Chassis Paint or not to Paint

[Geo.Lander]

OK, so I have seen a lot of very nicely painted chassis on this forum and need to make the first decision in my build. The truck I am buying has been living on the west coast of norway for 30 years and has had anti-corrosion treatment like clockwork every 2 years (fluid film). As such there is a (good) buildup of this on the chassis and removing it can be seen as both stupid and very time consuming.

Being a long term land rover(s) owner I would never think about painting a chassis but just treating it. Why should i paint the truck chassis, is it is just for looks? I have ready that unless the metal is blasted and every last sq mm is treated with either several layers or paint or powder coated painting can lead to even worse rust issues, i,e, it has to be completely stripped down...

To paint or not to paint?

 

[Iain_U1250]

I would leave it alone, I painted mine because of the 30 years of no corrosion protection.

 

[Geo.Lander]

I would leave it alone, I painted mine because of the 30 years of no corrosion protection.

Thanks Iain!

 

[alanymarce]

It's working - don't change the procedure. If you're going anywhere interesting the chassis will be mud-coloured most of the time anyway...

 

[nick disjunkt]

The thickness of truck chassis' is extremely substantial to make them strong enough, and even unpainted, it would take decades before the rust was sufficient to compromise integrity. It's nice to know that the truck is protected, and clean paint makes it easier to see damage and leaks, but realistically, even a scabby rusty truck chassis is likely to outlive the rest of the vehicle for whatever reason it ends up going to the scrapyard in the sky.

 

[Sitec]

I'm painting ours, as I have it completely stripped. Does it need it? Probably not. Is it a pain in the ******** to do? You bet! Will it look better when done? Yes! When finished, our truck has to go over the pits, so I figure that if it's been stripped, serviced, checked, cleaned and then painted, then it can't be a bad thing. Once all the side skirts and body is back on, there will be little of it visible, but if it's clean to start, then I'm more likely to keep it that way.