"Tank" my 91 Crew Cab Dually

chillman88

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I'm surprised the skid plate couldn't be dipped.

I'm not sure it couldn't, but I didn't want to get it over there and have them tell me they wouldn't dip it because it's too thin. I'm not going to be able to get there until next week because of my schedule and if they wouldn't do it I'd have to have it blasted again by then before painting. I figured I'd just play it safe.

I'm thinking about making some tank straps to actually hold the tank so I can space the skid plate out a half inch or so. That way I'll be able to rinse it out and it won't be holding salt/mud against the fuel tank. That should help with the corrosion issue anyway.
 

chillman88

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Nice batch of blasted brackets ready for galvanizing.

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And nice shiny black rear fuel tank skid plates, brake hose brackets, and exhaust hangers.

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With any luck I'll be dropping the frame off next week.
 

chillman88

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Removed the front shackle bushings today. Plan is to dip the shackles with the frame and put poly bushings in. I like when the bushings are old enough the rubber is shot so the bushings pop right out.

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Cant Write

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Might have been answered already and I’m sorry I missed it.

By galvanizing everything, how long or well will it hold up against NY salt/mag chloride/calcium chloride winter use?

Or do you plan to fluid film it, skip driving it in winters, or use bar and chain oil?

I admire your thoroughness
 

chillman88

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Might have been answered already and I’m sorry I missed it.

By galvanizing everything, how long or well will it hold up against NY salt/mag chloride/calcium chloride winter use?

Or do you plan to fluid film it, skip driving it in winters, or use bar and chain oil?

I admire your thoroughness

No need to apologize.

I honestly don't know what degree of protection it will give me. I know the guardrails here hold up pretty well and they get sprayed by the plows all winter long. The guardrails are dipped at the exact same plant that will be dipping my frame.

I don't plan on driving this all the time through the winter either. There's a good chance of the guy at work painting it afterwards which will add another layer of protection. I do plan on fluid film or something as well but I haven't decided on that yet.

I don't know how far my thoroughness will actually go, but this is one area I need to do correctly NOW. I can always rip an axle out and rebuild it, or drop a transmission, but this is the only time this frame will be completely bare so it's now or never.

I was actually thinking about the axles yesterday. I think I'm going to slap the kingpin axle from the parts truck under this for now and rebuild the ball joint axle that will end up under this at a later date (The kingpin axle will end up under another project).

I still have a lot to get for this, exhaust, engine gaskets, would like a new clutch.... And the money is getting pretty thin so there's a few places I'm going to be forced to compromise.
 

david85

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The other thing to keep in mind is that this isn't the same kind of galvanizing you see on car body sheet metal, or heater ducting around your house. This is much thicker and also comes with a naturally hard surface. Even though scratches don't matter that much (due to galvanic protection), it's actually harder than pretty much any paint system you could get.

Galvanized metal can be painted, but I've seen paint lift rather quickly once zinc oxide gets under the surface (at least when it comes to automotive sheet metal). The surface of the zinc needs oxygen exposure for maximum hardness, so it may do more harm than good. It's a similar effect to aluminum, stainless, or chrome, in that the hardness and corrosion resistance comes from a very thin layer of oxide on the surface.
 

chillman88

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Galvanized metal can be painted, but I've seen paint lift rather quickly once zinc oxide gets under the surface (at least when it comes to automotive sheet metal). The surface of the zinc needs oxygen exposure for maximum hardness, so it may do more harm than good. It's a similar effect to aluminum, stainless, or chrome, in that the hardness and corrosion resistance comes from a very thin layer of oxide on the surface.

I have first hand experience with that, there should be a few pictures of my hood in here somewhere.

I'm struggling with this honestly. From what I've read the BEST way to paint it is to wait until it's "seasoned" for 6 months. I certainly don't want it peeling off. If I do end up painting it, I will be acid etching it and using an epoxy primer.

However, I'm aware that just like aluminum, the zinc is sacrificial. It will wear until it's gone and then the steel will be unprotected. Sure that may be 30+ years, but I know the crap they put on the roads eats everything and where do I draw the line of "sufficient".

I'm absolutely overthinking this, it's what I do best!
 

david85

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Overthinking? I wouldn't know anything about that.:angel:

You could just use fluidfilm. I'd recommend it on the cab corners, door edges, floors and underside of the bed anyway.
 

chillman88

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You could just use fluidfilm. I'd recommend it on the cab corners, door edges, floors and underside of the bed anyway.

I had planned on some variation of that regardless. There's a Krown near me as well.
 

catbird7

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Just before winter I park my truck on a slight grade and drip clean motor oil in the door latches . As it gravitationally flows to the bottom of the door it follows the pinch weld until reaching the weep holes and runs out. It acts as a corrosion resistant in an area that's difficult to protect.
 

david85

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Just before winter I park my truck on a slight grade and drip clean motor oil in the door latches . As it gravitationally flows to the bottom of the door it follows the pinch weld until reaching the weep holes and runs out. It acts as a corrosion resistant in an area that's difficult to protect.
Excellent. Now do the same on the front hood edge, cab corners, rear box corners and of course inside of the wheel arches. It can literally double the lifespan of the body.

Fluidfilm in a rattlecan comes with a nozzle, so it's easy to hit all the drain holes. But any oil is better than nothing.
 

catbird7

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I use a garden sprayer with diesel and motor oil mix to spray everything under body. Always spray liberal amount up and over the inner rear fenders because that seems to be another repetitive place I notice our trucks rusting. Also drip the clean motor oil inside the tailgate until it drips out each side of the weep holes. I hear great things about the fluid film just never tried it myself.
 

chillman88

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I use a garden sprayer with diesel and motor oil mix to spray everything under body. Always spray liberal amount up and over the inner rear fenders because that seems to be another repetitive place I notice our trucks rusting. Also drip the clean motor oil inside the tailgate until it drips out each side of the weep holes. I hear great things about the fluid film just never tried it myself.

The only negative I've ever heard is it will wash off high spray areas, but that's true of most things. That and some people don't like the smell. I don't mind it but it's certainly "different" if you're not familiar with it lol. It's lanolin based.
 

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