Frame preparation and painting project.

Could have been titled what not to do. Long post, but it only took me a few minutes to type up.

My 2012 tacoma frame was inspected last year and passed in good condition with no perforations. I decided to clean it and paint it this weekend for preventative maintenance and it was a hell of an undertaking. I know a lot of information is out there but some suggestions here may help those who are going to take this on.

I didn’t use or have access to a hoist, no air compressor and spray gun.

I suggest setting aside three days for this if you don’t have a compressor, spray gun and hoist. Possibly longer if the frame hasn’t dried.

It took me 1.5 days just to clean the frame. The crud just kept coming out. I did have a shop vac with a variety of hose adaptors that helped a lot. A lot of blowing and sucking after washing. A compressor air hose for blowing out the dirt, rust etc would have worked better.

I highly suggest removing the bumper and spare tire to help do this job properly. I had the bumper off a few weeks ago and did some frame cleaning in the back and painting. I should have done it all with the bumper and tire off. So much room to work with and easier access to areas that need rust treatment.

For prep, I used an angle grinder with wire wheel, battery powered drill with smaller wire wheel, wire brushes and a one inch wide scraper for the frame sections I could reach. I read about the method to use a drill and chain to ream out frame sections but wasn’t that ambitious.

I used two cans of Eastwood internal frame coating for the boxed sections and Eastwood rust encapsulator paint for the outer frame and cross sections. Taping the frame holes helps prevent a lot of mess.

I suggest a respirator for grinding and painting. This stuff is absolutely toxic. I used a dust mask and it’s not enough. Not even close. Also wear a full painting suit and gear. Both the East wood products are like POR-15 in that if you get it on bear skin, you have to use pumice stone and rub yourself raw to get it off.

Overall, it worked out ok but make the right preparations to do this job right. It’s a big one. Measure twice cut once kinda thing. I will be using a compressor with air and spray gun at a minimum, if I take this on again. Having access to a lift would be a huge benefit. Jacking up your truck to work helps but space is still limited and your vision of the whole frame is very limited.

 

Great write up, but the best thing would’ve been pics to follow. Lol

 

For sure. I will take a couple pics and add to the the thread. Should have snapped a few before pics but there wasn’t a ton of rust, but still much better than what it was.

 

Good job done. It would be really good to look at what it have been before you'd done it, and vs. result indeed,