If all the rust has been removed, here is what I recommend for a good job that will last indefinitely with proper preperation.

In this order;
(I don't recall the codes off the top of my head, but the auto body guy will set you with the proper stuff)

1; DuPont Variprime Etching Primer

2: DuPont Epoxy Primer

3; Do any bondo work necessary over the epoxy primer. (If you go through the epoxy when sanding the bondo, reapply epoxy primer before continuing. Etching primer and bondo do not mix.)

4; DuPont Urethane Prime/Surfacer (Finish sand this. May only want to use it where you bondoed or where there are imperfections you want to remove.)

5; DuPont Primer/sealer (Will prevent sand scratches in you finish coat)

6; DuPont Basecoat (color coat)

7; DuPont Clearcoat (You're finished!)

Yeah, thats a lot of stuff. Lot of money. Lot of work. But, if done correctly, you should never have to do it again.

You can use other manufacturers products. I do strongly suggest that you stick to one manufacturer for all the products, except for the bondo, however. Compatability problems can ruin an otherwise fine job.

Todd Jones
IRM Diesel Department


Restoring MILW E9 33C
milw104c@charter.net

Here's a historical EMD question.. EMD is said to have used a lot of Bondo on the bulldog noses of E and F units before painting. However, if I recall, most auto body work in the 1940s and 1950s was done with lead, not Bondo. Which product did they use in the initial construction?

bobyar2001@yahoo.com

While I was looking up metal preps, I found
http://www.enrust.com/enrustreat.htm#top
anybody heard of it?


lamontdc@adelphia.net

> Here's a historical EMD question.. EMD is
> said to have used a lot of Bondo on the
> bulldog noses of E and F units before
> painting. However, if I recall, most auto
> body work in the 1940s and 1950s was done
> with lead, not Bondo. Which product did they
> use in the initial construction?

What I have seen working on the 33C is this;

At the seams between the various nose pieces, lead was used to seal and fill the joints. Then, it appears they put a thin skim coat of bondo over the entire nose to smooth any imperfections.

The odd thing about this, is that there is a layer of primer beneath the "bondo" layer. Now, this is commonly done today because the bondo is an epoxy so it bonds well with epoxy primer. Better than to metal actually. Perhaps epoxy primers came out earlier than I thought.

I will say that there is not as much bondo in the nose of en E/F unit as the "urban legends" say. I have heard people say that all the compound curves around the headlight are made purely of bondo. This is not the case, at least as far as the fairly late build (1956)33C goes. Not much bondo is necessary to finish the surfaces in this area as the nose stampings fit together in such a way that only the seams need filling.

Hope this helps,
Todd Jones


Restoring MILW E9 33C
milw104c@charter.net

> The odd thing about this, is that there is a
> layer of primer beneath the
> "bondo" layer.
In the "olden daze" there was coat called "preparacoat" that went on over the primer under the color. This was is essence a sandable primer used to fill the last of the minor marks. In the even older days they used this on steel cars as the surface quality of the "plate" they rolled was full of minor surface defects. Musta been fun sanding around all those rivets!


lamontdc@adelphia.net

> In the "olden daze" there was coat
> called "preparacoat" that went on
> over the primer under the color. This was is
> essence a sandable primer used to fill the
> last of the minor marks. In the even older
> days they used this on steel cars as the
> surface quality of the "plate"
> they rolled was full of minor surface
> defects. Musta been fun sanding around all
> those rivets!

This makes sense to me as the layer I was talking about was pretty thin. As I was stripping it I was questioning if it was actually bondo or not.

Just a primer/surfacer then. Granted, a pretty thick coat, but it worked.

Todd Jones


Restoring MILW E9 33C
milw104c@charter.net