Well, it didn't take long for my recently painted Amazon to start rusting...

My concern this week is the heater box, photo shows view through fresh air intake hole. Box was supposedly blasted to bare metal and repainted. Is there any way to deal with this problem without removing the box?

If not, is it a major pain getting the box outta there? Do I have to take a lot apart to gain access?

Think I'm gonna go the metal ready/ POR 15 route.

Decided not to remove box at this time. Luckily, this rusted area will not be seen when fresh air intake grill is installed, so when topcoating, I don't have to make it look perfect.

I am in the process of restoring my heater box, sponge seals etc. All trial and error. It is not such a big job to remove just a pain if the sponge seals happen to be glued to the metal. It is amazing how much crap has accumulated in there over the 37 years including rust. I am of the opinion do a good job in the first place and you should not have to revisit for another 10 - 15 years. Any bare metal I am treating with a rust inhibitor then painting. This would be the case for you surface rust problem which will turn into a major rust problem in a few years. All the best.

Damian;

That's the downside of taking things down to baremetal when doing a restauration....you expose highly reactive virgin metal again, so you damnwell better passivate and coat it well (fortunately, I love blasting for the fact that it also gives the surface excellent "tooth" for holding on to new coatings), in order to keep mother nature from doing what she does (and very effectively)!

In your pic, I just see some surface rust from standing water...but that's where it starts!...its a hidden place, so I would just apply some rusty metal primer, followed by a top coat.

Cheers

Thanks for your excellent advice Ron, do you think the priming/ painting can be completed without removing the assembly? I'm guessing it is possible...

Really don't want to take it out if I don't have to. However, if it's easy to pull, then I don't mind doing so. Haven't looked at my Hayne's manual yet or examined the box carefully enough to determine how to get it outta there.

Damian

It is a fairly easy pull if the engine is out.

Doesn't look like it was very well painted- coating too thin, not totally
continuous.
--
George Downs Bartlesville, Heart of the USA!

Too bad the engine is installed already!

d;

...well being a basically lazy individual, I'd try just about anything else first, to avoid having to remove that whole assembly...and, if you took a pic of it, you can see it...and if you can see it, you can get one of those throw-away (rolled metal) 1/2" brushes (acid brushes), extended maybe by a chop-stick from the oriental restaurant of your choise, and bent just so, to reach around corners even....

220, 221, whatever it takes...