Metal prep

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jdavis2

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I'm getting ready to replace my floor pans (64 Signet Conv.) so I called the local steel supplier and bought a 4x8 sheet of 16 ga.. When I got there to pick it up the sheet it was covered with surface rust. My question to you all is what should I do with it? Should I lightly sand the whole sheet, spray it with rust converter and then weldable primer? Also any suggestions/hints/tips on making floor pans would be welcome.
 
I would D A it to get off surface rust, weld it down, and apply a good direct to metal epoxy primer. POR 15 is good stuff but expensive, not that DTM primer is cheap..... then paint it.
 
16ga is pretty heavy duty for floor pans. IIRC originals were only 20ga. Just a lot tougher to bend. At least with 16 you shouldn't need all the little ribs they had in for strength. Floor pans are the one place I bought the already formed part. Everything else I made myself from flat sheet, but got stuff close to original thickness.
 
I use 18 ga, workable but seems plenty strong to me. I've used the repop[ panels and formed my own. repop is little lighter. one thing I've learned is the pan should fit totally against the frame member. I drill 1/4 in holes to spot weld there , I always have to set an anvil or ac pumt there for weight, since my pans don't have the factory fit the repop pan does.
if I was n't ALWAYS coct conscious, I would by the best repop pans!!!!LOL easier, faster, better. but my fabbed pans turn out fine for a driver, and to me that's what slant a bodies are, DRIVERS! just me.....
 
Good point about frame contact. I used a cinder block. Also make sure you have at least as many welds on the frame as it had. (Exact locations is not so important) This is creating the top side of the frame box, not just holding down the pan.
 
My anvil weighs in at 125 and was just too hard for me to move so I just used a pair of BBC heads, after knocking out all the rust in the ports.
 
I just fabricated floor pans and trunk for a '56 Plymouth from 18 gauge sheet metal, but there is no way I would have done it had there been decent floor pans available. In my case, you couldn't even find decent used parts, but you can buy either new pans or decent used parts for any A-body.

The surface rust is no problem. Get one of those black foam-looking, paint stripping discs for your drill, or better yet, an angle grinder. They remove rust or paint in seconds, and won't scratch the metal like sandpaper. Much easier, much faster, and better results, and they work well when cleaning old metal for welding.

Don't bother priming the panels before installing. Any paint will make getting a good weld nearly impossible. Wait until they are installed before using a rust reformer and painting.
 
Thanks for all the replies. I mistakenly said 16ga but 18ga is what I bought for floor pans. The paint stripping disc suggested by GaryS sounds like a logical way to remove the surface rust. I'm going to start forming the pans tonight and I've got a bead roller so strengthening the new pans won't be a problem. I'll remember to get good contact at the spot weld points, thanks for the tip.
Jeff
 
on a right angle grinder I use the 60 grit flap disc. work great, in hard to reach places a large wire cup on the r a grinder does well. the d a is for pretty flat stuff, clean the sheet before you start forming!.
 
Cold rolled steel is better to use than hot rolled and the gauge tolerances are tighter, with all the rust you said you had sounds like hot rolled steel most car fabricators use cold rolled steel food for thought:)
 
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