Just have a quick question about frame rust, Tryed to do a search but didnt bring anything up that would help.

After a quick look over well really a look under of my truck. I find that there is alot of what seems to be surface rust, but lots of it, but it also seems to be huge "flakes" of it about to fall off. My mechnic said that it was still sturdy but i should keep an eye on it because it can get alot worse in a short amount of time.

I have been looking into oil undercoating it but what would the prep for that be like? Would i have to scrape all the rust off and then like wire brush it or...?


Thanks in advance.

BTW its a '94 F-150 4X4 with 35,500 miles

Thanks again,

Alec

 

Any thing you do is going to help. I've wire brushed and used Rustoleum black and had decent results. A product called POR-15 is popular for this but needs lots of prep.......best done on a frame off job.
As long as the rust isn't all the way through......you'll give yourself lots of extra years by just cleaning and painting.

Good Luck
Bob

 

With the POR 15 you can also use another project called Chassis Saver. A GREAT hard durable product. I pulled the bed, pressure washed the entire frame with a 2500 PSI machine, took off all the rust and scale that i could.. (WEAR SAFTEY GLASSES) Then i spent the rest of the night wirewheeling, and scraping off any loose rust, Re pressure washed it with a little soap, I used AJAX. Let it dry real good. I then taped up everything and applied the chassis saver. I sprayed most of it on. Follow the directions and wear gloves. I had to also make 2 patches on the frame, now was the perfect time. I sprayed, followed directions and waited 3 days to re-assemble. What a GREAT HARD coating. It was well worth the cost of it. Just follow the directions and if you have any questions please ask. This coating seals off the rusting process and stops it in its tracks.

 

Hey aj197816134,

I also am going to do this type of thing in the spring. The pressure washer is a great idea. My question is how hard is it to pull off the bed? Are the bolts easy to find if I want to cut them off? Where do you get the por-15 and chassis stuff? I have heard of conflicting places of where to get them and is shipping from online alot?

Thanks for your time and the pressure washer idea!

 

Pressure washer made work easy, I mean take your time and do a good job, just remember the safety glasses!!!!! The bed is easy to remove, well all depends on rust. You can usually unbolt the bed with the help of some blaster and if that dont work heat up the nuts. Anyone who is good with a torch can get the bed bolts off easily. You have to remove the filler necks, they are like 7/32 or 5.5 mm bolts, cant recall off top of head, remove the hose clamp that holds the filler neck to the bed body, Unplug the wiring harness in the back. Have 2 or 3 of your buddys and lift it off. If you remove the bumper you can slide it back onto some drums etc.

Chassis saver is available at alot of local stores now, but you can order direct from magnetpaints.com They make a great product, please follow the directions, believe it or not it works better that way.

 

All good advice. POR-15 is great, but expensive and time consuming. Only way to go if you're doing a frame off, or this is a truck you want to keep for a long time. Safety glasses or goggles are a must no matter what way you go! I didn't have time this fall to do extensive rust prevention, but wire brushed, cleaned, used a rust converting primer and rustoleum undercoating paint. Looks much better and gives me peace of mind. Its amazing how much rust and scale you can find on a 14 year-old frame.

 

Sounds great!

I always wear safety glasses, I get some very expensive ones free for my job at a factory in town, i love them hardly feel like they are there. My sunglasses are ANSI rated safety glasses too, my shooting glasses are as well

Hey under a 14 year old truck small specks of rust are always falling off

I have heard that chassis saver is better and cheaper than por-15. Being that chassis saver is flexible, and it lasts as long as there is a topcoat applied. But, I have also hear that por-15 last longer anyways. I have seen it for 60-80 bucks a gallon and that looks like a better deal than por-15, but maybe people that have used them can chime in. It might be worth the money if por lasts longer in sun or in general. How much does the por-15 metal etching stuff sell for?

One last question, did you use angle grinder with a wire brush/scotch brite pad to finish up after pressure washing? I am thinking of getting a a small 4 1/2 in one for sake of time. My old truck, I sanded down the bed by hand before putting a bedliner on and it was a pain, especially since there was so few rust, but the rust took forever arghh!!! But, I did my prep work and it looked great.

Thanks guys, I was going to wait a year or two, but you have given me inspiration!

 

YES, I used one of my trust 4-1/2 angle grinders with a coarse wire wheel on it after pressure washing, I also had my die grinders with wire wheels on them to take off any hard to get areas. With chassis saver you want to leave a rough surface to bond to. You dont want a perfectly smooth shiny surface. There is NO priming with Chassis Saver. The BIGGEST thing is to get all the loose rust and scale off of the frame.

AS FOR TOPCOATING: Topcoating is recommended to keep the product from fading, when talking to the magnet rep, and reading their literature the integrity of the product is not sacrafised by fading, only a color change. Your frame wont have alot of sun exposure, and I wouldnt worry. I have used MAGNET PAINTS for 5 years now, I have painted everything from equipment to trucks with their paint, really a great product. I have heard the POR-15 is more time consuming.

 

Thanks for all the great info.

Yeah I have heard that por-15 is more time consuming. At 60-80 a gallon for chassis saver that is what the truck liner stuff i was getting is at, and chassis saver seems like a great product. I am not that concerened then with the fading if its just color. I will be glad to get it done. After that all i have to worry about is wheel wells, cab corners, and my front and rear bumpers. Although I am hoping both the front and rear bumpers rust out, so I can add a front one with tow hooks, and the rear I can just find a clean stock one and bolt it up. Then the tailgate "should be" the last of my rust problems lol.

 

Glad I could help, If you have any questions just PM me on here. I think you will have great results. While you pull the bed, take the time to pressure wash the bottom/underside of the bed, prep it, and spray it with some black rustolieum, couple good thin coats. I am sure many members will say do it once, rather than twice. That way if you have work on the wheelwells etc you can leave the bed on, do the work and make for a great repair. Rustolieum works great for this, just again fire up the pressure washer,clean it, dry it, paint it and have fun...

 

I recently finished helping a friend with his frame. What we did was strip the truck down the frame, wirewheeled everything as much to the metal as possible, then rubbed it end to end with acetone to remove any and all remaining grease, oil, crud.

We brushed on two coats of rustoleum primer, then scuffed that with 120 grit sandpaper reasonably well by hand, then put on two coats of "durabak" bedliner, red in color. He chose the red.

It looks good, and because the bed liner product is fairly tough, the frame can survive rock chips, junk on the road flinging up, and salt baths from the winter roads no problem.

When I did my frame a couple of years ago, I used rustoleum's "hammer finish" black paint. Not as durable as a bedliner product but by far more durable than any kind of rattle can paint job.

 

I have strayed away from rattle cans alot, infact I was finishing up a rebuild and my dad wanted to finish off 2 pieces with rattle cans, well i flipped, to think he used to paint cars for a living. I use the rustolieum in the gallons, thin it as recommended and then spray with a conventional type gun.