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Tue Feb 21, 2017 11:49 am

I'm looking for some advice regarding the cleaning of metal work. Take for example the heating mechanism, see my before and after photos:

I used a wire brush drill bit to clean it up but has this process removed any protective coating making it more susceptible to rusting in the future? Or is is it fine to be re-assembled and put into the bus. There are some rust prevention treastments but it seems a shame to cover up the shiny metal work.

Any thoughts?

TY.

Bob.

Tue Feb 21, 2017 12:16 pm

Bob,

I don't have an answer to your question but the After product looks fantastic, and I agree that covering something so perdy would be a shame.

Best,
Sam

Tue Feb 21, 2017 12:28 pm

Could clear coat it, wax it,oil it,cold galvanize it,chrome it,power coat it or paint it,then install it where it won't be seen for a long time.
Nice job cleaning it.

Tue Feb 21, 2017 12:46 pm

Thanks - it was a surprisngly easy job. The drill bit was super inexpensive and although I had to finish some of the tight spots with sand paper the drill took care of most of the work. Quite please to be honest considering this is my first attempt at anything like this!

Bob.

Tue Feb 21, 2017 12:56 pm

Impressive. \:D/

Why not just paint it black?

-dasdachshund

Tue Feb 21, 2017 2:01 pm

I would just put a couple of coats of Gibbs Lubricant on it.

Tue Feb 21, 2017 2:02 pm

Does look nice, but yes it'll probably rust again.

I'd probably just hit it with some paint. Maybe a gray or silver color to get a close approximation of the color if that is your preference.

Tue Feb 21, 2017 2:23 pm

It will definitely, 100% rust if you don't finish it. Clear paint isn't intended to seal the metal, you will still get rust under it unless you use something like this - https://www.kbs-coatings.com/DiamondFinish-Clear.html

If you spray it with this http://www.gibbsbrandlubricant.com/ it will fight off most of the rust for awhile but your best bet is to prime with this https://www.rustoleum.com/product-catalog/consumer-brands/stops-rust/rusty-metal-primer-spray and finish with this http://www.rustoleum.com/product-catalog/consumer-brands/specialty/high-heat-ultra/

Tue Feb 21, 2017 2:26 pm

Just bought some of this:

https://www.amazon.com/RPM-Rust-Prevention-Magic-oz/dp/B00ITVG8IK

I'm yet to try it out. However, I've seen others use it with good results. I will be using it on sliding door pieces and parts.

Hope this proves useful! 8)

a

Tue Feb 21, 2017 2:30 pm

http://search.eastwood.com/search?w=zinc%20plating%20kit

Buy this. It works really good. Your goal is to protect it from future corrosion. You can zinc coat it and then reinstall it looking dull but protected or invest some elbow grease after zinc coating it and polish the zinc. I zinc plate lots of old bolts and misc items after removing the dirt and rust.

It works really well.

Tue Feb 21, 2017 3:06 pm

wcfvw69 wrote: http://search.eastwood.com/search?w=zinc%20plating%20kit

Buy this. It works really good. Your goal is to protect it from future corrosion. You can zinc coat it and then reinstall it looking dull but protected or invest some elbow grease after zinc coating it and polish the zinc. I zinc plate lots of old bolts and misc items after removing the dirt and rust.

It works really well.

Striping, cleaning, rebuilding, painting, coating and luring. It never ends. :lol:

This last go around with the notch.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=8349311#8349311

Tue Feb 21, 2017 3:08 pm

I guess this would be suitable - and it's clear:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hammerite-HAM6710013-400m...prevention

Tue Feb 21, 2017 5:08 pm

notchboy wrote:
Striping, cleaning, rebuilding, painting, coating and luring. It never ends. :lol:

This last go around with the notch.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=8349311#8349311

Dam dude, did that distributor really work?!? :shock: That thing was nasty inside. I restore a lot of distributors, mainly late 60's and early 70's SVA, DVDA and SVDA distributors. It's amazing how gummed up they all are with old, hard, sticky original grease, dirt and other crap in them. The points advance plates are either frozen are nearly frozen.

Amazing what a disassembly, clean up and relube does to making those old Bosch distributors work beautifully again.. :D

It makes me wonder how many old Volkswagens are running around still with distributors like that? I'd wager a high percentage. :(

Tue Feb 21, 2017 8:44 pm

What little of the plating that was left has now been removed. So you have bare steel. Acid wash, prime and paint.

Tue Feb 21, 2017 9:27 pm

Bill,
Once again you amaze me. Coating metal parts with something like zinc, bluing, Cad, etc is something I've considered for a long time. I'd love to hear more about the product you linked. Please send me a pm with more info. I'd also like to discuss having you build me the correct dvda for my '71. If you're up to it.

Tue Feb 21, 2017 11:24 pm

Forget about the home brew plating Gary. There are maybe 3 places left in the country that do cadmium plating. Zinc coating whether its dichromate etc. is crap compared to silver or gold cadmium plating. VW used gold dichromate if I am not mistaken. It can't hold a candle to gold cadmium. There is a 120.00 minimum and you can send them a HUGE number of parts for that price. It's extra to blast them and clean them.

Wed Feb 22, 2017 10:05 am

Could I ask for some suggestions on cleaning up this BA6 belly pan here? 8)
It's got a lot of paint still on it, but plenty of rust. I removed the peeling Ziebart undercoating from the bottom, it left some tar residue.

Should it be stripped to bare metal/sandblasted? Or keep cleaning it up and deal with the rusty spots? What tools could I use to speed the cleanup? Lots of nooks and crannies... Thanks for any suggestions. I'd like to learn to do this stuff correctly and figure this is a good piece to start with :lol:

Wed Feb 22, 2017 10:19 am

Looks like a bead blast job to me but I don't know the dimensions. It would need to fit inside the cabinet. If it's too big you could have it professionally sand blasted. If it doesn't get hot you could have it powder coated.

Wed Feb 22, 2017 10:30 am

Too big for a blast cabinet, that doesn't look too bad from here, I'd consider a wire wheel in a grinder followed by phosphoric acid and finish with tremclad/rustoleum.

As for the heat levers they really are hard to see when installed, a shot of dull silver spray paint would be all I'd do. Or maybe something like this if I had nothing better to do: http://www.triumphrat.net/classic-vintage-and-veteran/160243-zinc-plating-at-home.html

Wed Feb 22, 2017 5:27 pm

Suggestion....take it over to the sandblaster guy I referred to you and then either POR 15 it or use the KBS stuff. Be done with it.

https://www.kbs-coatings.com/