painting inside frame

[Kevininwa]

Does anyone have tips regarding painting the insides of the frame?
The prep work for Por 15 involves rinsing with water and ultimately painting the insides of the frame, surfaces that allow little access. On another restoration site the fellow taped off the interior and ultimately coated it with KBS cavity wax. I'd like to be thorough, but other than trying to get in there with a stick attached to a paintbrush, I'm pessimistic about success. I'm attaching some pics for a visual. See the 3 holes?

[dbj216]

Welcome to the hard work of restoring / renovating old Airstreams. Keep reading and learning about the frame repair and preservation process in these Forums.

I recently applied POR-15 to all the steel frame members on my 66 Trade Wind. It is a huge job. First the belly pan and old, nasty insulation comes down. I aggressively wire brushed every surface of the frame to knock the big chunks of rust and dirt off. I then knew what frame members needed repair or replacement. Then I applied the metal cleaner and prep solutions. Finally I hand painted all the frame with a 2" brush, two coats six hours apart. I had to wear Tyvek overalls, respirator, and face shield while laying on my back working with this watery paint. It was miserable work and I am glad I am done with it.

It is an easier job with the shell off the frame, but that is a whole different approach. All I can say rust proofing an Airstream frame is necessary DIRTY, HARD work. I do not know of any easy, "automated" way of doing it.

Your old Airstream will thank you for all your efforts!

David

[markdoane]

Check the end of this thread

[putback]

I've done 4 trailer frames now and many car frames in the past. To hit all the little nooks and crannies I have to spray, just can't seem to do it with a brush. A common old wagner airless home paint sprayer works quite well for thicker liquids. I've often wondered if a hand pump garden sprayer with the wand end would work for better access to the tight areas????

[perryg114]

A hand sprayer should work. Just make sure it is new and dry inside. I got that stuff all over me but I was able to get it into most places. I think all the metal prep is not necessary on old rusted metal like you see 99% of the time. POR15 will stick to anything that is not coated in oil.

Perry

[AmrcnDrifter]

Hey all,
I just want to clarify on the POR 15 topic; it's not necessary to sand out the old rust? I'm reading that it's best to apply POR 15 to a rusted surface. Also, I understand no top coat is needed as, it won't be exposed to UV rays but, do I need a prep coat at all?

My grandpa is convincing me to take it to a sandblaster first but, I'm understanding otherwise from different sites.

Appreciate the help.

[perryg114]

POR15 works better if it has some tooth to stick to and encapsulate. It is hard to mess it up unless you are using new metal that might have a light coat of oil to keep it from rusting. A little dirt won't even hurt.

Perry

[dbj216]

I did find POR 15 did not adhere as well to painted surfaces on my old frame. Maybe it didn't have "some tooth" to adhere to. I don't know if my prep was wrong or others have had the same observation.

If I remember correctly, the POR 15 instructions did say to remove the dirt from the surface. Made sense to me. Boy was my frame DIRTY. That's why I wire brushed it and hand wiped it with the degreaser, then the metal prep (etchant). I followed their instructions the best I could.

David

[AmrcnDrifter]

Thanks guys, I called the sandblaster guy just for a quote, he said $500 ! I think I'll do it myself.


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[perryg114]

If it has paint on it, roughen the surface. If the surface is already rough don't worry about it. Dirt on paint should be removed. A little dirt mixed with rust probably won't hurt. The parts that have paint are not what you need to worry about. You want to coat the rust.

Perry

[dbj216]

Paint Over Rust. That's exactly what the product is designed to do, I agree. But while I was at it, I applied it to the painted surfaces too. I wire brushed all of that area thinking it would rough it up.

I think if someone offered to paint my frame on their back for 500 bucks, following the POR-15 instructions, I'd let 'em! It took me 6 hours to wire brush, 2 hours to wipe on degreaser, 2 hours to water rinse, 2 hours to wipe on metal prep, and 4 hours to apply the first coat, wait 6 hours and then 4 hours again for the second coat. I was beat rolling around on my creeper on a plastic drop cloth in my Tyvek suit, rubber gloves, and face shield!

But the next owner of my Trade Wind will tank me as the tin worm has been squashed. I thank Airforum members who guided me through this whole process.

David

[Barnaby73]

I was thinking the sandblasting route and then having the frame powder coated. I have had a lot of aluminum and iron products in my custom home building business done with great results. My only fear is the flexing of the frame and if this would cause cracking of the surface. Anyone have any experience with this method.

[perryg114]

First of all where you going to find a powder coating oven large enough to cure a frame? The POR15 is pretty tough stuff. Powder coat is way overkill unless you are going to leave it as a bare frame without the belly skins.

Perry

[AmrcnDrifter]

Unfortunately it's just to sandblast the frame (get the rust off) not, paint, degrease, etc. I know it's a lot of man hours and grunt work but, I don't have $500 to spend for something I can do myself. Now, when it comes to building the banana wraps, etc... I'll have to get help for sure.