Tipping out the rust: Part 1

"SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media" (silentbutnotreallydeadly) 07/07/2020 at 08:00 • Filed to: Flatbeds Still Rule

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Today was finally the day to deal with the rust

Rust in vehicles is not really an issue in Australia. Unless there was a clear design fault (like Holden sills) or vehicular misuse. Our rust issue is due to the former.

Oxidation...

The conversion of the flat bed into a tipper back in the day saw the addition of a 75mm wide strip of 3 mm steel plate to the rear of the tray to help things slide off as the tipper lifted. Unfortunately, whoever welded this strip on only strip tacked it rather than fully welded it. W ater, dust, sand and other general crud was able to build up underneath it in the closed in space. Fast forward nearly two decades and we clearly had perforation issues.

Open the package and get a present...in this case, a pen that clearly must have been encapsulated by mistake by the welder. Sadly, it was broken...

First trick was to cut away the old strip to see the true extent of the damage. But that proved to be insufficient...I had to shovel out the trapped oxide and then bash away with a needle scaler and welding hammer and then clean up and...

Hammered. Note nice new strip of steel getting all enthusiastic...

...it was a bit worse than I’d hoped. Not only was the deck holed but so was the frame...bugger. On the upside, a needle scaler is an excellent tool.

Needle scaler turns rust to dust...

...but an angle grinder converts it to air! Note that I was smart enough to remove the tail lights first.

I cut the damaged section out and have a length of 100mm wide 5mm thick plate ready to go back in. This time fully welded and with no encapsulated space. A bit more of a clean up with the scaler and grinder then a coat of zinc paint as a weld through primer.

Primed for questionable welding. The two narrow plates are patches for the frame that were cut from solid portions of the scrap piece of deck.

After some drying time taken up by making some patches from the dead bit of deck... welding. Suffice to say that I am an out of practice and largely self taught welder so the results speak for themselves. In my defence however, there’s some seriously patchy metal thicknesses here and a few impurities so one expects beauty to be ground into being...rather than simply welded there in the first place!

Patched?

Suffice to say that we got somewhere today. Tomorrow I'll finish and tidy up the patches, give it another coat of zinc and then fit the new strip. Expect lots of grinding to follow...and more paint.

Sovande > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media 07/07/2020 at 08:28

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Is it a weld-through primer?  I’ve never used that stuff, but it’s a cool concept.  

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > Sovande 07/07/2020 at 08:32

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It is... ideally it'd be a couple of coats but since it's getting a layered approach to 'repair' I'm hoping it all works out sufficiently protected in the end. Certainly nicer to weld than hot dipped galvanized steel.

pip bip - choose Corrour > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media 07/07/2020 at 08:39

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welding looks good to me

DasWauto > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media 07/07/2020 at 12:02

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‘A grinder and paint make me look like the welder I ain’t’ is basically my life motto. A flap disc on the grinder is the quickest and easiest way to clean surfaces and dress the welds.

Also, for 20 years old that doesn’t look bad at all. Here in Ontario the whole frame would likely be scrap, as would the rest of the deck and probably the truck it’s mounted on. Nice work though, should get  another 20 years out of it.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > DasWauto 07/07/2020 at 18:17

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There is no way a Nissan Patrol would survive 20 years in Ontario...even if it were hot dip galvanized.

There's a flappy paddle waiting in the wings....

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > pip bip - choose Corrour 07/07/2020 at 18:17

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When you say that it usually sounds like Steve Buscemi...

DasWauto > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media 07/07/2020 at 19:01

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I’d have my doubts it would last 20 years here  even it were stainless steel. :P