MTFCA Forum

Has anybody ever tried this ? I would like to preserve my 1926 fordor body. The paint is about 80 %. I am thinking of putting at mat fishish clear coat to preserve the paint that is thete.I like it like it is ..I think it is rusty in all the right places. Just saying the pros and cons.. or maybe there is a better idea. Open to any thoughts or suggestions.

There are better ways. First off how would you get the coating to stick to oxidized paint?
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Read March 10 10:40 post
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I would just drive it the way it is. Stay off the salted roads in the winter and it won't get any worse. I have seen things people cleared over and years latter the clear started peeling. That makes a big ugly mess and very hard to fix without doing an unwanted restoration.

Larry,

I see you're not that far from Hershey and the AACA museum.

If I were you, I'd contact a curator or preservationist at the museum and ask for advice. Some of these folks are experts at preservation and should be up to speed on the latest preservation methods.

Hope this helps.

WD 40 it. It will preserve it and make it shine. I have also used tire wet. Both are temporary.

One of the techniques used by stationary engine collectors to preserve an engine's "working clothes" (i.e. not restored) is to coat it with linseed oil. The excess is wiped off after a day or so, leaving a pretty durable finish that excludes air/water and further deterioration. Not saying it's the best way, but you might try it on a small spot and see what the results are like.

I tried boiled linseed oil on my 48, it was short lived as it lives outside. Water did bead up nice for a while, but washed off hood onto the windshield at road speeds in the rain (mostly under 45 MPH). I also put it on my 25, lasted better, but the rats loved it where I coated the wood pickup box.

Applying anything that is not easily reversible is just spelling trouble further down the road. Assuming you keep it indoors when not driving it, and that you aren't driving it in our wonderful Pennsylvania salt and whatnot, I would recommend that doing nothing but keeping it clean and dry is your best option. Applying something to it, you also risk an adverse reaction with the existing paint. Surface rust is pretty stable stuff all on its own. It's when you expose it to something corrosive that causes problems. That's why a ten year old car driven every winter can have structural issues yet your 90 year old car, that was apparently well-stored, is still in nice condition.

I used something called Penetrol on my old and very thin paint. It's avaialable from Lowe's, Home Depot, etc and has little or no smell. I wiped it on then immediately wiped it off until dry. You can do your whole car with a small can. It leaves a very dull shine and doesn't tend to attract dust and dirt and it also doesn't adversly affect old paint.

WD40, on the other hand, leaves a wet look, attracts dirt and dust like a magnet and smells like WD40.

It's the fad these days for hotrodders, but I wouldn't clear coat any old finish, especially not one that was down to having almost no paint left at all like yours. You'd be sealing in oxidation that will turn aggressive and cause real problems.

The best thing you can do however, is simply keep the car dry. Oxidation, once stopped, has little or no chance to progress in the absence of moisture.

Here's a shot showing treated and untreated panels on my 24 Touring with Penetrol. In the photo, the body was treated and the fender, splash apron, etc had not yet been treated. This was two years ago and the treated panels still look the same. Of course, the car sleeps inside a dry garage and is never in the rain.

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Larry, can you tell us the story of your Fordor? Someone cared for it for a long time, as it looks incredible!

I'll tell u what I know about my fordor.. my wife and I own an auction house.. a customer came with pictures of a barn full of (stuff ) he bought and it included the model t. I had been casually looking for an old car for 35 years or so. We agreed on a price and I bought it before it hit the auction. The story goes it was in the tobacco shed next to the main barn when the main barn burned, it was ten feet from the barn fire..here is a few pics