No Going Back now. 70 LT-1

[Lynn]

Trim tag indicates Feb. 11.

PM sent.

[Tracker1]

I took one photo of my 1970 Vette chassis VIN stamp years ago S402541

[Lynn]

I am impressed you could get a camera up there!

[Lynn]

No partial vin on this frame anywhere.

Finally getting some work done on the LT-1. Had the frame sandblasted, then treated with Ospho, per the instructions, because SPI said that was the ONLY rust treatment their product (epoxy primer) would work on. It looked great. Entire frame was a dull gray.

Got ready to shoot a few months ago, and the SPI instructions say you MUST neutralize the Ospho before shooting primer. Again, followed the directions to the "T" and ended up with flash rust on about 20% of the frame. Had to wait for decent weather to sand blast the flash rust myself. Did that today, and ended up blasting every square inch of the thing. Still, it was so clean only took about 2 hours, then 30 min. to clean up.

Very pleased. Will shoot primer Wed. evening. The primer needs to induce minimum of four hours if you want UV protection... and I do. Even though the frame will not be exposed to direct sunlight, it will be exposed to light. Don't want it to turn chalky.

So, will mix Tues. nite and shoot Wed. night.

Question: I hate throwing out good paint. How much should I mix for the frame? Planning to shoot an antique bed cast iron foot board for my granddaughter at the same time, so it is OK if I have a little extra. Don't have much else I can shoot right now, but want to get some primer on this thing ASAP before I get some more flash rust. 1/2 quart shot with a 1.5 nozzle? Would hate to run out.

[Lynn]

Example of the flash rust I got after "neutralizing" the Ospho.

[Too Many Projects]

A red, Scotch Brite pad would have scuffed the flash off sufficiently to paint. Not understanding why you used the ospho after blasting ? There are others on this forum who use SPI far more than me, but once I have a part that has been blasted I clean and go straight to epoxy. I've never used ospho after reading about adhesion failures if it isn't thoroughly neutralized and then you deal with the flash rust issue.
Anyway, I don't see waiting more than 4 hours for the epoxy to induce. If you want to spray at night, mix the epoxy in the morning. The Black settles out quite a bit while sitting and I find stirring it after 2 hours helps with that and actually, rarely, wait any longer than 2 hours to use it.
1 pint isn't going to get you 2-3 coats IMO. A frame has a lot more area than we realize. I turn the fan pattern down a lot to minimize overspray paint loss and then the volume needs to be turned down as well, or it is easy to flood the part unless you are really moving the gun quickly. Difficult to spot spray into the channels with too much volume too. I believe you'll need a full quart to get good coverage and I would also add 10% medium reducer to get it to flow better.
Allow plenty of flash time between coats too, 1 hour is, usually, safe and helps prevent "excessive flowage" as my mentor calls runs... LOL
Are you a member on the SPI forum ? Those guys can advise you far better than I can with my limited experience. Member SMS on this forum has extensive experience with SPI as well.
1 other item I would like to suggest and it would take time for you to acquire, would be to use a liner system for the paint gun versus the cup. With a collapsible liner, you can paint upside down and not have paint running out of the vent hole in the cup cap.

Most of all, work on being patient with yourself and the process. Once mixed, the paint has a long window in a sealed container and there is no need to rush, even though we tend to feel we need to do that...

[daveg]

Neat car.
I had the neutered version of your car in 1978- 1979.
1972 model LT-1, M22 coupe in war bonnet yellow with black interior.
Mine also did not have PS or PB.
Car is long gone.
Good luck.

[CamarosRus]

Used OSPHO on Underfloors of my 70 Z28 LEGENDS Restoration. Followed Neutralizing Instructions and blew down with air............

Applied SPI Red Oxide Formula to match Norwood 1970 Primer........

Also used SPI Primer on everything else. The Black has a nice semi gloss sheen to
it......Your frame would not need top coating unless you felt a must to do so...

I bought a gallon of SPI Single Stage Black for not much more than a Qt of PPG DBC
Single Stage cost..........

Black SPI UNderfloor is a different Camaro than Red Oxide Floor 70 Z

[Lynn]

Looks great Chuck.

[396 SS/RS]

Looks good! Not sure of the body weight but it looks like you have ample sized slings. Keep in mind when tying a knot in a sling it can reduce the capacity of the sling by 50%. Wouldn't want to lose the load or hurt someone.