Replacement rocker rust prevention

M

metro1

Senior Member
What's the best solution to prevent rockers and other replaced panels from rusting out again? Can a rocker be coated with something before welding in place?
 
Before I had the rockers replaced I coated them with Rustoleum primer. The guy doing the welding said most of it would be burned off by the time he was finished. I plan to keep it garaged when it's put together and not drive it in the rain. I did take the time to duplicate the little rearward facing scallop drain holes that were in the original rockers.
 
The rubber plug on the very front is the main culprit. They allowed many things the the sheet metal worms loved get in there. The best I have read about is coating the inside with a wax sealer after they are installed.

Personally I don't worry about it rusting out again because all those rust causing things will never be encountered by the car. A good metal prep goes a long way to keeping it rust free for your life time.
 
I was just reading about that yesterday. I don't know anyone that's used it but I might go with that unless someone has a better idea.
 
I've seen instances of people using POR15 in rockers. Evidently there's a snakelike attachment that can be manuevered through a small opening and then reach inside where the substance can be applied. Not sure if that would do what you want, but seems others have has some success coating the inside of their rockers and other hard to reach areas (like framerails & cowls) with this method.
 
When I was restoring my '55 Ford Courier sedan delivery wagon, I had to cut off the outer rockers, inner rockers and outer rear quarters and some of the underfloor braces at the ends near the inner rockers.
This was all done AFTER I had the whole body sent to a dunk tank where all old paint and rust was chemically removed.
When I got the new panels (some i made on my own), I fitted each panel, then I shot the backside of each one with weld-thru primer and after that was dry, I shot the underside with the overcoat that was to be used as the base coat of the body (aquatone blue, the original color of this car).
I welded all the panels on and prepared the exterior for primer. That was around 1998. The car has sat outside about half of that time and has been used in normal everyday driving including rain, snow, hail, you name it. None of those panels are even beginning to show any sign of rust.
For the most part, these cars rust from inside out.
You may notice that the factory put a large rubber hole plug in the front access to the rocker panels on both sides for Ziebart tar spray application to help prevent rust, but the coating can loosen up and fall off after several years under certain climates.
 
I think that POR15 can be used on unrusted steel, but you have to prep the metal good with an etching product they sell. According to their instructions, you should prep rusted surfaces the same way, and before that, clean the area to be coated real good. I put POR15 instead of paint on my replacement floor panels, which of course were new metal. I pre-treated everything per the instructions. It was a year and a half or more before I put the sound deadener/insulation and carpet in, and the coating gave no sign of failing or peeling.

OTOH, I put POR15 on the surface of the trunk in my '63 Olds - some of it rusted some of it not - and I hadn't made a good effort to clean or prep the surface. Some of it peeled off after several months. Following the instructions is pretty important.
 
The Por15 over the rust paint likely has has a phosphoric acid in it to convert the corrosion. A person can purchase several different rust treatments that use phosphoric and zinc as a conversion coating to convert the iron oxide to black iron phosphate. Iron phosphate is inert so it can be painted over with about anything as long as the whole surface has been converted.
 
You can spray some kind of rust proofer through the holes for the screws that hold the kick plate. Won't guarantee full coverage but will help. It has to be something that won't gum up the weep holes
 
coat with weld thru primer as you weld it burns off to seal the welds eastwood makes a nice inner frame rail coating that acts as a sealer to seal off rust comes in 3 colors i think blk silver green ive coated all rails torque boxes and panels with it on my 66 mustang convert rebuild
 
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