Resto question; rust prevention measure

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paulr
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Resto question; rust prevention measure

Post by paulr »

The area in the photo is the lower cowl. I've taken off the previous owner's spray-over paint jobs and the factory paint and primer right down to bare metal except for the small portion shown in original rose-beige metallic that never sees the light of day. And now the cowl area and engine bay is in etching primer. At the extreme sloped ends of the cowl on both sides the factory has a putty-like substance dabbed in there, partly painted, and after all these years shrunken and cracked though not entirely dried out. It's still a little bit flexible. Well, it comes right off in a solid chunk, you don't even need a putty knife. What is this stuff, and what's it for? I'm guessing it's serving as a water channeling material to help direct drainage. Anybody know? What would I replace it with?
IMG_0617.jpg
I've cleaned up the area, POR-15ed and primed it but I believe I should be replacing that material with something similar. The body/trim manual doesn't give any information so any ideas are welcome. Thanks for looking.
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To keep me distracted during the alternate wildfire and COVID excitement I've got this fussy little project going on. Might as well be busy!
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Last edited by paulr on Sun Oct 04, 2020 10:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Paul
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Terry64HT
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Re: Resto question

Post by Terry64HT »

There are some great new materials out there now. I'd take a look at some of the products by Flex Seal or similar. They have a bad rep because of their advertising style, but are really pretty good.
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paulr
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Re: Resto question

Post by paulr »

Thanks Terry. I see what you mean about their marketing, kinda cheesy. It looks like they make a paintable rubberized seal product that could be applied in layers to make it thick enough to duplicate what this is. Spray products would be hard to control. The more I look at this the more I realize this is critical for keeping water out of the door jamb and the areas behind the electrical service panel on the passenger side and the parking brake mount on the drivers side. Failure of this stuff would account for rust in those areas as well as directing water into the open leading end of the rockers.
Paul
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stubbie
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Re: Resto question

Post by stubbie »

Have you maybe tried heating it with a heat gun Paul? Would it make it soft again? Enough to rework it. Or is it not that type of material? If not look at SikaFlex.
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Re: Resto question

Post by redstangbob »

What is this stuff, and what's it for?
I'm sure it's seam sealer, the factory didn't bother with spreading it out. I used 3M stuff, dipped my finger in lacquer thinner to work it in the rain gutters. You need something in the cowl, it's made up of multi layers is meant to handle water. JMO, Bob C
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And now it's really cool !!



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paulr
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Re: Resto question

Post by paulr »

stubbie wrote: Sun Oct 04, 2020 9:01 pm Have you maybe tried heating it with a heat gun Paul? Would it make it soft again? Enough to rework it. Or is it not that type of material? If not look at SikaFlex.
No, part of it's dehydrated and crumbly, it's shrunken, plus it's coated in factory paint. I'll just buy new seam sealer and make a new channel.

Looking at this a little closer you can see that this gutter situation is critical to keeping water away from key areas. Now I can see how cars that have been stored outside for too many years often have rotten rockers. When this sealer fails, water drops straight into openings at the front edge that is ramped downward the length of the rocker.

This pic is the area where water falls when the seal is bad. The second pic is shows the two openings into the rocker.
IMG_0633.jpg
IMG_0632.jpg
Paul
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JamesR
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Re: Resto question; rust prevention measure

Post by JamesR »

Looks like you're doing a great job. To be honest with you, I've had dubious results with Flex Seal, but I don't know if I'm thinking of the same version of the product that was referred to earlier. The spray on and brush on variations have different enough results (for me) that they could almost be considered different products in themselves. The spray on stuff never completely dries, and the brush on stuff dries but has problems adhering.
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Re: Resto question; rust prevention measure

Post by Terry64HT »

About Flex Seal.....
I've used the tape with great results and the brush on with ok results, then after careful prep, better results. I think it's much like Por-15, the prep is everything. I think Paul's big problem is the area and gap he has to cover.
I'll be interested in the solution
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Re: Resto question; rust prevention measure

Post by RAVEN »

Paul, the work looks great, is this GINGER you are working on?
I have a question in regards to the painted surfaces on the car. Specifically the front facing panel area on either side of the front rad support, the slotted section and the panel which the voltage reg is screwed to.
These two FRONT facing panels also have the headlight pods mounted to.
My question; when you were stripping the paint and cleaning these panels, and since GINGER was originally a 64 MY White car, did you find these panels to be sprayed with a Black over spray, like the lower rad frame, per the Osborne MANUALS for blacked out areas?
There is an ongoing discussion, about these areas, with no complete answer. An associate of mine says that these areas were blacked out also, and reportedly has a notice letter telling so. (He has a vast library of FORD archived material from the old Ford Canadian Headquarters when it was torn down, only thing is he can not find that letter currently) It is reported that these panels got a Black coating to make them disappear when you looked through the grille, especially on light coloured cars.
My question is what you found, Blacked out or not. It would be a benefit to know what you found to help keep the discussion open and continue with the information stream. Currently it is an active topic with some of us members, and any info found is appreciated.

Wally
CDN Member since 1975 #2086
Flock: 1964 Landau Original Family Owned
1964 Sr Convertible "RAVEN"
Past: 2003 Blk Lab "RAVEN" "RIP"Nov 15/17
1964 Lincoln vin4Y86N00007
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paulr
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Re: Resto question; rust prevention measure

Post by paulr »

@RAVEN,

Wally, yep it’s Ginger. Good questions you’re asking. How about I copy your post and start a new thread to keep things going smooth.

@Terry,

I chose the 3M seam sealer at NAPA and tooled it the BobC method which ain’t pretty but the point is it’s needed to channel the small amount of water that manages to slip past the huge central drain system built into the cowl. This water would otherwise drop straight on to the door hinges which, I’ll wager is the reason most of our hinges are rusty anyway because how many of us have ever changed this stuff out?

The pic with the upper cowl sitting in place really shows how you have to direct your slope so water will roll toward that gutter-shaped frame member instead of falling on the door hinges. I’d suggest taking a look at this. It’s a cheap easy fix.
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Last edited by paulr on Sun Oct 11, 2020 1:21 am, edited 1 time in total.
Paul
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"Beer, now there's a temporary solution!" ~Homer Simpson
RAVEN
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Re: Resto question; rust prevention measure

Post by RAVEN »

Paul, fully agree and I moved my thoughts and comments to the other Post. The story continues!

W
CDN Member since 1975 #2086
Flock: 1964 Landau Original Family Owned
1964 Sr Convertible "RAVEN"
Past: 2003 Blk Lab "RAVEN" "RIP"Nov 15/17
1964 Lincoln vin4Y86N00007
1964 Red Convertible
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