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Lucked up and traded for this baby today. I want to take the frame apart, sandblast the rust out and repaint it, has anybody done this before? Any tips on the right way? I was planning on drilling out the 5 or six welds/bolts that are holding it to the pole, then cut each of the welds on the frame with a dremel. Also, what was the correct color for the stand and frame, I was thinking blue would look good. What years would this have been used? Thanks guys.

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[This message has been edited by Oldgas (edited 01-16-2003).]

You may want to think twice about removal.The signs can be a real pain to remove after you broke everything apart. I have looked these over in the past for restoration. Best bet is to duct tape the sign part over with two layers and cut it close with a razor blade. Then carefully sand blast the frame and pole. Retape any areas and you are set to prime and paint. Good Luck

I know it will probably be a pain, but how else do you get rid of all the rust? It has eaten through a small section on the very bottom of the sign. I would like to stop it before it does any more damage. Perhaps using something like muratic acid would break the rust without damaging the porcelain. Any thoughts?

theres one old trick . find a container that you can put the area down in ,for example . a plastic trough for wall paper dipping , its about 2' long and about 4" wide , buy some real lemon juice in large containers at your local costco , price club, maybe wal-mart , and pour it in to cover the rust , and let it stay for 24 hours , use a small wire brush to clean , if it needs more let it stay another 24 , untill it gone , you can do quart cans this way also , have fun ,
you use a funnel and pour the juice back in the bottles , you can use it many times ,

I give away to many secrets,

The old standby-Naval Jelly works well too. It is also great for removing rust stains from porcelain signs etc. Doesn't harm the porcelain in my experience.

Once the rust is gone, you'll need to seal the bare metal with a good primer sealer before painting your color coats. You probably knew this.

If this is to display outside, you might put a bead of silicone caulk around it to prevent moisture from getting between the sign and frame.

I have this same curbside sign. It appears that the frame around the sign is a light blue. (much lighter than the blue surrounding the letters) Does the best answer get to test drive the Mustang??

Get a container like dwaine is talking about except use oxalic acid you can get it at any hardware store. It is much much faster than citric, and I think it works better.

speaking of oxalic acid, someone once told me that he uses this on his oil cans with rust on the top/bottom. Said the acid doesn't hurt the paint, but cleans up the rust. Anyone know if this is true?

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Don "oltoydoc" Sherwood

Thanks for the info guys. I will try the lemon juice trick as soon as it warms up. When the acid in the juice reacts with the rust does it create somewhat of a oxidized barrier?
Thanks for the tip on the color Jeff, do you have a pic of yours? I would be glad to take you for a ride in the Mach, but I am the only one that drives her. Thanks guys!

I have used oxalic acid on oil cans I found that I could not begin to tell what brand or even color they used to be. After a good soak you would be totally amazed! Out comes a fairly displayable can. It has not hurt the paint on any of the things I have used it on. WARNING, It WILL fade porcelain signs!! I dont know why but did test it on a junk sign, dipped 1/2 over night and was very noticible next morning! It is expensive but try it, you will like it......Les