Suggestions for Engine Cradle Epoxy Repair?

[axh174]

So not too long ago, I decided that, since I've gotten most of the mechanical and electrical demons squared away, it was high time I turned my attention towards some more preventative maintenance aspects of the car. Specifically, repairing some of the flaking/delaminated epoxy on the frame.

My intention was to start on the underside of the engine cradle area by removing the bad epoxy, sanding the exposed metal clean, and then applying some POR-15. However, as I started looking more closely at the cradle, I noticed there was some flaking epoxy around the passenger side cradle drain hole, as seen in the center of this pic:

IMG_2074.jpg

Taking a closer peak inside the drain hole, I see this:

IMG_2080.jpg

Peaking in on the driver side drain hole, I see this:

IMG_2087.jpg

Well that's not good.

The rust beneath the epoxy appears to only be surface rust at the moment; I've gone around poking/knocking/pressing against the various accessible sections of the frame and it all feels and sounds solid. Additionally, I keep the car garaged and try not to drive in inclement weather, so I'm not really worried that the frame's strength is becoming questionable.

Obviously, I'd like to take care of this before it becomes a problem. But seeing as how these drain holes lead to the boxed-off interior portion of the engine cradle, I'm not quite sure how to proceed. I was thinking of getting a coat hangar or something and trying to remove as much of the bad epoxy as I can before using a can of some sort of frame sealer with a flexible hose and spraying it in there. Probably not the most ideal solution, but at least then it would be better protected than it is now. Doing a frame-off and baking the epoxy away really isn't an option for me (not in the foreseeable near future anyway).

Does anybody have any suggestions, tips or tricks for dealing with bad epoxy in these areas?

Thanks in advance!

(Also, sorry for the orientation of the pictures; they're all supposed to be 90 degrees clockwise, but I can't seem to find a way to adjust that.)

[sdg3205]

All depends how much effort you want to put into the repair.

Most effort - remove frame and completely strip and refurbish. Who knows how much rust lurks elsewhere
Least effort - scrape off as much epoxy as you possibly can to the point where you get clean, bare, rust-free metal and then seal with POR-15.

[David T]

All depends how much effort you want to put into the repair.

Most effort - remove frame and completely strip and refurbish. Who knows how much rust lurks elsewhere
Least effort - scrape off as much epoxy as you possibly can to the point where you get clean, bare, rust-free metal and then seal with POR-15.

Actually with a product like POR-15 you do not need to remove the rust. As long as you remove anything loose you can cover it with the POR-15 and it is supposed to stop any further rusting. As long as it is surface rust and not deep pitting or worse, that is all you need to do. You can go further and sand the POR-15 smooth and cover it with grey paint to hide the repair. For difficult to access places you do the best you can or you can cut a large hole, do your internal repairs, and then repair the hole. One way to paint the harder to access places, dip a rag in POR-15 and using a wire hanger, swoosh it around inside the holes slathering the paint well all over. Very messy job.

[sdg3205]

Actually with a product like POR-15 you do not need to remove the rust. As long as you remove anything loose you can cover it with the POR-15 and it is supposed to stop any further rusting.

Yup. thats exactly what i said. To clarify, remove epoxy until you see bare metal (so you now have all the rust in view), not remove rust until you see clean bare metal, though you could if you wanted to.

[dn010]

I find it's easier to spray KBS Coatings RustSeal into tight areas than messing around with a rag dripping with paint. I know some love it, but I hate POR-15. Failed countless times when I used it long ago whether it was on prepared metal or directly on rust. I used the KBS RustSeal on my '57 Cadillac's prepared frame & underbody and it still looks new to this day, 8 years later even after many of those years being driven on salted NY roads. I also know everyone says use it directly on rust, but both products show and state to use the three-step system of degrease, prep and then apply.

[Lwanmtr]

POR-15 is indeed messy stuff, but it covers fairly well....not as easy as a spray (which i woulda used if i had found out about it before I got the por-15). In a tight place like that, I'd use the spray.