Rust Help

[Subzero]

Note to Moderators: Im sorry if this is in the wrong category. I wasn't sure where it'd go. Feel free to move if necessary.

I have two Ford trucks that I plan to keep as long as I can possibly do: one is 45 years old and one is 11 years old. They both have some rust on them that I need some guidance on. The rust on the 68 is more than on the 2002 F150 but neither have any rust holes in them, just surface rust on the bottom ( a few spots are bad). I've been spraying them with plain WD40 every once in awhile but I'm wondering if there is a better product that can slow down or stop the rust ( better if it makes it disapear ). Does anyhave have something they use to stop the rust? I'm not really wanting to POR 15 the undersized as I don't have the funds but something that's cheap but better than what I'm currently doing. I've heard of a tar based undercoat that might help but I'm not sure what it might make the current rust do. The F100 is 95% of the time only driven on nice days but it will soon join my F150 as a DD. The F150 was an OBX truck for a few years so that's why its rusted and I do take it down on the beach occasionally. I spray the whole truck with a hose afterward to. Its got a few skid plates that have a good even coat of rust that I need to repaint on it soon to protect. What do y'all do about rust on cars?

Pics soon to come

[Whateverman]

i like to spray fluid film on/in the usual rust out areas,it smells tragic but it hangs in there really well ,water will still bead up and run off even after rolling around for 3-4 mos in almost constant rain (and a bit of snow and stuff too)

[sargentrs]

I've had great results with Eastwood products http://www.eastwood.com/paints/rust-solutions.html I've been media blasting or wire brushing everything but, with some of their products, it's not necessary. I've used the POR-15 and the Rust Encapsulator and they've worked really well for me.

[Subzero]

I've seen the rust converter by Eastwood but is it like a paint or just a spray that gets ride of rust? If I find some of that Fluid Film I'll give it a go but I've never seen it where I'm at, though it looks good to try.I've even thought about taking some heavy grease and "paint" it on the underside to keep water from hitting it at all. The good news for me is no rust on the frames. The areas I'm concerned with on my vehicles are
-leaf springs and shock housings
- bed mounts
-driveshaft
-wheel wells on the F100
-skid plates and gaurds on my FX4
- further protecting the frame
- rockers
- bottom of doors on the F100

[Subzero]

I took off the skid plates on my FX4- not pretty underneath. I'm going to see if I can have a pro paint the whole bottom with POR15 now that I've talked it over and have the funds to do something that serious. I would do it myself but it would look like crap and I don't want to do that to the truck. As for the F100, I bought a bunch of WD40 as I couldnt find the Fluid Film. I will just continue to drive it in nice weather until I can get its underside painted.

I decided to remove the front skid on the truck ( with Metric sockets ) and used some rustoleum rust performer on it. It looks pretty good after I painted it with gloss black too . It had a nice even coat of surface rust on the bottom and the top of it has a few large rust "globs" that I sanded down and I will do the Rust Performer on that tomorrow. I may have found a shop for the rest while getting my alignment done today, they are going to call tomorrow.

[sargentrs]

Watch the video. http://www.eastwood.com/paints/rust-solutions.html

[Subzero]

Thanks sargentrs. That looks like it works pretty good. As of now though I don't have a garage to do anything in so whatever I do to my truck has to be done in the street. I can't really remove the bed or anything large as there is no room to work. If only I had the tools or space I might be more aggressive on doing harder level stuff myself. If the rust was just a few patches I wouldn't hesitate to go at it with some of that but I need to have a large scale job done to really prevent anything. The F150 only has around 99,500 miles on it so is expect the truck to last a long time before I need to drop in a new trans or engine. The F100 might be good for the Eastwood paint as I can easily get to all known rust.

[sargentrs]

The Rust Encapsulator and POR-15 both come in aerosol cans too. I keep a can of it and Chassis Black handy for spots I may miss or small jobs I don't feel like dragging the sandblaster out for. For light surface rust, use the POR-15. They actually recommend that you let raw metal flash rust before using it. You should top coat with some kind of paint though. With UV exposure it tends to gray out and lose gloss. Still covers but look as pretty.

[Subzero]

Picked up the truck today and they said yes it does need some attention on it but I might be a lost cause in the long run because you can't fix rust. They wouldn't do it and don't know anyone that did either. They recommend undercoating but I've heard bad things about that. Im going to call some shops tomorrow in my area that might be able to do a rust repair and paint. I checked the local listings to see what I could get if I sold the truck and wasn't pleased with the ones on craigslist so I really hope someone will help. I'd be willing to drop 3K for a very good, through job after not even finding another Lariat FX4 like mine in my state.There's got to be somebody that will do it in my area with old cars getting rust all the time in VA because its humid out a lot so where are they getting fixed to be looking like the show queens I see at the shows with the F100.

On the F100 I took some of my Rustoleum Rust Performer and got at a trial area on the frame near the back tire. That F100 has less rust on the bottom than the F150 and its all real easy to get at. I'm going to try some Eastwood products on it since I can easily spray everything unlike the F150.

[Subzero]

Went around to some places today with the F150 that I had gotten told might do the job. All said they wouldn't do it ( too much work or no equipment) but also that it needed to be done. One said that no matter what is done that the truck is kind of a lost cause to fix because the rust will only slow down and still grow. I hate to say it but I might need to sell it and try to get what I can back out to go find a rust-free truck.The F100 is staying of course. I would never willingly sell that rust bucket or not.

Edit: I've rolled around under the truck awhile today further examining the extent of it. Most things should be able to be blasted off that are very important like sargents said if done properly. There are a few ugly looking parts I will post a pic of tomorrow.One of which appears to be a radiator support/or front clip support that has a flexible flap bolted to it. Tomorrow I'm preping the F100 with WD40 that should last a couple months

[PetesPonies]

The rust does not have to return if done correctly. Anyone who says that doesn't know how to do it anyway.

[Subzero]

I've now coated all the areas with POR15 done by the directions say. It looks really good and seems to be durable. I'll never know how well the repair holds up over the long run as I'm going to sell the truck for another one that will get better logs for driving to work. I'm not decided on which product to use on my F100. POR15 is great but is difficult to remove buy offers the best protection IMO. Eastwood Rust Encapsulater is good and is more like normal paint in thickness but is not as strong as POR15 again IMO. Others may think differently but this is what I see from my experience. Both are great products and I use both for different things.