How Bad is this rust?

Looking under my truck and generally wondering how bad this rust is on my 2020. Thoughts?

 

Doesnt look to bad yet...Needs to get it under control though

 

If you live at the rust belt this shouldn’t be a surprise, your question should be what should have i done to prevent this

 

That's all very superficial and normal. The welds rust first.

It's fine tho just undercoat it. Your undercarriage looks pretty darn clean

 

So my lesson here is that I should have had it undercoated as soon as I go it?

 

Thanks so much - is there a good undercoat option I should be looking for?

 

I would clean off that rust , and undercoat before it gets really to the point of no return

 

Spray it with fluidfilm and call it a day.

Then spray it again in 6months to a year. No big deal

OR you could scrub it/wire brush most of the rust, then paintbrush it with corroseal. And spray it with fluid film the next day.

 

Depending on where you live you can either get by with fluidfilm or cosmoline etc but IMO if the vehicle lives in the rustbelt and never sees the inside of a garage I would do something like Krown or similar, it lasts longer and is a little more 'intense', they spray it inside the body and door panels too. To me it's a little superior rust protection and lasts longer than doing it in your driveway etc.

You frame looks brand new, you caught it well before the rust can do any actual damage so whatever option you chose your frame will prob stay looking new if you do it every year.

 

Stay away from any "undercoat" product that has the word "rubberized" on the can.
These products will crack and allow water in, holding it on the steel, cooking away until a big rusty chunk falls off.

You need something waxy/oily, both offer advantages.
Use the search box in the upper right, there are hundreds of threads.

Short version:
Waxy: Cosmoline - applied to a clean surface this will stay for a long time.

Oily: Fluid film - needs to be applied every year.

 

Its not bad now, but if nothing is done, you'll be parting out the truck in a matter of a few years.

 

I have had a few cars over the years with undercoating. They all rusted worse than no undercoating. Good quality chassis paint, imho, is the way to go. Waxoyl or similar is good, too.

 

Don’t use undercoating. Use fluid film, or any other lanolin based coating. Undercoat holds moisture and will accelerate rusting.

 

Chrome

 

I also have a Land Rover with a fully galvanized frame. It doesn’t rust at all. But, I’m pretty sure frame removal and hot dip galvanizing isn’t something you are interested in.

 

I live in Ohio where everything rusts no matter what you do to it. I had a 86 Mazda B2200 that I bought new and had it Cosmolined. It was always a nasty sticky mess anytime I had to work on it underneath and it didn't make any difference. I drove it for 18 years / 160000 miles and there was nothing left of the body. My 2004 Toyota Corolla lasted 12 years with 160000 miles before unibody gave out. Being totaled in a wreck didn't help with all the junk replacement parts that were installed. Never undercoated. We currently have a 13 Toyota Sienna with 80000 miles that has 0 rust issues that has never been undercoated. I just keep it clean underneath when I go to the car washes in the winter. Most cars we had we got rid of after the warranties were up because they were junk so rust was never an issue. My 17 Tacoma doesn't go out in the winter and undercarriage still looks new pretty much with 31000 miles. Rust proofing cant hurt but I don't think it makes much difference when you live in areas that treat the roads with salt and chemicals like Ohio does.

I also like how car manufacturers try to hide rust now with all of the lower plastic body panels.

 

lanolin coatings make a big difference, my truck has gone from Fort Knox to Chillicothe many winters and it helps to seal the brine and chemicals, I too wash it well underneath every winter, that helps

wish they’d switch to using sand, salt and the other crap is good for nothing except the companies producing it and selling it to road maintenance

 

You wouldn't be saying that if you've ever been on roads that were glare ice when your road commission has already run through their salt allotment and are forced into using just sand.

 

I've often wondered why more companies don't take advantage of this. Maybe cost reasons. However, GM used to do this back in the day. I had a coworker with a mid 90's Chevy 3500 that had galvanized fenders. The paint was trashed and despite that, the body didn't have a lick of rust on it even though it had mainly been a Michigan truck all of its life.