Now that the long, 9-month Svedish winter is here, it's time to do that frame-off restoration that you've been putting off for so very long. Ya, it's cold and raining, but that's what degraded the car in the first place. First thing to do is get a copy of Bill Webb's classic, Swedish Iron: aka Volvo 1800.  Mix up a batch of hot toddies, light the fireplace, and give this book a good read. When finished you will have completed the textbook portion of this course. 

     The first bit of advice, other than to go ice fishing instead, is to write up a list of the shortcomings of your car, and/or a list of the areas which you'd like to improve. This list will guide you toward WHAT to do, and also can be used to verify that you've met your goals.

     Assess your capabilities. Can you do hands-on work? Do you have time constraints like needing the car on Monday? Do you have that bull-headed, one-directional, voracious tenacity that is required to complete the job. Ya? Good! Now, let's get to work .

     In doing a frame-off, be sure that you have plenty of space. The rule of  thumb is two parking spots minimum for each car restoration. Now is the time to plan your project organization. If you are experienced at this, you need less formal organization to assure that you can get the car back together, but if this is a personal first, then you should take every step to ensure that you know where each part goes, and in which order to reassemble them. A full photo or videotape documentation is not unreasonable, if you are breaking new ground. Keep related items together, for instance putting all fasteners for a component with the component instead of dumping all the fasteners together in a bag. Bag or box and label everything. Be careful not to damage things that aren't yet broken. Don't use excessive force unless it's justified. Ask someone experienced if you get stuck. COME TO THE CHAPTER MEETINGS, SEE THE RESTORED CARS; TALK WITH THEIR OWNERS AND ASK QUESTIONS. 

     Let's start with the interior. Everything must be removed. I start with the seats, and then the steering wheel. With these removed there is enough room to get at everything else, especially if you work as the Rubber Man for Barnum & Bailey Circus. I use some cushions from a discarded sofa to put on the floor as I lie down to remove the dashboard and other interior items. Be careful when removing the headliner not to tear or puncture it. Reproductions are available, but expensive. It may pay to have an interior shop remove the liner for you. You may want to have the windows removed by a professional, too! Do not pull at the interior panels, but rather use a long screwdriver or special interior tool to pry out the clips, carefully, one by one.

     With the interior gutted (fast, wasn't it?), you now should inspect the metal for rust, corrosion, rot, cancer-- whatever you call it, it affects these cars. Check the floors, hatch opening, windscreen rim, sills, door bottoms, lower front quarter panels, etc., and determine the leve1 of repairs requ1red. Replacement panels are available for some areas; the vendors advertise in S-E-ES, the national newsletter.

     Do it yourself or have it done, but it is far better to cut out rusted sections and weld in new metal than to try to repair with Bondo filler or fiberglass sheeting. A Volvo is not a surfboard. The structure is uni-body, which means there is not a separate frame for rigidity. This means that if there is significant rust, and it is not repaired structurally, the integrity and strength of the body is impaired. You may not notice this while driving, but should a serious collision occur, it could be as if you weren't driving a Volvo at all. What a bummer , ya!

     You can use a grinder-sander to remove some rust started under the paint, like on the floorboards of a P1800.  It could also be sandblasted, but this is difficult to do at home, and a pro shop uses too much air pressure and will distort the shape of your Svedish beauty, not a pleasant thought. 

     While you have the metal exposed, the contemporary thing to do is to treat and convert the lightly rusted areas with a rust converter product. Another downside to sandblasting is that the rust converter products will not adhere to work because there are no rust sites left on the metal. There are several types of converters available, and I will discuss them briefly.

Rust Removers    There are several products available that claim to remove rust from steel surfaces. The foremost product name that comes to mind is OXYSOLV. It claims to remove rust and leave a zinc phosphate coating that improves paint adhesion. Sold by Eastwood, among others, including J. C. Whitney (but not identified as such by name), this product claims to be nontoxic and reusable. Parts can be soaked in the solution overnight, if heavily oxidized. It seems to remove surface rust fairly well and leaves a silvery, probably zinc, surface as advertised. It takes a lot of coats if the rust is heavy and requires a soap and water wash when you are happy with the result, prior to painting . Paint stays adhered to the surface on the few items I've treated with this product. It is not fussy, like some that require the surface to remain wet at all times. Cost - around $25.00 per gallon.

