Frame painting assist request

Woodrow

1997
Supporting Member
Joined
May 25, 2021
Messages
1,514
Location
Oregon
I have the rear end of my ‘97 apart for an axle, tank and bumper project. Even though this rig has been out west for 26 years, the back half of the frame has surface rust with pit, scale and some flakes inside. I haven’t had a better opportunity to get at it to clean and paint. So, I’ve cleaned it with paint and rust stripping wheels (and, in some places, a 40 grit flap disc) on my grinder. I’ve also wire wheeled the nooks and crannies as much as I care to (8-10 hours of work total so far). I have drain holes drilled between the LCA mounts and have rinsed the interior of the frame numerous times. It is dry and has been repeatedly blown out. I’ve looked with a bore scope and I do not see dirt or flakes or anything concerning structurally.
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Paint plan: I have Eastwood internal frame coating. I will do that first. Then I plan to brush all exterior imperfections (areas that are not clean, bare metal) with a rust encapsulator). Finally, self etching primer followed by semi-flat black paint.

I have no worthwhile automotive paint experience (and really don’t enjoy painting). I do NOT want to do this again soon.

So, please, do any of you paint experts have pointers or see issues with my plan?

Thx for your help!
 
Also super jealous of that garage, I’m no pro, but I think your plan sounds solid. When I cleaned my frame up I just wire wheeled it down and hit it with some Rust tough flat rattlecan paint. 2 years later it still looks fantastic! Most of mine was cosmetic, I just didn’t want it to get worse. Now that I’m moving North I’ll have to be a bit more proactive.
 
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Get yourself a couple cans of 2K epoxy primer to bond to the bare steel. They make it in aerosol...Its expensive, but worth it. Then you can top coat with whatever you want but I'd go with another automotive style paint.

The eastwood stuff is good, but it makes a HUGE mess. Tape up every hole you can find, then mask your floor. Its runny by nature, to get into the nooks and crannys. It will run out anywhere it can find an escape path.
 
All I can says is... I am very jealous of your garage.

This may help. It's a good read.
https://wranglertjforum.com/threads...otect-your-wheeler-driver.61716/#post-1109419

Thx for the link to @Irun ‘s paint recs. Very helpful. I will make some changes to my plan. Also appreciate the props on my garage 😀. Its a 15’x25’ RV bay tacked on to a standard 2 car that the previous owner of our house put in. I roughly finished part of the interior, built a bench and some shelves and put the lift in. It could always be bigger and better organized. Right now, it’s a MESS with this frame project.
 
I used some por-15 chassis black on my rust free CA/AZ LJ. Frame was rust free to begin with, but, oem paint was a bit faded. Looks great three years into it.
 
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Also super jealous of that garage, I’m no pro, but I think your plan sounds solid. When I cleaned my frame up I just wire wheeled it down and hit it with some Rust tough flat rattlecan paint. 2 years later it still looks fantastic! Most of mine was cosmetic, I just didn’t want it to get worse. Now that I’m moving North I’ll have to be a bit more proactive.

Thx. It’s always more of a mess than I would like (especially with this project). The lift was cheaper than I would have guessed and pretty straightforward to install. It did require running 220v power but I ended up needing that for my welder anyway. Oh and I had to cut out a 15’x15’ section of the cement floor which was only 3.5-4” thick and pour a thicker, more reinforced section. Bend Pak said you need at least 6” of concrete for this 10,000# lift. I used 8” thick with 3/8” rebar at 12”x12”. The TJ is under 3500# and seems like a toy up there. But with my 8000# diesel tow rig up there, I’m glad I did the floor. So now that I think of it, it was a bit of a PITA🙄
 
I had the same lift, and exact same install. Biggest problem with the lift, was not hitting my head on the tires of lifted vehicles. Or the arms sticking out. I wear a hat and drink beer when working on the vehicles. Might have had something to do with it!

I’ve smacked my head more than once🤬
 
Thx. It’s always more of a mess than I would like (especially with this project). The lift was cheaper than I would have guessed and pretty straightforward to install. It did require running 220v power but I ended up needing that for my welder anyway. Oh and I had to cut out a 15’x15’ section of the cement floor which was only 3.5-4” thick and pour a thicker, more reinforced section. Bend Pak said you need at least 6” of concrete for this 10,000# lift. I used 8” thick with 3/8” rebar at 12”x12”. The TJ is under 3500# and seems like a toy up there. But with my 8000# diesel tow rig up there, I’m glad I did the floor. So now that I think of it, it was a bit of a PITA🙄

Looks good, I’m not that mechanically inclined to need one. Maybe one day, I had hoped my next home would allow for more space for things like that, but it won’t. I am happy that I will have a 3 car garage!

I’m sure for all the effort it was worth it!
 
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With all the prep work you've done, I'd coat the interior, skip the brushed on rust encapsulater, spray it with a self etching primer, then cover with paint.
 
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With all the prep work you've done, I'd coat the interior, skip the brushed on rust encapsulater, spray it with a self etching primer, then cover with paint.

I’d love to remove a step. I’ve seen your work here. I’m sure your prep is better but this is enough for me. Not a show car. I’d just like the frame to last so I can enjoy the more fun work I’ve done on this TJ. You use mineral spirits for wiping down before primer, correct?
 
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I’d love to remove a step. I’ve seen your work here. I’m sure your prep is better but this is enough for me. Not a show car. I’d just like the frame to last so I can enjoy the more fun work I’ve done on this TJ. You use mineral spirits for wiping down before primer, correct?

I use a denatured alcohol, with a lint free cloth, prior to applying primers/paints.
 
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