The right side compartment behind the front steer was a catchall mess. I never did anything with it until now as it was basically a place to toss loose tools and parts. Since I had to remove two bolts holding the cross braces of the condenser for the now defunct and removed dash air, the exposure of the space made me realize it was time to clean it up. I have since welded the bolt heads to the back floor of the compartment so I would not need to get an assistant to hold the bolt when something underneath exterior needs to be tightened down. I have sanded the surface rust, Por-15 the space and installed new carpet tiles. Carpet has self adhesive strips on the backside but I also brushed on contact cement for a more secure and permanent hold. I do use deep plastic trays to keep stuff in so the carpets should stay clean.
Simon,
Every time you work on something, it ends up looking better than new.
Where are you getting the carpet squares?
Steve, Lowes and Home Depot have them. Mine are from Depot. Not my favorite but they were a little cheaper and were the closest match to the rear compartments I did last year. The ribbing pattern on the new ones is a little bigger. Lowes has a nice gray diamond style carpet tile but their box price is $107. HD was $35 and rated for indoor/ outdoor use.
i have to echo Rob's comment, every time you fix something, the results are quite impressive
Simon, I was checking to see if you sprayed POR-15 and didn't find any mention of you using a spray gun to apply it. I checked YouTube and found a video on using an HVLP spray gun.
Spraying POR-15 I like that with the disposable cups you can spay with the gun upside down or any other angle. I'll probably sand blast the majority of rust off too.
I found trying to search our forum didn't work with POR-15, but it works just fine using the site qualifier in Google;
por-15 site:newellgurus.com
If I'm looking for just BusNit's posts referencing POR-15, I can add his user ID to the search;
por-15 and busnit site:newellgurus.com
I always rolled it on with a brush on corners. It may be sprayable but I'd think the gun would be toast afterwards. That stuff just hardens up fairly quick. Or should I say, thickens up. Not sure if they recommend spraying it. Either way a mini roller works amazing. No need to spray really. I do use Rustoleum spray to reach areas I could not with brush or roller.
I'm not very good with brushes and rollers. I've painted cars and motorcycles professionally, years ago, but still feel comfortable with spray guns. I even have an airless for paint jobs around the house.
Cleaning the HLVP spray gun is super simple with the disposable cups. The best option is to spray paint thinner or acetone through it right after use with the non-disposable cup that came with the gun. Wipe down any overspray on the gun itself, then remove the spray nozzle and throw it into the cup to soak and wipe off the needle.
How to clean your spray gun
Hang on.
POR is a cyanoacrylate paint, like DuPont Imron. If you are going to spray you need an air supplied positive pressure mask. Inhale the mist and you are done. It sticks to your lungs like it sticks to everything else. The POR use instructions include precautions about spraying.
Not trying to be the police at all, but raising awareness.
That's a very good point Richard. I know spraying Por is frowned upon in my car restoration forums. Brushing or rolling it is not like regular paint. It does self level to a nice finish. Of course my intended uses are utilitarian rather than a showcase pretty finish. That said, it still looks pretty when done. Just trying to get another 30-50 years out of this before it goes to the scrapper. A little surface or pitted metal really locks the coating down.