Hello all!

With this weeks foul weather in Kentucky I began to think about salt on the roads and how bad that will be for my pretty new(to me) dent. I worked hard to find a truck without any rust and would really like to keep it that way.

So my main question is this; what are your ideas on rust prevention?

I have thought of Line-X and POR-15, but how would I protect drip rails and cab corners? What about under the exhaust pipes?

 

I have used Fluid Film with good results. Buy it by the 5 gallon and spray it on every fall.

Greg

 

Wash it frequently to remove the salt.

 

+2 on washing it frequently. I am working on a full restoration on my 79 and am at the point where I basically have the rust taken care of. I think in your case, you will be perfectly fine with just a good wash to get the salt off (and dry it the best you can as well).

I did some more extensive rust prevention on mine, but that's because I'm in northern Illinois where they dump salt by the ton as soon as the flakes fly. She's holding up pretty good thus far.

 

Rust prevention? Basically follow what the OEMs do these days.... undercoat, seam seal, insulate, and drain. As you can tell, Ford back in the day hardly used a toothpaste tube's worth of undercoating. Spray WD -40 (or other light oil) on the entire undercarriage... "W.D." means "water displacing".

On my 4x4, I painted the bottoms of the door with Rustoleum so it sealed the seams and it drains smoothly. On the wheel arches which were rusted, I cut big holes out of the wheel well liner. It's welded on from the factory and gets packed with dirt, pebbles, and mud that never really dries out. The drains are too small. That is what leads to the wheel arch rust. Ever notice that Bumpsides don't have this problem? It's because they do not have a wheel well liner.

I was an aircrewman Navy and whenever we came back off patrol in our P-3 Orion, we went through "the bird bath" and got a quick rinse to wash away the salt spray.... It's reality when flying 50 feet over the ocean dropping sonobuoys looking for Ruskies. You may want to set up some sprinklers on your driveway and run it for a few minutes.

For whatever I don't have an issue with cab corners on my 4x4. On my Bump I do have a rotted cab corner and roof rail rust. To avoid the latter and likely the former, insulate the roof. My 4x4 was parked on the north side of my house and I noticed the headliner slowly warping into oblivion. Curious, I removed it and saw that condensation had formed on the underside of the roof - the same principle as a cold beer on a warm day.....Then when enough collects enough to drip or move, it either falls straight down onto the headliner or if parked at an angle, the condensation will flow to the nearest roof rail and eventually rust it out.

 

One thing that works good, esp. if you have a water softener is run a hose from a hot water tap. PITA, though this really cuts through the grime and salt a lot better even as just a rinse. Will have to try the sprinkler, this makes sense too.

Wish the commercial car wash had underbody/chassis wash, never understood why they don't. it needs it there more than anywhere else.

 

The sprinkler idea is wonderful! I have been racking my brain on how to find a car wash that is tall enough and has a chassis wash. I made a habit of doing it with my 2wd, but it actually fit.

My old man drives an '09 f150 and it seems to have a rubberized undercoating and its working wonderfully. I would imagine that getting Line-X to spray the underside and inner body panels would be about he same thing.

 

61steven--- I too am in Kentucky. I have a 78 4X4 LB I started restoring. Having trouble finding OEM parts. Did you have to replace sheet metal, if so where did you get it?

 

When it comes to underneath the truck I would use Chassis Saver without a doubt. Afterwards spray a mixture of oil under there.

I am in the process of restoring my rig and so far have coated my whole frame, springs, exhaust pipes, brake accessories, rad support, inner wheel wells, bottoms of the hood, bed, and cab, cab floor, all with Chassis Saver. We swear by that stuff around here. It took alot of time and I wouldn't have done it if I didn't think it was worth it.

 

Jessrm80, I bought the truck after somebody had already restored it. But from experience on my '61 unibody rust, regular sheet metal will work in most places. Cab floors side/hood panels and fender arches can be worked out pretty easy. Cab supports and corners are pretty tough to fabricate and you'll probably want a patch panel. look in LMC and junkyards.

78f250351m, what kind of prep work is required for that stuff? POR15 requires you to wire brush, use naval jelly, an etching primer, and then the paint stuff.

 

Chassis Saver requires a wire brush to remove the heavy rust that's all (I use an angle grinder with a knotted brush). Wipe/blow off the dust, and your ready to paint. Chassis Saver can even be thinned out and used in a spray gun, but I don't see a need to do this. The thicker the better. A gallon goes a long way too.

Don't get it on your skin, and prepare a good way to seal the remaining paint instantly after use or it will harden in just a cpl days.