I think the used and classic car buying experience can be very gray and tough to be sure of what you're getting. When I bought this G from Steffen in CO I was aware of the fact that there was some rust, however when I got the truck it was in a whole heck of a lot better shape than I had thought with the pictures he had sent me. Anyway, rust has appeared in the quarter panel areas (lower), but has not gone all the way through the metal. There is also a tiny spot on the rear tail lamp area. These, as most of you know, are typical areas of rusting for the 460's.
Well I took my G to Jay Givens over at Givens Collision in Frederick, MD. Jay has been doing body work and full restorations for over 30 years now and he was nice enough to go over my truck and tell me a little more about the history of my G. For starters it was repainted a few years back and the work was absolutely top notch. He also pointed out that when it was repainted there was most likely no rust because all of the welds were original and no body filler was present. There were some proper additions done like drain holes added to the rear tail lamp pieces and proper plugs replaced...etc. He said overall the truck was super clean (which I agreed with him on).
I went home and stripped the exterior of all of the rubber moldings, fender flares, rock sliders, bumper...etc and washed the G down really well. I then went ahead and waxed it without those rubber pieces on. The paint looks amazing, I must say. From there I took a wire brush drill tool to expose the rusty spots that were present on the rockers and rear tail light area. Once the surface rust was exposed I treated the surface with Naval Jelly.
"Phosphoric acid may be used by direct application to rusted iron, steel tools, or surfaces to convert iron(III) oxide (rust) to a water-soluble phosphate compound. It is usually available as a greenish liquid, suitable for dipping (acid bath), but is more generally used as a component in a gel, commonly called naval jelly." - wikipedia on naval jelly
So the surfaces were treated and today I'm going to be taking a grinder to those areas affect to remove all bulging and to smooth out the surfaces. The buldging is not much, so I do not anticipate having holes in the metal when all is said and done. If that is the case I will either MIG weld in a new piece in those affected spots or treat the metal again with naval jelly and then apply a fiberglass overlay, prime the surface and then apply a topcoat over the affect areas.
As many may know I am in the process of getting ready to sell my G. School is expensive and it is a bummer, but I want to be up front with everyone as well as prospective buyers that this truck underwent proper body work. Once the surfaces are treated and good to go I will be having LineX sprayed over top to create a air and water tight seal. I decided against Rhino Liner because of the reputation of LineX. My quote for Rhino Liner was 50% cheaper than that of a LineX application, but as many know cheaper is not better in some cases. The LineX is not being applied to hide the rust, but rather to prevent it from spreading and growing.
I'll be taking pictures along the way. Pictures below show the naval jelly application - will post pictures of the surfaces up close before it goes off to LineX.
Here are some pictures to start -
http://picasaweb.google.com/snyder.hunter/GRestoration#