Floorpan Red Oxide Primer?

[tcb-1]

Gang,

Can anyone give me some good direction on what is a good red oxide primer to recoat my floorpans with? It appears the factory sprayed an enamel based primer on the floorpans. In reading up, it seems like a very durable way to go would be an epoxy (2 part). Has anyone found and/or used and epoxy primer sealer on their floorpans? Really love to be able to match the primer that's still remaining, but that may be impossible.



I know I may be going overboard and recoating the pans with an epoxy. What are your thoughts?

Thanks in advance, gents!

 

[tripower]

You can use a epoxy DP or Rust Oleum makes a good product you can either buy it in puff can or by the quart or gallon. https://www.rustoleum.com/product-catalog/consumer-brands/stops-rust/rusty-metal-primer/
Zero Rust is another product that is affordable and works good. http://zero-rust.com/index.php

 

[Impala Steve]

Are you going to be using the same product for the bottom part of the pan, too? Or you planning on using another product?

 

[tcb-1]

Steve, I am just planning an interior floorpan restoration now. I may be going overboard with an epoxy on the inside floorpans, I don't know. It may be just as simple to go with a Rustoleum product as Dan suggested.

As far as the undercarriage, I am leaving the exterior 100% original. If it ever goes on a rotiserie, I will need definitely go with a 2 part epoxy. Epoxy, from what I have read, seals the air from the surface you coat. That would be nice to have on the outside!

 

[blkblk63ss]

Doug, I just used Rust Oleum in rattle can's looked like original to do the top of the floor and the roof. My roof had the so called insulation falling down , and was bare metal so i removed it all even under bracing and sanded it and primed it with R O, and then installed Dyna mat to roof and floor's.I did the inside roof when i had body on rotissiery so i turned it to the side and stood in door way to prime standing up ,easier to spray that way ,instead of upside down.

 

[Brian64SS]

Doug,

Not trying to be picky here but you might be interested in how they did it. The factories dunked the body shells in a vat of the primer, it wasn't sprayed on. The pass. area and trunk floor have the oval cut-out holes where the primer drained out after, and there are plugs and caps in other places like in the back end of the rocker panels and the top of the firewall. That way, the primer got everywhere they couldn't reach with a sprayer.

Back in the day, Chevy made books about the size of an owner's manual showing how the cars were built. I don't have mine with me now but maybe someone can post that pic from theirs.

I've found runs on black parts too so dipping and dunking wasn't limited to priming the body shells back then.

 

[tcb-1]

Great info Brian! You saying that made me remember an old video on youtube from Fisher showing the processes they used (can't remember the year filmed). They had the body shells on a conveyor that dipped the shells in the rust preventative. I'll try to find the video an post it.

 

[Jim Sullivan]

Rustoleum Rusty Metal Primer seems to be a very close match to the factory red oxide primer color. Ive used it on many projects. I had even done a test with it. I painted half of a piece of sheet metal and left it outside for a couple of years and it held up very well. The untreated metal rusted pretty bad but no rust creep onto the primer area.

 

[LMBRJQ 60]

How come it never got under the parcel shelf or the dash top if it was dipped?


Steve

 

[blkblk63ss]

My roof wasn't primed!!!!!!

 

[Phil Reed]

Best I know, the bodies were dipped to just over the rear wheelwells.

 

[tcb-1]

This is an old Fisher Body video, not the one I remember though. This doesn't show the dipping process, instead it looks like they are painting the primer on. A good watch nonetheless!

 

[bobs409]

This made me think of the trunk drop off that I cut off my 63. It doesn't have any red primer and shows "galvanized" on it which is why I snapped the pic. ?? Was the green stuff rust preventative?

 

[bobs409]

Looking further shows no primer at all. Just more green stuff. (and rust!) :

 

[tcb-1]

That first pic is interesting, Bob. The "galvanized" and the circle above it was mostly stamped on the fuel tanks that US Steel made in that era. That one has me stumped!

I looked at my '61 and it wasn't dipped. It was, however, sprayed with primer all the way up the a, b, and c pillar and was present under the package tray supports.

 

[tcb-1]

Don't mind the dirt and dust

 

[1958 delivery]

Looking further shows no primer at all. Just more green stuff. (and rust!) :

View attachment 36697

View attachment 36698

I think Bob's 63 was built on a Friday, late after beer break, before a three day weekend. They got confused and dipped it in the rust tank not the primer tank

 

[tripower]

The green stuff looks like zink chromate.

 

[jdk971]

The green stuff looks like zink chromate.

used in interiors. corvettes bird cage was covered with the stuff. jmho jim

 

[Brian64SS]

I stand corrected! Sorry for the bad info. One of those things I was sure about. Why have all the holes if not for draining primer? Maybe to hold the pieces on a jig for welding. But the plugs I've seen aren't primed so they must have gone in after the primer.

Would there have been differences in methods between plants, or shortcuts taken when a plant had to produce 1ooo of these cars in a week. I'll look for the picture in that book tonight.