BRZN Posted July 9, 2012 Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 (edited) First, a little back story. I bought the 2 door 94 Grand Prix SE in October of last year for my soon to be licensed youngest daughter. The car had only 65,xxx miles when I picked it up, the body (other than two rust spots in the normal spots on the rear quarters) and interior were in decent shape and the price was below Blue Book. First thing I did when I brought it home was to wash it up top to bottom including the underside. This came out from underneath: I hosed out the underside at least three other times trying to remove all the dirt, once with the wheels off and placed her up on jack stands. Seems the last owner must have lived on a dirt road. They had it for 14 years! Dirt, gravel and rust was coming out from everywhere. I also found this repair I somehow missed when looking the car over. Its located right behind the drivers side front wheel. It held up fine all winter and still appears pretty good and solid. Then I discovered the rear impact bar was rotted away to just about nothing: My local Buick/GMC dealer was able to find me a brand new one for $185, I bought it and the wheels started spinning in my head! POR-15 had a Memorial Day sale with free shipping: My daughter was out of school and our family vacation was complete. Arrangements were made for she and my wife to share my wifes car. Friday June 29th I started. I put the car up on jack stands and removed the wheels. While the wheels were off I did my best to clean them all: front and rear of all four wheels. Before: After: They're going to need more work but they're much better. I used Adam's Wheel Woolies to clean them, the small and medium sizes fit pretty nicely within the Crosslace. Before another set of tires go on these wheels I'll probably sand/polish the lips and use sticky weights instead of the nasty hammer on type. I also took the right rear out to have a slow leak around the bead repaired. I polished out the area where an old hammered on weight was on the repaired wheel/tire and it came out pretty nice. Next, in order to remove the rear bumper to get to the Impact bar it appeared easiest if I removed the exhaust tips. So while at it I took care of them. Sanded the lips with 400 grit progressively down to 2000 grit paper and polished them with two different polishes, again my choice was an Adam's product: Metal Polish 1 & 2. Taped off the polished lips and sprayed the insides and outsides with High Temp Black Satin Stove paint. Off came the bumper cover and Impact bar Old vs. New The two rust spots in the rear quarters Right side: Left Side: There was one other hole I found in the underside of the drivers side rocker panel back near the rear wheel well I took care of. I'll jump ahead here for a moment, the POR-15 is a rust encapsulator, it works best when applied directly on rust. The repair spots were cleaned and etched then had two coats of POR-15 applied. I then filled the voids in the left quarter pane and rocker panel with foam insulation, and top coated the foam once dry with another two coats of POR. Lastly I leveled all three with JB Weld and another two coats of POR. Saturday I again cleaned the entire underside of the car. This time with the POR-15 Marine Clean, alkiline cleaner and brushes to scrub. This stuff is strong, I mixed it 5 parts water to 1 part cleaner. This came from the back 1/3 of the car Sunday I used the acidic POR-15 Prep & Ready to etch the metal in preparation for the paint. The instructions said something about protective clothing, it was hellish hot out so I'd just spray myself with the hose when my skin would start to itch too badly, LOL! I did wear an old pair of glasses and a pair of shorts that were to go in the trash when the job was done as well as latex gloves. I used brushes to apply the POR-15 not a sprayer. Monday, and Thursday evenings I painted. All day Wednesday the fourth both Michelle (my daughter) and I painted. Friday I took the afternoon off work and a buddy came over to help me for about 3 1/2 hours. Saturday morning I finished up the painting. There will probably be some future mechanical issues, like needing new bleeder nipples next time the brakes need bleed. The drivers side of the car was by far the worst. I've got to figure that not only was the car never garaged, but that it had to have sat on a dirt or gravel driveway. Check out these before and afters: Repaired spot inside trunk Repaired spot behind the left front wheel This was me after day one of painting Instructions said there is no harm in getting the paint on your skin, but there is no way to remove it. It only comes off with the sluffing off of dead skin cells and from natural oils in your skin. Well, by the end I was so covered in paint I actually figured two ways to get it off: pumice stone and a razor blade! Sunday I got the car all back together and on the road! Edited July 10, 2012 by BRZN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AL Posted July 9, 2012 Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 Holy crap, your determination blows my mind... That is some incredible work!! Side note, I see your GTO in the back on one of the pics and it looks like you have the taillight out?? Tinting them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRZN Posted July 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 Pretty observnt there Al! Picked up a set of Australian VX Tail lights that are already tinted. Can't work on just one project at a time, multi task! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AL Posted July 9, 2012 Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 Those look sweet!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tornado_735 Posted July 9, 2012 Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 Wow. Excellent work man. :thumbsup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Fury Posted July 9, 2012 Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 That's some pretty intense work!!! New lease on life!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skitchin Posted July 9, 2012 Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 Way to go! With work like that the underside should really hold up. Not to mention that should help with road noise too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urbex Posted July 9, 2012 Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 Wow!! And I thought I did a lot on my Lumina last fall...but it was nothing compared to what you did! Should be good for quite a few years now!