Frame restoration - did it myself

I have received several PM's over a few months asking me questions about this, so I thought I would make a post

I got tired of looking at the super rusted frame, so I decided to do something about it.

Tools:
Air powered mini needle-scaler
Angle grinder + wire wheel
Klean Strip 'Prep & Etch' (phosphoric acid)
POR-15 Gloss Black !! IF YOU GET THIS ON YOUR SKIN, YOU WILL WEAR IT FOR 2 WEEKS !!
Box of Neoprene Gloves from Harbor Freight
Tyvek full body suit including hood.
Face shield + goggles
Respirator for chemicals (absolute must)

Here's what it looked like before I started.








I first chipped away all the surface rust with the needler - I don't have a video of it, but here is a good example of exactly how it works. The best part of this is that you can hit areas that look perfectly fine, and it will reveal the rust underneath. If you were using a chisel or hammer or something, you might just completely ignore sections that look ok. The needler does not hurt areas that have no rust, it's gentle enough that you can use it on your palm. I would sometimes hit areas that looked like normal frame that were near rust, and a huge chunk would pop off and I would see rust underneath. Amazing tool.

https://youtu.be/yJRf6zrulC4

Once that was done, I used a wire wheel to grind down even more of the exposed areas - keep in mind POR-15 likes surface rust (not flaky obviously). So you probably don't have to do this, as long as it's rough surface rust that isn't coming off.

I then went around the frame and applied Phospohoric Acid (Prep & Etch) This turns the surface rust silver, and "etches" the metal for painting. First image shows what the acid does to rust.



WARNING: Wear a full suit and a respirator, this stuff is in a harmful concentration. Also, be careful and avoid painted areas (shouldn't be hard)
After this was done, I rinsed it down and let it dry. These silver areas flash rusted, which is fine.


I then applied POR-15 in 2 total coats. This is going to take you some time, and I recommend 1 inch foam brushes, as it goes on super smooth and doesn't leave lines. Here is the wet paint.


Here is what she looks like now, and still looks exactly like this 6 months later.





I have taken a hammer to this paint 6 months after, and it is solid. POR-15 does not disappoint - IF you do the prep. I see too many people just spray it on over flaky rust and then get mad when it peels off.

EDIT: Note - POR-15 breaks down in direct sunlight. Spots that are always in direct sunlight should be hit with a top coat while POR-15 is still tacky. For me, this was the areas next to the wheels. Reflected sunlight doesn't count, I mean the kind of beam that would give you a tan. Other than that, the stuff is bullet-proof.

If you have any questions, shoot.

 

Awesome guide. Thank you for posting this again man!

 

Great job with the POR15. That stuff wears like iron - you'll be rust free for a long time.

 

Right you are. I actually grabbed some Eastwood frame filler and rust converter. It's black and it seems to cover the inside evenly, though I didn't include that in this, maybe I should.

Thanks for checking up on me, because who knows.

 

You're welcome

 

This is on my to-do list. Thanks for the excellent guide.

 

I use Corban-35, If it is good for aircraft use it works great for auto. lol

 

Sub'd

 

Wow that's dedication to your Tacoma!Looks good and thanks for the learning experience!

 

You're welcome. I love my truck, even if it is 10 years old now, I'll always take care of it as much as I can. I researched this a lot before I started, and I noticed there really wasn't much out there on people doing frame restorations while the frame was still attached to the truck. It's easy to do it when it is sitting out by itself and you have full access to every part of it.

This is definitely a lot of work.

 

That is a sweet project and now you got me wanting to do the same.

I'd like to pull the bed to make this easier but I have a spray in bed liner. Does anyone know if the bed can be raised without damaging the liner?

Either way I'm pretty sure the liner guys can re-treat the bolt locations.

 

Planning on doing the same this summer. Good stuff

 

sub'd

 

Im going to be doing about the same, and my frame looks allot like yours, maybe a bit more rusted, defiantly not less. I picked up the needle scalier you mentioned, and got a small hand held gravity feed sand blaster for tight areas.

I have a few questions if you don't mind. First up, what top coat did you use for the areas that were in sunlight? Next did you take anything apart during this, or get into all the nooks and crannies you could with it together, and did you do anything inside the engine compartment where you can see suspension and frame sections (least i think it is suspension) and next did you do anything for the inside of the frame, cause if not, i found this, and plan to use it on mine when i do what you did http://www.eastwood.com/internal-frame-coating-w-spray-nozzle-qt.html and last, about how much time did all of that take you, i will assume you did remove wheels, and skid plates as you went, i haven't tried this, but does the gas tank skid plate come off without the tank dropping?

 

Very nicely done. Is that coating a dirt magnet? Fluid Film attracted so much dirt and dust when I used it.

 

Nice, I did body work in Massachusetts for many years and this is the way to go.

 

I might have some questions for you here soon. Someone bumped me at a relatively low speed, and it caused the bumper to take a chip out of the left rear panel just under the tail light. That area is now rusted where the paint came off. I'd love to learn how to fix it (I can get the paint easily enough).

 

Top coat - por15 top coat gloss black, or I've heard of people just using rattlecan on it while its tacky.

I took the wheels off, I took the skid plate and gas skid off (4 nuts and the plate drops but the gas tank stays) . I took the spare tire under the bed off (would be impossible to get that crossmember if not) - with a 1 inch foam brush you can reach just about anywhere pretty easily. The back 2/3rds of the truck is open frame, so that was chipped and painted like everything else. The front of the boxed in areas I used the eastwood frame filler that you just linked

I can't remember the exact time, but it was cold so I had to heat the garage. It would dry much faster and be MUCH easier in the summer/fall - do it before it gets cold. I want to say it took approx 2 days of application and then waiting for things to dry. 2 days as in 48 hours total (mostly because of drying times)

 

once it dries it's completely impervious to everything. I thought about putting fluid film on the next car I get to keep it from rusting underneath.
It's black so it does look dusty a lot after you get in, but only the sides and near the wheel wells show up if its lifted. I may take 1 year photos this Nov

 

Holy Balls!
Awesome fakking work dude...