Rustproofing opinions? Converter vs wire wheel

should I:

  • strip it

    Votes: 3 100.0%
  • convert it

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    3

ComatoseLlama

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I'm planning out my half restoration of my truck, body has a few quarter sized rust holes, and the frame has some solid surface rust. It isn't the flaky rust like most Midwestern trucks have, this one spent most it's life in Alaska.

The frame is 100% solid, no holes. The pic attached is my frame.


If this was your truck would you:

take off the bed and cab, then wire wheel it down to bare metal, and seal that very well

or

jack up bed and cab, use POR-15 or Eastwood rust converter system, and seal over the converter

Truck lives in Michigan but will never be a daily driver during the winter. Needs to last 3-5 years, until I've graduated college and have enough money to really bring the truck back to life.

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zebrabeefj40

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I'd wire brush/wheel/needle scale the loose stuff off that then use POR-15. No need to get to bare metal. My truck frame was similar and I'm using rustoleum; that is not holding up as well a POR-15 I had used on other vehicles. But rustoleum is cheaper, easier to find on the shelf and easier to reapply when needed.

Nick
 

Oledirtypearl86

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X2 Rust-Oleum the **** out of it when I get to it I'll post some pics of a truck I'm balls deep into right now it came from Minnesota God I hate Minnesota for it he hell they wage on trucks
 

Selahdoor

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Get some "rust-Pho. Which I believe is just phosphoric acid. It converts rust from Iron oxide to Iron phosphate. Seals the metal, so it can't rust again. It is probably what is added to all these specialized "rust-converting" paints that cost so much. And it's fairly cheap.

Knock off the worst of the rust. Then flood everything with the cheap stuff. Let that dry and cure. Maybe flood it a second time. Then paint. I've had badly rusted stuff last much longer doing that, than using any "rust-converting paint".
 

chillman88

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You "should" strip it. The coatings aren't going to be AS good as doing it right the first time. That being said, if you plan on redoing it in a few years pretty much anything you do should be fine. You're going to have to knock it down with a wire wheel to coat it anyway.

If you decide to go the converter route...

Follow the directions! And make sure you blow off/degrease after knocking it down with the wire wheel before coating it. Make sure it's completely dry before you apply the converter.

Do not just jack it up and apply rust encapsulator regardless of the brand. Either one will require proper surface preparation. If you don't, it'll flake back off and you'll have wasted lots of time for nothing.

Tip, if you use POR or the like, use a flap disc instead of a wire wheel. Wire wheels will sort of polish it and you want a rough surface profile for the paint to grab.
 

ComatoseLlama

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Would a sandblaster be too much on the frame?

I'm thinking my best option is to knock down surface rust, then spray por 15 over, then maybe a chassis black over that. Probably will do rust oleum on cab and bed underside

After reading their website it seems like if po-15 lives up to their advertisements I wouldn't need to ever re do it if applied properly
 
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saburai

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Would a sandblaster be too much on the frame?

I'm thinking my best option is to knock down surface rust, then spray por 15 over, then maybe a chassis black over that. Probably will do rust oleum on cab and bed underside

After reading their website it seems like if po-15 lives up to their advertisements I wouldn't need to ever re do it if applied properly

Firstly, almost nothing ever lives up to the claims...

If you can, media blasting of some sort would be the best way IMHO, to get her done.
 

Chief

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Would a sandblaster be too much on the frame?

I'm thinking my best option is to knock down surface rust, then spray por 15 over, then maybe a chassis black over that. Probably will do rust oleum on cab and bed underside

After reading their website it seems like if po-15 lives up to their advertisements I wouldn't need to ever re do it if applied properly
Agreed. Using a sand blaster would be your best bet if you have access to one. I’d use a medium sized media to make the job just a bit faster.
 

Jake60

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On my '06 I used a knotted wire cup brush and knotted wire wheel for most of the frame, needle scaler for the tight spots and corners. Then metal prep to etch and coated with Chassis Saver paint. That stuff goes on like tar, sticks to everything. It's easier to use than POR-15 as it's a single component, no hardener.

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Chief

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On my '06 I used a knotted wire cup brush and knotted wire wheel for most of the frame, needle scaler for the tight spots and corners. Then metal prep to etch and coated with Chassis Saver paint. That stuff goes on like tar, sticks to everything. It's easier to use than POR-15 as it's a single component, no hardener.

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That looks sweet! Gonna have to add that to my restoration plans
 

chillman88

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Would a sandblaster be too much on the frame?

Not at all as others have said. I've heard very good reviews of POR over top of a blasted surface. The texture left by blasting makes it hold better. Never used it myself but I've done lots of research on it. Besides, with POR over clean blasted metal you're doing it the right way anyway, you're not just "covering up" the rust.
 

ComatoseLlama

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On my '06 I used a knotted wire cup brush and knotted wire wheel for most of the frame, needle scaler for the tight spots and corners. Then metal prep to etch and coated with Chassis Saver paint. That stuff goes on like tar, sticks to everything. It's easier to use than POR-15 as it's a single component, no hardener.

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Damn that's nice. Sounds like OSPHO / naval jelly top coated with rustoleum will hold me over until I can tear down my truck like that.
 

lotzagoodstuff

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Another option for some folks, is yearly spraying of used engine oil all over your under body/frame. Not the prettiest...but it works for rust and gets into all the hard to get spots.

It sounds like you are going the "down to bare metal and POR" route, but just in case you get pressed for time and/or decide to go a faster route to get you through to you future restoration: I'm a big fan of oil spraying. I've had really good luck with bar and chain oil, thinned down with some type of thinner so you can spray it out of an oil sprayer or rocker shutz gun. The bar and chain oil seems to be pretty "clingy", and when you get to your full on restoration, a power wash should be all that's needed to remove it.

Good luck: midwest weather is ******* old trucks!
 

ComatoseLlama

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It sounds like you are going the "down to bare metal and POR" route, but just in case you get pressed for time and/or decide to go a faster route to get you through to you future restoration: I'm a big fan of oil spraying. I've had really good luck with bar and chain oil, thinned down with some type of thinner so you can spray it out of an oil sprayer or rocker shutz gun. The bar and chain oil seems to be pretty "clingy", and when you get to your full on restoration, a power wash should be all that's needed to remove it.

Good luck: midwest weather is ******* old trucks!

Oil spray + dirt road has been tempting, there's just not much info about it on the internet
 

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