Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[rcx822]

I've got some small areas of body work to paint, like inside the wheel arches. Also some holes that have been drilled in bodywork, in places that are not visible (for self tapping screws) and also some larger holes cut for pipes and things. I wanted to use something more hard wearing than hammerite. Is there such thing as two pac touch up paint that could be brushed on?

Last time I used hammerite in the wheel arches it really didn't last long. One salty winter later and a third of it was gone.

[MikeEdwards]

I've heard a lot of bad things about Hammerite in the last few years, to the extent that I won't use it on the car I'm working on at the moment. That said, I painted the wheel-wells on my show car in 1998 and it's pretty much all still there. So maybe older Hammerite was better - no surprise if that's the case.

I've been using POR-15 in some areas on mine, but it doesn't like to be put on clean new steel unless, I think, you use a special type of primer. Elsewhere I've been using a decent marine-quality (apparently, time will tell) red oxide primer that I'll cover with Epoxy-Mastic when I've finished welding.

When I put self-tappers into the last car, I made a point of painting the hole and the screw with Waxoyl before putting it in, then some more over the head to hopefully "seal" it.

[Peter_L]

Tremclad. I used it under the wheel arches of our old Explorer, it stayed there for several years bearing the brunt of long periods of snow, grit and ice.

[baconsdozen]

I've always thought Hammerite was over rated,far too brittle and never seems to have a decent hold so when it cracks rust spreads underneath very quickly.
I.ve found the old fashioned red oxide primer to last well,a couple of years ago I painted some outside metal work with a cheap tin of Wilko red oxide I found in the shed and its still sound even without a top coat. I did the sills on my taxi with an expensive combination of primer/undercoat and under seal at about the same time and they have already rotted through.
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Thirty years selling imperial hand tools for old machinery(Now happily retired).

[Rootes75]

On my Commer lorry I thought it might be good to paint the interior floor panels with Hammerite. At the end of the day they will be covered by seats / rubber matting but I thought the protection would be good. Four coats later and you can still see red oxide below it.

Its expensive and we won't use it again. I recall as a youngster starting out restoring thing that Hammerite was always the best recommended product. I suppose now though there are so many others out there that there is a much better choice.
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Various Rootes Vehicles.

[norustplease]

Rustbuster epoxy mastic, a two pack brush on solution that does work. You need to degrease, and remove any loose scale, but apart from that it goes on everything, surface rust, bare metal, the lot. Available in a black and a limited range of colours.
Just Google Rustbuster.
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1953 Citroen Traction
1964 Volvo PV544
1957 Austin A55 Mk 1
Boring Tucson SUV

[rcx822]

[goneps]

Another possibility is CRC ZincIt. Claimed to bond to steel and protect it in the same manner as hot-dip galvanising. Just finished spraying it on the Tourer's underfloor master cylinder, so time will tell—it seemed a better idea than paint, which is all too susceptible to the inevitable brake fluid spills.

Richard

[MikeEdwards]