chassis renovation

[robgte]

Hi all,

I'm about to become the owner of a Taimar (all being good) which used to be mint but then spent 7 years in a lockup. I've been underneath it and had quick look & there seemed to be little paint left on the chassis and a fair amount of surface (hopefully) rust. I'm planning on taking to body off and stipping the chassis to hopefuly sound metal and recoating it.

I would be interested in opinons on the best method to use to renovate the chassis and what is the most durable coating to put on - I intend to keep her for a while :^D

The original powder coating doesn't seemed to have lasted very well - which makes me doubt how good powder coating really is?

Regards
Rob

[GAjon]

If you can, get the chassis shot blasted first, it will reveal far more than trying to prepare it manually.
After repair, get it blasted agin prior to your chosen finish.
I have zinc electro plated and hand painted one chassis, that was OK but I got some paint peeling, where axle stands and the like go, but other than that it was fine.
I had one powder coated, that was a great job and very durable, but I think a lot depends on who you get to do it and their preparation.
On my recent re-build I've gone for a offshore spec paint system. It looks good and appears to be quite hardy, but only time will tell.
One down side of the latest paint I've opted for is the thickness of the paint, I,m having to fettle everything that bolts to the chassis.

[robgte]

Hi,

Nice looking chassis - what have you used to coat it and do you intend to spray it with chassis wax before fitting? I'm in Aberdeen so can probably find offshore paints.

I did a Scimitar chassis last year, but on a body roller with exhausts and tank removed (not in that bad condition) - but used an angle grinder with wire wheel attachment to strip off all the rust/old paint, welded it, degreased it twice and then painted it with epoxy mastic chassis paint, then polyuethene chasis paint and then sprayed it over with Dinitrol black chassis wax.

I'm thinking about getting my taimar chassis blasted and then paint it the same as my scimitar except first paint it with bilt hamber galvanising paint. I'm still not convinced on power coating - every classic TVR I've seen seems to have lost most of its coating.

Regards
Robin

[Terminator]

robgte said:

I'm still not convinced on power coating - every classic TVR I've seen seems to have lost most of its coating

The original factory finish on chassis was a spray-applied black paint. It normally lasted about 6 months from new on the exposed bits and stayed like new on the centre sections where the transmisson tunnel is. I've had a couple of chassis powder coated (after being properly prepared) and they are still as good as they day they were done.

[mel-s3]

robgte said:

painted it with epoxy mastic chassis paint

Excellent paint - very tough and durable - highly recommended. I did my S3 with it 3 years a go, and it is still good, even on the outriggers it hasn't stone chiped. Tend do agree with your thoughts on powder coating, it may be fine for a show car that doesn't do many miles, but not on an every day car that may see salt. Personally i would also stay away from Hammerite, fine as a cosmetic top coat, but for rust prevention and durability it's s**t.

[GAjon]

robgte,

The preparation and coating on the chassis in the picture is-
Gritblast to SA2.5
Zinc metal spray ZN4 100 microns nominal
2 pk epoxy sealer dft 25 mu
2 pk epoxy high build dtf 50mu
2 pk polyurathane gloss dft 35 mu

Just to clarify my opinion on powder coating. Last time I did my chassis, which was about 10 years ago I had it blasted and powder coated.
When I took the body off the car this time the powder coating was still as good as the day it was done.
The only reason I opted for a paint finish on this one is you get an overall more consistent surface finish, albeit a more orange peel effect as opposed to the smooth gloss finish you get from powder coating.
I don't know yet if I'm going to apply any further coating, I actually gave the last powder coated chassis a coat of clear varnish just for the hell of it, but it may have helped?

John,

[robgte]

GAjon said:

robgte,

The preparation and coating on the chassis in the picture is-
Gritblast to SA2.5
Zinc metal spray ZN4 100 microns nominal
2 pk epoxy sealer dft 25 mu
2 pk epoxy high build dtf 50mu
2 pk polyurathane gloss dft 35 mu

X snip X

John,

[Gulp] - now that is what I call chassis preparation - you should be good for about 1000 years! What would be nice is if we swapped chassis' so you could have the fun of doing all that again!

Thanks for all the info - opinions on power coating seem mixed, fortuneatly I will have plenty of time to think about it before I need to make a decision, there is the small matter of finishing off my Scimitar first

Thanks & Regards
Robin

[thegamekeeper]

How long do you expect to live

[GAjon]

I'm already on borrowed time?

[pomohon]

I got to thinking about this today as I was sand blasting and painting our Shrimp Trawler.My boat wieghs in at 60 ton ,is in salt water and when at the dock,its constantly rubbing on pilings and other vessels.A durable finish is of course critical .|Many boats here use coal tar epoxy.It dries semigloss black,with orange peel.|Incredibly scratch resistant .The amount of peel is dependant on how many mills you apply.I bought a gallon today for 31.00 us(thats paint and catalyst) to do my deck machinery.Cheap.You might consider taking a ride to your nearest fishing port ,find a nice looking steel boat and talk to the owner.Industrial epoxys are cheaper and much more durable than any automotive paint Ive used.They are also available in many colors.Sand blasting is critical especially on new metal. Just a thought DJ

[heightswitch]

GAjon said:

I'm already on borrowed time?

Especially when considering your driving
N.

[GAjon]

But I,ve got all that paint to protect me, are you going to Cadwell Neil?

[heightswitch]

Hi Jon.
I am not sure. I am trying to get to as many rounds of the Tuscan Challenge with Geoff spannering for him this year. Geoff is also going to do some Classic car club Historic rounds, so not sure about the track days
I will probably see you at Tatton if you are about.

N.

[adrian@]

The preparation and coating on the chassis in the picture is-
Gritblast to SA2.5
Zinc metal spray ZN4 100 microns nominal
2 pk epoxy sealer dft 25 mu
2 pk epoxy high build dtf 50mu
2 pk polyurathane gloss dft 35 mu

Just picking up on this thread...As this is the same process I have used for 4 years now, the end process of the zinc spraying requires that it should be sealed and painted, as the zinc spraying process is still pourous. The only problem with the finish is, that if at some stage you damage the car, it is a pain to repair, as the zinc is so ingrained into the surface that welding a good joint is very difficult and requires you to have a welding mask with a air filter system and is beyond most DIY. I stopped using powder coating as I could not get a good surface coverage in the tight corners without hand finishing with epoxy painting. The not worth doing to you chassis is, wire brush and rust treating and painting with any of the leading rust eating paints, and then hiding it all with plastic sealer, claiming that it has been re-built when 3-years later the chassis is a rotted husk within the sealer. I have seen too many of these recently and one was a 4-year old chassis!
Adrian@