1st restoration: Coating cavities

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PaulVolle

Hello! I'm doing my first-ever restoration with not much experience at anything. It's a '66 Mustang I drove in high school and have owned for 41 years and I'm planning to drive it regularly when it's done. It's already been blasted with glass and Holdtight 102. The Holdtight has done an amazing job of retarding rust development, so I've been able to take my time figuring out how to apply primer.
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My question is about rust-proofing the structure supporting the roof and sail area and the inner surface of the quarter panel between the door jamb and wheel well. There are lots of options! And lots of conflicting advice.
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Epoxy, as I understand it, needs clean metal with a good scratch on it, which isn't practical in these cavities and crevices. Removing and reattaching the sheet metal is well above my skill level right now. Rust converter seems like it would be a good option but I understand that it has tannic acid that doesn't get along with SPI epoxy. There's also Ospho. The bottle says to let it dry 24+ hours, then apply paint …but maybe not epoxy... and I doubt I can effectively remove or neutralize it in these spaces where I can't even get all the blasting material out! I also see Eastwood internal frame coating or rust encapsulator, KBS Cavity Coater, and so many others.

Having looked around the internet at length, the experience and professionalism on this forum stands above the rest and I'm committed to SPI products. I'm sure I don't need to reinvent the wheel on this, so how do you guys treat these hard-to-access inner structures? Or, my new painting motto, WWBD (What Would Barry Do?)
 
I use cavity wax. Some folks get a little carried away imho. It took 50+ years of rain and road salt for these cars to get where they are with no protection and most are likely to never see salt or even much rain again. So unless you are building something for the Smithsonian....

Don
 
I watched a couple cavity wax comparison videos. Tube applicators surely sprayed different. Probably easier putting tiny slits in plastic vs holes in brass.
 
Get that body in epoxy soon,then I would use any leftover epoxy you mixed to brush into any areas you can reach,then pour into the ones you can't. A rotisserie helps with this. Most of these areas were barely covered from the factory and have lasted this long so....
 
dhutton01 said:
I use cavity wax. Some folks get a little carried away imho. It took 50+ years of rain and road salt for these cars to get where they are with no protection and most are likely to never see salt or even much rain again. So unless you are building something for the Smithsonian....

Don
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Thanks so much for taking time to respond. I'm a bit slow getting back to you because I had a short-notice work trip.
That puts it in a good perspective. I don't need to be too uptight about it. It needs to last about 40 years and then it'll be my kids' problem :)
 
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'68 Coronet R/T said:
If you don't mind a lot of extra work you can always remove the drip rails and roof skin. ;)
Removing the quarter panels gives great access as well:
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That is pretty intimidating! It isn't so much the extra work, which I enjoy, but I seriously doubt my work would look as good as yours! Maybe on my next one.
 
I understood that encapsulator and converter products weren't good because the epoxy wouldn't adhere to them, but the same is true for the wax. How is wax better than those other products? Does the wax lock out air and moisture better? It seems like the other products would last longer than something which doesn't harden.
Thanks for your patience.
 
NextGen Classics said:
Get that body in epoxy soon,then I would use any leftover epoxy you mixed to brush into any areas you can reach,then pour into the ones you can't. A rotisserie helps with this. Most of these areas were barely covered from the factory and have lasted this long so....
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That sounds like really good advice. Thanks!
 
PaulVolle said:
I understood that encapsulator and converter products weren't good because the epoxy wouldn't adhere to them, but the same is true for the wax. How is wax better than those other products? Does the wax lock out air and moisture better? It seems like the other products would last longer than something which doesn't harden.
Thanks for your patience.
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Cavity wax wicks into seams, pinch welds etc and won’t harden and crack over time. The OEMs use it so that’s good enough for me.

Don
 
PaulVolle said:
That is pretty intimidating! It isn't so much the extra work, which I enjoy, but I seriously doubt my work would look as good as yours! Maybe on my next one.
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I got into this restoration "hobby" a long time ago with a '68 Mustang. I gotta a great deal on it but found out when I took the right fender off that it had been hit hard and had damage to the shock tower area. This forced me to learn how to use acetylene torches, what frame measurements were and how to properly support and brace a car needing panel replacement.

Many years went by before I attempted my next project which was my signature car. I didn't get very far before someone asked me to do their '65 Buick Convertible which needed new floor supports, floor pans, trunk floor, a quarter panel and many patches. Which led to a '67 CJ5, which led to, etc. etc.

My point being restoration work will help you develop skills you didn't previously have out of necessity. LOL

For your current situation, I would spray everything you can reach with epoxy, then use a paint brush, foam applicators, etc. to get epoxy into the hard to reach places. Whatever you get into the crevices, nooks and crannies will surely preserve the car for decades.
 
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