     Phosphoric acid products are another rust remover and are sold by lots of folks with widely varying prices and performance claims. Most need to be kept wet throughout the treatment cycle, and I've no first-hand experience with this stuff at all. One trade name is PPG CHEMFIL DX579, which contains phosphoric acid and 2-butoxyethanol. Cost - $8.00 per quart. It can be found at Tri-cities Paint Supply, a supply chain found here in San Diego County.

     Whichever remover is used, you are not done with the job when you're done with the remover. All of these products require that you seal or convert the surface after rust removal.

Rust Converters  There are really three categories with various products in each. POR-15, a converter-sealer that cannot be painted after use. Definitely not for outer or visible surfaces; great for undercarriage work, floorboards, carpet lined trunks, etc. 

     RUST-SEAL by S.E.M. is a converter-sealer that will take surface paint, but does not require it. This has a drawback in that it dries so hard that it cannot be sanded. Not a good product to use for exterior or painted interior surfaces that must be smooth. I use this stuff everywhere else, though. Two coats, sometimes three, are required, until the entire surface dries black and the metal is sealed from the elements. Without oxygen, rust (oxidation) is dead. This product is gallic and formic acid and is brushed on. Cost - $18.00 a quart.

     An almost identical product, called RUST REFORMER, by Rustoleum Corp. is available. I believe there are essentially identical products available from other sources, too. Read labels, instructions, and ask the salesperson.

     As I try each product, I will review and report on this newsletter.

     RUST-MORT by S.E.M. is a converter, not a sealer, similar to Rust Seal, and I've never tried it, but it's cost is half that of Rust-Seal.

     A similar product is E.R.F., which stands for End Rust Forever. It contains diphenylmethane, dries rock hard and is a permanent rust inhibitor. This stuff must be painted as it is sensitive to UV (ultraviolet) light and will break down if exposed for any length of time. It bonds to ferrous surfaces, so much so that the paint can container it comes in must be reclosed using a piece of Saran Wrap as a liner, or the lid will bond permanently to the can. WOW!  I used this on the exterior of a gas tank of an 1800ES with no recurrent rust whatsoever. It is sold through J. C. Whitney.  Cost - $15.00 a quart.

     Yet another rust converter is ONE-STEP by Mar-Hyde. This is a converter-primer that can be brushed or sprayed and is also sold in aerosol cans for convenience. The sales spiel states that it is a latex-based converter-sealer-primer that can be sanded and painted, or left as the final surface. One-Step contains acetone in the aerosol version that I believe is used to etch the metal surface. Sprays on clear and turns black as it converts rust. My feeling is that it won't really seal and that its value is in converting and primering areas that are difficult to sand, but will be painted. I spray the stuff inside hidden panel areas where I can't reach with the Rust-Seal. I've ordered some of this from Whitney in the quart container to see if there is a difference from the aerosol form. Cost - $4.00 per aerosol can. One-Step is good stuff to spray on those areas of your car that you have sanded down to fix and would have sprayed on some low-quality aerosol primer form K-Mart when the football season comes and you never finish the job, ya. Next spring the primer area is far rustier than when you started and is now the whole area that you sanded! Use this stuff and watch your team lose with a clear conscience fer shur!

Sealing Primers   There are some new products out now for use on the exterior surfaces, and closely enough related to be discussed here. Epoxy Primer is a catalyzed primer that can be sprayed on and will seal the surface. It is expensive, but will stop rust from starting, and can be applied smoothly by spraying. It must be surface painted within one week of its application, or the paint won't adhere. Makes it tough on us part-time restorer/beercan mechanics, ya sure, you betcha. Epoxy Primer can be used, of course, on the interior. There are other less costly scaling primers that are more flexible in their application, but seal to a lesser degree. Some of these are specialized in filling of surface impurities without shrinking over time, as the familiar ol' lacquer primer is known to do.

     I hope these tips will help you preserve that pride and joy.  Superbowl will soon be over, and with the interior of the car converted, sealed, and painted, we can move on to another part of the restoration.