Best way to treat / remove minor frame rust 3rd Gen

I just purchased my first runner. It's a 2002 4x4 with 110,000 miles. It spent 14.5 years in Virginia but it has spent the last 5 years in the rust belt.

It has some surface rust on the frame with slightly more than surface rust in a couple places.

I took it to a local mechanic and his words were "it looks fantastic and it must have been garage kept." Mind you, he is used to seeing Northern rust belt vehicles not southern vehicles.

They offered to remove the rust with wire brushes and air and to under coat it with a solvent based paint for $300.

So, my question is, with all of the rust prevention products, undercoating, and removal processes available, what is the best way to protect my frame.

I'm scared to paint the frame as they often rust from the inside out and I'm worried paint will just hide the rust progression until it's too late. However, I don't know if wax / oil based protection is the right route...

I want to keep my baby for as long as possible. What should I do?

 

Hey! Congrats on your 4R purchase. Welcome to the forum. Overall, I agree with your mechanic. Your rig looks great.
I was in a VERY similar situation to you last year.... I had just bought mine, and it had slight surface rust. I did some research and decided what to do...
I took a wire brush to the existing rust, scraped everything down. Then, I wiped everything I was about to paint down with mineral spirits to strip it of grease, dirt, etc... Take some naval jelly (available at Tractor Supply, if you have them near you) and wipe it down pretty liberally. Let it sit for 30 minutes or so, wipe it off with a damp towel. Finally, spray a couple coats of self-etching rustoleum and a few coats of your choice of undercoat (doesn't really matter)

I understand your concern for the rusting inside-out thing, idrk what to say about that.
Hope this helped. It's just what I did. I don't have any problems yet.

Good luck to you and your rig! Hope she's good to you for a long time

 

Line-X of Virginia Beach gave me a quote to sandblast and undercoat everything on my 4th gen for like 550$ I chose not to do it at the time but I'm going to end up going that route. They said it is a 24 hour turn around time too.

 

You can always take it to local professional rust protection coating place. Virginia. Take it to Automotive Protection Services. They are well trained and professional. You can tell them Tony from Nox sent you.
or there is DIY method. make sure that all surface rust is removed by sand paper or such. then treat with cavity wax. you can coat solvent based undercoat on top of it if chemically matched. they will cure together.

 

POR -15- Hands down the best rust inhibitor Ive ever used. I have restored numerous vehicles and this stuff is great. Not cheap but the best I know of. Wire brush or sand it down, paint it on and get on with life.

My 1950 5 Window Chevy got this treatment and is solid as they come at 72 years old!

 

Thank you for all of the responses! I'm following an approach similar to 3G4_Perry.


I spent the entire day working on about 1/4 of the frame yesterday. First, I grinded the frame down to bare metal with a wire brush drill attachment anywhere I could find rust.Then I brushed naval jelly rust acid on everything. Then I power washed everything off. Then I sprayed a layer of rust converter over everything just in case I missed something. Then I sprayed rust enamel paint that can be sprayed directly on rust (again just in case I missed something). I still need to do the floor board in a couple of spots but here's the difference:

I plan on getting it sprayed with some kind of anti rust wax or oil inside and out once I'm finished repainting the frame.

 

nicely done. if it makes you feel any better, chevy's look that way after a year up here in the north. they use a shitty wax coating that just falls off. Has toyota still not picked up the quality of their frames? I mean they'll rust but the chevys last for years that way. You've done the best you can do. Looks great.

 

That looks great, man!! Nice work!

 

After reading about fluid film, wonder if it would make sense to put that on your repainted surfaces, to prevent future rusting?

 

You bring up a good point, I'm not positive on that. I assume it would probably be good to spray inside the frame at least. I'm not painting the whole frame. Just the area above the spare tire and anywhere I take the frame down to bare metal. From the rear differential forward the undercarriage is near perfect. I just need to touch up some spots.

 

Not quite effective on top of repaint. But always to good to give extra protection. Consider cavity wax such as fluid film as medication. Undercoat is seal such as tight medical tape. Rust is injury. Put medication then tape, not tape then medication. Many are mistaking undercoat as rust protection. Cavity wax is the one which contains corrosion protection chemical. Undercoat is just seal to suffocate rust. Remember, rust need steel, oxygen and accelerator such as salt.