There's paint under there!!!

M

msstring

Senior Member
I have forever been resigned to the fact that the sun or weather had taken all paint off any exposed metal on my 1950 F3. The entire truck was / is a rust color with a rusty texture. Today just in a whim I took a nylon brush to it to clean up the area around the gas fill spout. Loan behold there is perfect gray paint under that rust stuff. So now my question, now what? How Is the best way to scrub this rust stuff off without removing what's left of the paint? I proceeded to work on the door and it seemed to reveal a mixture of rust metal and paint but less of paint. You can see on the fender what the rest of the truck looks like. Any suggestions?
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I guess it would depend on what you want for the end result. Are you intending to put it back as close to original as possible or preserve the patina? Some here on the Barn go one way and others another. If it were mine I would continue to clean with the nylon brush to remove loose, flaky rust and see what I discover, then proceed from there. Should you decide to keep its patina there are varying opinions on how to preserve it. I started a thread some time ago on this subject. It is titled "preserving patina". You could easily find it in a search. I'm not computer literate enough to post the link. I will say that the end result of preserving the patina on an old rusty metal shed that I repurposed into wainscotting in my house using 3 coats of Penetrol yielded a high gloss finish. You'll have to form your own opinion.
 
Original is always best however usually in vehicles of this age and particularly trucks body work can be a challenge. Whatever you decide is your decision, given your intent and resources. I'm attaching this pic of the repurposed metal shed discussed in the thread. This is the bar I built using it.
 

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I used L A Awesome cleaner (a buck a bottle) and a green scuff pad with great success on surface rust. Exposes original paint nicely.
 
A few folks have used CLR with a scotch-brite pad to remove surface rust without damaging the paint. Wear gloves, do it with good ventilation, and rinse well afterwards.
 
dean333 said:
I used L A Awesome cleaner (a buck a bottle) and a green scuff pad with great success on surface rust. Exposes original paint nicely.
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Good to know. I've not heard of L A Awesome cleaner. Where did you get it? I used hot water and Dawn dishwashing liquid with a nylon brush. Dawn cuts grease and wax which is why I used it, though I'm sure there are plenty of name brand car wash liquids that also do that at a premium price. They use Dawn to wash birds clean after an oil spill.
 
This will be my next cleaning project. '47 Chrysler. Super straight and only surface rust. No rust through anywhere. Keep the patina or not?
 

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GB SISSON said:
Gonna say patina on that one. It looks like a beautiful car!
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Thanks Gary. My personal philosophy on restore vs. keep as is or modify: If there is enough originality to merit restoration then it should be restored to original. If it has been repaired, damaged, or otherwise cobbled together over the years then owner's choice. The Chrysler for sure needs a lot of work but it is all there and in great shape. It will remain original. It runs (on 4 out of 6 cylinders, stuck valves?) and drives but no brakes. Given my focus in life right now I'll keep the patina as the investment of time and money is pointed elsewhere. In this thread in my opinion if that beautiful old truck were mine I'd be inclined to clean it and keep the patina.
 
If you want to dissolve the rust off of the metal,
just do a google search for rust dissolvers, and
you should see a lot of different products. ;)




.
 
Whenever the subject of patina comes up, i always think back to my Navy days, when we used diesel fuel to put a shine on our older working vehicles. Paint or bare metal, it made everything shine! No rust on those trucks! Very quick and easy, but then, it got dull quick also.
 
cas3 said:
that sure looks like a nice clean old truck. She's a keeper
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Thanks, here is a better picture of the whole truck. The hood was sprung a little so at a shop getting that repaired as long as I had it off for replacing the engine.
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tomcar In this thread in my opinion if that beautiful old truck were mine I'd be inclined to clean it and keep the patina.[/QUOTE said:
Thanks, I will definitely think about that and try some of the cleaning products suggested here. The outcome of that will probably make a difference in the decision. My hope is to have it drivable as a runabout for the summer and then do more on the appearance over the winter and next summer. Maybe during this summer I can try some of the cleaning products.

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tomcarman said:
Good to know. I've not heard of L A Awesome cleaner. Where did you get it? I used hot water and Dawn dishwashing liquid with a nylon brush. Dawn cuts grease and wax which is why I used it, though I'm sure there are plenty of name brand car wash liquids that also do that at a premium price. They use Dawn to wash birds clean after an oil spill.
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The Dollar Tree stores near me all carry LA Awsome.
 
msstring a friend of mine has a twin of your F3 and looks exactly the same. He has probably owned it 50 years. If you do decide to try scotch brite pads be aware they come in different grades of coarseness like sand paper. At my age and having experienced body shop jail a few times the rest of my rides will be patina. Nice truck.
 
the tv show garage squad did a F3 not many years ago, sprayed it with gloss clear and even the names on the door came out great
 
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