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Powered Posted July 9, 2012 Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 I can imagine that stuff would clean up with some laquer thinner. if not then acetone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRZN Posted July 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 Hoping to make the car last at least until she's out of school: four more years for sure. I tried laquer thinner, if I got to it quickly it'd remove it, if I waited until it was good and dry it'd remove my skin! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intern8tion9l Posted July 10, 2012 Report Share Posted July 10, 2012 Lotta work there. Good luck getting that off your skin! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pshojo Posted July 10, 2012 Report Share Posted July 10, 2012 Is this really supposed to help slow down rust? if so, i've been thinking how to save my Cutty from completely rusting out. I love my car. Looks great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRZN Posted July 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2012 It's actually supposed to stop rust. With traditional type paints you have to sand down to good solid bare metal and prime before you paint, then the paint you apply over top of the primer over time will pull in moisture, bubble up and eventually flake back off to start the rusting process all over again. This stuff is supposed to dry best at 80% humidity and cure over time as it gets wet. Once good and cured you can hit the stuff with a hammer and it wont chip or flake off. The paint stuck best to rusted metal and paint underneath that had no clear coat on it. I'm in a GTO club and several of the guys that have restored old classic Goats have used this stuff with great success on old rusted frames and other parts so I figured I'd give it a try on the GP. Prep work was still pretty time consuming to throughly clean and etch the metal: it took two full days, but there was no need to sand to bare metal, just wire brush and scrape any flaking paint or rust. I bought one gallon of each but could have gotten away with two quarts of the Marine Clean since you cut it 5:1. The Prep & Ready and POR-15 Rust Encapsulator both required almost the full gallons of each. The paint is coming off my skin pretty well in the shower where I couldn't/didn't get the pumice stone or razor. I figure another three days and I'll be good to go back out in public! Here's the link to their web site: http://www.por15.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breakdown Posted July 10, 2012 Report Share Posted July 10, 2012 It's actually supposed to stop rust. With traditional type paints you have to sand down to good solid bare metal and prime before you paint, then the paint you apply over top of the primer over time will pull in moisture, bubble up and eventually flake back off to start the rusting process all over again. This stuff is supposed to dry best at 80% humidity and cure over time as it gets wet. Once good and cured you can hit the stuff with a hammer and it wont chip or flake off. The paint stuck best to rusted metal and paint underneath that had no clear coat on it. I'm in a GTO club and several of the guys that have restored old classic Goats have used this stuff with great success on old rusted frames and other parts so I figured I'd give it a try on the GP. Prep work was still pretty time consuming to throughly clean and etch the metal: it took two full days, but there was no need to sand to bare metal, just wire brush and scrape any flaking paint or rust. I bought one gallon of each but could have gotten away with two quarts of the Marine Clean since you cut it 5:1. The Prep & Ready and POR-15 Rust Encapsulator both required almost the full gallons of each. The paint is coming off my skin pretty well in the shower where I couldn't/didn't get the pumice stone or razor. I figure another three days and I'll be good to go back out in public! Here's the link to their web site: http://www.por15.com/ I only got POR-15 drips on my arms and face. Yes, I said face. POR-15 is interesting to work with. It's not like paint. When I put the top back on the can it sealed to the can. So I elected to start spearing holes in the can and pouring into smaller containers to paint with, then using POR-15 to re-seal the holes in the top of the can. Love the car. I'm planning on yet other POR-15-FEST later this year or early next on A.J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRZN Posted July 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2012 Ha, same here. Got it on my face and neck, both ears and in my hair. I quickly discovered if I didn't wipe it off but let the blob dry on me I could peel most of it off after it dried. Wiping would just smear it into my skin, that's what's pretty much still on me. I wiped the rim of the can every time I poured some out before I put the lid back on. I figured it would seal the lid to the can if it dried. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carkhz316 Posted July 10, 2012 Report Share Posted July 10, 2012 You have quite the determination and motivation there sir. You have definitely brought that car back to a respectable state. Way to go on saving one of these cars from the JY. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Euro Posted July 14, 2012 Report Share Posted July 14, 2012 Wow that is some amazing work. What are your other plans for the car? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRZN Posted July 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2012 Other plans? Pulled the cowl off Thursday evening: All Cleaned and prepped: Wire brushed all the rust and sanded to scuff with 400 grit paper. Two coats of Adhesion Promoter and three nice wet coats of Black Trim paint: I'm working on the adhesive right now to reattach the plastic trim strip along the upper edge. Hope to have it back together early this afternoon. Next? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94 olds vert Posted July 14, 2012 Report Share Posted July 14, 2012 Really nice work man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3pt1lumina Posted July 17, 2012 Report Share Posted July 17, 2012 Looks great! POR works real nice, I've used it on all of my projects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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