Re: 1948 Super 8 Door Restoration

Posted by Fish'n Jim On 2022/9/4 8:02:01

Always best to clean it up to bare metal and then assess what has to be done. I, too, prefer "grit" blasting over dipping. But that requires space adn compressor or farm out the work. There's mixed info on soda. I've used dry ice commercially for some things where I wanted to protect the base metal, but this requires aggressive surface cleaning. What they call "white blasting" in construction lingo. You might find some of that loose stuff will disappear and reveal a hole that phosphate won't cure. But something has to be done to relieve the metal of residual stresses from blasting. Some patching will probably be necessary, if not just to even out the surface. "Bondo" is not long term. "Glass" is better but has issues. Metal repair is best but requires some skill/welding.
Once there's corrosion in the crevice between the two pieces, it has to be coated such to exclude air and moisture or it'll just keep rusting and pop out through the nice paint someday in the future.
All coatings has some porosity, so the solution is multiple light coats, but not too much where you loose detail or coating material can crack.
Sounds like a major investment in equipment or you'll be suffering the "I ain't got one blues". Might not be that bargain, but if it's what one likes go for it. That's how most of us started - out of necessity.
Just make sure it you use a water based surface prep that it's neutralized and thoroughly dried (elevated temp is best) to get any moisture out. Moisture will migrate under the coating and cause blistering.
A good grade of epoxy primer on all the metal after repair will give the best service that's available now. A case where making it like it came from the factory "restored" is not going to last without new metal.