1976 Superior 54XL Restoration Log

[John ED Renstrom]

Yes, the tack welded patch relies on the sealer to keep it dry. The skirt mounts are always a problem spot.
Had they sealed both sides you might not have found it.

 

[Jean-Marc Dugas]

Well the good news is it not coming threw were you fixed. I like to use the paint-able water base extra grade sealer. A pick tool like a cotter key puller will pull off the dried-out loose factory stuff. Then when you put it back with a toss brush and a cup of water you can paint it into all those small places rather than just lay it on top. But think about an acid dunk. And opening up all those seams. I don't know how you could find them all to replace all of it.

Went to NAPA and got a can of brushable seam sealer. This should work better than the tubes. No seams shall remain unsealed!!

 

[Jean-Marc Dugas]

Latest update....

 

[John ED Renstrom]

Looking good.

 

[Tim Prieur]

J-M, amazing detective work. Well done.

 

[Jean-Marc Dugas]

From what I can see the metal does not seem to have any paint or primer on it. It looks as if the undercoating was sprayed directly on the bare metal.

These holes are hard to see because of the coating that is on top of them or because they were patched with sealant sometimes in the past.

I am definitively doing things backward, all of this should have been done prior to the car going to the body shop last fall. Live and learn.....

 

[John ED Renstrom]

Right you are on both accounts. The bodies were not primed in all the under-body and interior places. Any welded joints were metal to metal the sealed with the tar sealer under the body undercoated. What paint drifted inside the nooks and crannies was all the hard spots got. So here you are over restoring it just imagine how much longer it will last.

 

[Jean-Marc Dugas]

Right you are on both accounts. The bodies were not primed in all the under-body and interior places. Any welded joints were metal to metal the sealed with the tar sealer under the body undercoated. What paint drifted inside the nooks and crannies was all the hard spots got. So here you are over restoring it just imagine how much longer it will last.

As I had my head inside the Wheelwell grinding away the tar coating (....transferring the tar from the wheel well to my head....) I was thinking about where one draws the line. I think that besides cleaning where the seams are so I can apply the new seam sealer and, obviously, where I am going to be welding, I may just brush off the rest of the area to remove any loose dirt and then leave it at that.

It will all be covered with fresh undercoating, so that should do the trick.

 

[John ED Renstrom]

Rake it with a bent-over screwdriver. If there are any hollow places or spots that are loose they will show up. If you break threw keep raking that stop till nothing more falls off the recoat it.