busting scale and painting

[sam z]

Suggestions on busting off surface scale on leaf springs. Nothing too terribly bad, but they are unsightly in their present state. I imagine I can just hit them with a wire wheel, but the real basis of my question is what product should I use to paint / protect them?

I guess I should add that I don't care what Chrysler used. That being said, what is the best
product to paint them with after cleaning up? I've read a lot about por 15 but if there are better
suggestions please make them.

-Sam

 

[69hemibeep]

Por 15 is probably your best bet since your not going to sand blast them. The springs came in both bare metal and black

 

[Hoosier Bird]

If it's too big to fit in my blaster I use a pneumatic descaler and they work great. Pretty cheap too at harbor freight.

 

[sam z]

Thanks for the tips men. I'm now interested in the descaler. Looks like it saves
mucho effort.

 

[Big John]

I've used POR-15 with decent results. You have to follow the instructions to the letter and be sure not to get it on your skin as it does not come off (I know this for a fact)

It also needs to be top coated, as the POR-15 will discolor with UV light.

 

[mcmopar]

Big John said:

I've used POR-15 with decent results. You have to follow the instructions to the letter and be sure not to get it on your skin as it does not come off (I know this for a fact)

It also needs to be top coated, as the POR-15 will discolor with UV light.

If you get it on you and let it dry you'll be marked for a couple of weeks unless you remove it while its still wet. Wal-Mart carb spray works great. And yes, it needs to be topcoated. Eastwood's semi-gloss black epoxy paint is a very good topcoat - very tough and durable.

You could also soak them in Evapo-Rust for a few hours after cleaning them up, (removing dirt, grease and loose scale). You'd need a couple of gallons and a big tray/pan to put them in. Evapo-Rust is great stuff and is reusable many times. Just strain it before putting it back in its container and you are good to go.

 

[Big John]

Big John said:

I've used POR-15 with decent results. You have to follow the instructions to the letter and be sure not to get it on your skin as it does not come off (I know this for a fact)

It also needs to be top coated, as the POR-15 will discolor with UV light.

If you get it on you and let it dry you'll be marked for a couple of weeks unless you remove it while its still wet. Wal-Mart carb spray works great. And yes, it needs to be topcoated. Eastwood's semi-gloss black epoxy paint is a very good topcoat - very tough and durable.

You could also soak them in Evapo-Rust for a few hours after cleaning them up, (removing dirt, grease and loose scale). You'd need a couple of gallons and a big tray/pan to put them in. Evapo-Rust is great stuff and is reusable many times. Just strain it before putting it back in its container and you are good to go.

I saw on the A-12 site where one of the guys derusted a drive shaft with Evapo-Rust and it came out nice.

He used a PVC pipe capped on the end to soak the shaft in. I'll bet you could use something like that to soak the spring in.

 

[george68hemirr]

If it's too big to fit in my blaster I use a pneumatic descaler and they work great. Pretty cheap too at harbor freight.

if your going with this descaler... wear saftey glasses...those wires do break off and watch out if you have a gap between your leafs they will get stuck in there....we used these and jitterbugs for scaling off our big weld jobs

 

[SomeCarGuy]

I've been covering stuff with Zero Rust on my car as I get to it. I just did some under dash areas and already did the floors. I put some on the bottom of the car as well. I scrape and sand before painting. There is a derusting solution that came with it but I really thought it looked like a ton of work and involved water, which I felt might lead to flash rusting if I got pulled off the job for some reason.

 

[mcmopar]

While I wouldn't recommend it for the springs you can also get something called Rust Bullet for treating the rust in other areas of the car. This stuff is tough as nails once it dries and is easier to apply than POR-15. To properly apply POR-15 the manufacturer recommends a 3 step process but with Rust Bullet all you need to do is remove loose dirt, scale and any grease (spray carb cleaner works great - just don't use STP brand) and then apply the Rust Bullet with brush, roller or sprayer and that's it. I've used it a lot under the car and it stands up to everything.