on because it was also all over my hands, and I didn't want to ruin my camera. I'll take some pictures tomorrow .

Don

I know photos don't always show all the little details, but that frame looks perfect already. It's going to be beautiful. Is Dan sure he wants to cover up all that work with a body?

He's a slave driver Jim! I was thinking about calling the Elderly Abuse Hotline and turning him in. I was ready to smear mud on the frame after a little grinding, but like I mentioned, it took 10 hours until it was smooth enough for him. Perfect is kind of a subjective, overused word, and this frame won't be perfect, but he just wants it as good as possible out of a home garage. It really makes you think what the guys who go after awards like Ridler must go through.

We got in bed at 4:30 this morning and get to do this all over again today. I HATE bodywork.


Don

I'm with JR it looks great to begin with.
I'm also with you Don, I hate filler and body work. And I really hate welding sheet metal body parts!
It'll be interesting to see where the filler fills in, since in your shots it really does look perfect. (then again so does my truck from about 30 yards away!)
Keep posting pics.

Welding in some of the bracing distorted the metal sidewalls a little, nothing major, but it raised up the surface in a couple of spots. We ground them flush, but to make them disappear totally we needed a skim coat of the filler. He also radiused some of the welds with the filler too.

We're heading over there now to see if it dried enough to cure it (I doubt it as they say 2-3 days for a total cure) but we can at least get some other parts ready to take to the powder coater tomorrow.

Don

I didn't think you could us filler for powder coating... did you use something different?

Yep, it is a filler that is heat resistant and conductive so it will take a charge so the powder sticks. Streetwerkz on here put me onto it and I checked it out on the internet and phoned the company. Not real cheap, but not real bad either.......about $ 50 a quart. We used two quarts and just made it.

We are about to find out how tough it is to sand. The rep said it is easy, but easy is a relative term.

Don

If you don't mind, what is the product's name so I can add it to my database of stuff I need to remember (so henceforth I have to write it down)!

Originally Posted by 25T_Bucket

If you don't mind, what is the product's name so I can add it to my database of stuff I need to remember (so henceforth I have to write it down)!

Tbucket read this thread for details
http://www.clubhotrod.com/forums/sho...er+coat+filler

Originally Posted by stovens

Tbucket read this thread for details
http://www.clubhotrod.com/forums/sho...er+coat+filler

Great thread... I've contacted Tiger Drylac so see if they have a local vendor for the Epo Strong product.

Thanks for the help!

25T, I ordered directly from the factory and it came in a few days. They ship out of Pennsylvania and Texas (I think).......mine came from Pa. They have some little hoop you have to jump through where they only sell to accounts, so you have to set up one, but the goofy part is you don't have to be a business. I told her it was for personal use and she said that was ok, but they faxed me a simple form which I filled out and sent back, and they assign you an account number. They called me back in 5 minutes and said "Ok, you are set up, what do you want to order."

To give you some perspective on quantity, we bought two kits and each one seems to be about a quart I would guess. The filler is in about a two quart can and is about half full, and the hardner is in another can and is half that much (it is a two to one ratio). We went on line and downloaded English directions because the can and everything is in what I think is German. Nice people to deal with and very good service.

Last night we went to the shop to see if the filler had cured, and found it to almost be so, but not quite. We didn't want to take any chances trying to sand it too soon, but we did take one spot and tried sanding it and it seems to sand pretty easily. Not like the JB weld I thought it might be like, although it smells just like JB weld. We decided to give it a day or so more before we sand it again because the weather has been pretty cool lately and it wouldn't have baked as it normally would here in Florida.

What we did do was get a lot of parts ready to take to the powder coater this morning. We finished sanding stuff like his rear housing and other parts and Dan dropped them off today. He found out they also carry Tiger Drylac powder at our local coater and they consider that their high end stuff. Dan opted for that brand and also is having them clear coat the parts when done to give them more depth.

Here are a few pictures we took so that we can make sure all the parts come back when done.

Don

Thanks for the reply... You are correct, The TIGER Drylac Epo Strong repair kit is stocked at Tiger Drylac in Reading, PA. So if anyone wants to order the kit, there e-mail address is:

customerserviceeast@tiger-coatings.us

or phone # 610-926-8148.

Originally Posted by Itoldyouso

What we did do was get a lot of parts ready to take to the powder coater this morning. We finished sanding stuff like his rear housing and other parts and Dan dropped them off today. He found out they also carry Tiger Drylac powder at our local coater and they consider that their high end stuff. Dan opted for that brand and also is having them clear coat the parts when done to give them more depth.

Here are a few pictures we took so that we can make sure all the parts come back when done.

Don

Wow. That's a lot of parts. I never thought about powder coating the drums, but what a great idea! Since I'm running slot mags they show right through the holes. It's funny what you don't think about until you see it done on another car. The transaxle housing must have been a real pain to clean out all the fluid! This should ure look nice when done.