Hello everyone. My Truck’s frame is quite rusty. It’s still solid, but quite rusty. Is there any way I can prevent the rust from continuing to rot the frame? Right now it’s still solid, but it probably won’t be for too long if the rust continues. Thanks for any help you can give me!
Get a manual wire bush, or a brush wheel for a Dremel, drill, etc. And wire brush all of the loose, flaky rust off the frame but don't go all the way to bare steel again. Leave a coating of minor surface rust and wipe it down with a dry rag to get the loose dust off, then apply rust converter aerosol paint from the hardware store. Rustoleum makes a good product. Spray the rust converter onto the light surface rust and allow it to sit and dry. It converts permeable iron oxide (rust) into iron phosphate, which is impermeable to oxygen and water. Spray a few coats on the frame metal to make sure you fully cover every spot, then spray it with rubberized undercoating.
That should kill the rust, but you want to do regular checkups to make sure it doesn't start rusting again. I did this to the rusty parts of the frame under my 1999 Ranger and have significantly slowed down the rust. If anything strikes the iron phosphate, it will break the seal and start rusting again.
I hope you mean superficial rust -
If it’s bad -
The rust covers the entire frame but I don’t know how deep it goes. I’ve done the hammer test and it sounds quite solid. There are only one or two spots in the wheel well that need a little patching, but the rest of the frame rust is superficial I think. The rest of appears rust pitted just by looking at it, but no holes or cracks and it seems very solid when you hit it with a hammer. Think I caught it just in time?
Well, rust never sleeps.. Upload a few pictures or videos of the rust, if you wish..
I’m not 100% how to post pictures but I would if I could. I’m not tech savvy lol.
Upload it to a file sharing website (imgur or postimages), then post the direct link here.
I tried uploading it to postimages, but when I posted the url it would say 404 not found
Many members here use imgur.com
Google Drive is also an option if you use it.
I spray underneath my car every fall with Fluid Film using an air-powered spray gun. It's good at retarding rust, but nothing can stop rust completely.
