Hmm... Did more reading on POR-15. I think I will do bondo/Rustoleum for now, if only because it's 20F right now (bondo should still cure), and I can chip that out this summer and redo. Needs heat and humidity to properly cure. That, and it's nasty stuff apparently--good, but still not all that great for you. Not sure if I should lay fiberglass for the larger holes in the rockers, but will talk to my inspection guy first and find his opinion.

Darn NH inspection laws--I got my plates, so technically I have 10 days to pass inspection. I suppose it's for my own good, but still.

You will be sorry if you start with regular bondo. Regular bondo is just like a sponge and accelerates the rusting. Use fiberglass bondo body filler first. It looks and smells the same as regular bondo style body filler, but with a sticker texture and consistency . Gorilla Hair is a fiber glass based paste body filler with strands of fiber glass in it for exactly what you are trying to do. It is water proof. It is much harder to sand so is not a good finish product. But start with it to get the holes filled. YOu can put Captain Lees metal prep on first and you still have a lot of rust protection going for you.

All this stuff is bad for your health. If you are working indoors, use a mask for organic compounds.

Sam
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Good point; all this stuff is bad for you. Will look into respirators.

I realize I'm trying to be hack-ish but between time constraints and weather it is what it is.

Microballoons filler should cure. Mix 50/50 with fiberglass resin, then spike with appropriate hardener. This mix won't absorb water at all, and is much lighter than bondo.

2¢

CJ

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Part of Tyrde-Browne Racing

Microballoons filler?? Interested...

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

All I could find was this:
http://www.fiberglasssupply.com/Product ... llers.html
Sounds like a filler for the resin which better matches CTE of metal, and/or makes the resin easier to sand, and/or makes the resin last longer.

Very cool fillers. Thanks to you both!

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

I didn't see any of this filler stuff while out and about tonight, just grabbed some fiberglass and Rustoleum for now (we'll see if their rusty metal primer does anything). Also grabbed an air drill, as I couldn't find (for some reason) anything that would work properly with an angle grinder. Pneumatic that is. Might need to find a better Home Depot or something. But I figured since I wasn't stripping a whole floor the drill might get me by.

Microballoons are a 3M product. Super light, and adhere very well. The stuff finishes harder and better than bondo.
I got introduced to them when working on Hover Craft. The light weight makes it something useful, along with being able to make hard-points for engine mounts and such.

It's a bit more involved when sanding. Like I said, harder.

They are available in a variety of weights and strengths for different applications. Light weight for aircraft filler, heavier and stronger for pipe insulation in deep water.

CJ

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Part of Tyrde-Browne Racing

I use the glass microspheres, not the phenolic. The phenolic may be easier to work.

The stuff goes a long way!

CJ

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Part of Tyrde-Browne Racing

any type of clean and strip wheel will do an excellent job on floors and body panel rust, 3m are the best, they hold up longer.

Stopped and got some wirewheels today, to add to my sanding discs. Am hoping to cut out early from work today, get the truck, and swing by my inspection guy, to verify just what I need to do.

3-M makes and sells a stripping wheel that is made of fiber and rubber of some kind that is excellent for what you are trying to do. It looks like a big round, course sponge on a spindle that mounts in your drill. They do wear out with use, but seem to be worth the cost as they do an excellent job of getting rust and corrosion off surfaces. As they wear they fit into tighter and tighter corners, so I usually kept the worn ones for that.

Sam

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Put the saran wrap over the container before you put the lid on, then the saran is between the can and the lid. This does in fact prevent the lid from sticking. I have found POR-15 lids hard to reseal air tight. I use the saran trick and then I clamp it with a bar clamp (one of the blue ones).