Frame surface rust…prep/prime/paint tips?

Here are some representative examples of the areas I wanted to treat:

 

Regardless off the amount of rust ( yours is minor) you should protect the frame. Lube up the bare metal with some wool wax. Nothing else needed.

 

@Hook78 Don’t just coat the frame (inside and out) get the insides of those rocker panels, doors, tailgate, bumper, skid plates, and basically the entire underside of that frame (if you live in a salt state), or if it came from a salt state. Don’t let the engine outlast the frame and body.

 

Here’s a 2015 always maintained with woolwax in a salt state.

 

+1 fluid film, no need to repaint, it'll just do the same thing it did and corrode right off later on... Fluid film it yearly and you'll be set, it'll hydrate the metal and protect it from future corrosion. After several years it'll be built up so much, you'll only need a can to touch up the regular trouble areas (ie front of differential, behind the tires because of water splashing up, etc).

 

That looks great for almost 10 years old

 

Thanks, I started do this the day I brought in home from the dealer with 12 miles on the clock. I won’t lie it was hard to spray a brand new frame with some wet stuff I never used before. But now I can honestly say is the best thing I could have ever done to prevent corrosion. I also live 1/2 mile form the ocean and a marine environment along with salt roads in the winter is a short life for most Toyota’s.

 

Pretty incredible, speaks volumes about these products (fluid film, woolwax, surface shield)... Hope more people considering undercoating see that instead of the rubber ziebart crap.

 

Other than the frame what did you spray? Looks like everything. Nicely done!

 

I lowered the spare and sprayed that area real good. I also sprayed inside the frame rails up where the cab mounts are. I sprayed everything except the exhaust system, even though some did get on the exhaust, it will just burn off. I use a compressor set at 100 psi and undercoating gun. You can also buy spray cans if you don’t have a compressor.

 

Wow. This is fantastic to see! Thanks for posting that example. Whatever I do as far as existing rust, I’ll take this advice.

I have a boat trailer that I just overhauled, it’s an aluminum frame but obviously has lots of steel parts. I wonder if wool wax would make sense in those areas as well.

Do you have to take any particular precautions to keep the wool wax away from the brakes? Also, what kind of drippage are we talking about during/afterwards? I’m pretty particular about my driveway…

 

I do quick burst on the back plate of the wheel where the bleeders are, none gets on the brakes. No dripping with woolwax or overspray. That’s one of the pluses with wool wax. It’s thicker than FF.

 

Compared to a lot of pics I see, I guess I'm pretty fortunate, I have rust but it's spotty and surface rust. I was looking at the Fluid Film route once it warms up. I've been doing a lot of reading, and understand the sprays get into places you can't normally reach, but there are a lot of toxicity/messy overspray issues. Would there be a down side to applying with a brush on visible areas, saving the sprays for inside the frame, rocker panels, doors etc. that you can't reach with a brush? I know it might be a lot more tedious but seems like it would be easier to control the mess.

 

Brush would be fine. Fluid film is lanolin based so not very toxic if at all. Spraying just makes it easier but brush would probably work fine too. I always wash the truck after spraying to get rid of the overspray and that always works.

 

I would add: whatever plan you pick: do it every year.

I'm fortunate as my 2014 frame happened to be in very good condition despite spending all of its time in New England. There seems to be random frames out there on Toyota trucks that live life in good condition no matter where they are. My boss has a 2008 Tundra, and while the brackets, fasteners, brake lines and fittings have serious rust issues, his frame looks great. I aquired my truck in early summer of 2021 with 104k on it. The only obvious rust was basically every weld line on the frame, front suspension, rear end and housing diff, the trailer hitch and random welds and parts. I learned this is normal for welds on any vehicle. That said, Toyota really doesn't seem to believe in galvanized parts like brackets AT ALL: (holding hoses, wiring harnesses, brake lines, emission hoses, etc) even under the hood, where most of the brackets are a rusty mess on my truck. You see this even in non-rust belt areas. There was some rust showing on the side frame lamination's which were addressed when I had them do the required frame inspection program and CRC application, but that was about it. I had no flaking rust except for the hitch and the cross-piece under the front bumper with the tow loop and hook, so I just wire-brushed all of the welds, and then over the summer brushed Rustoleum with primer satin black and then coated everything with fluid film. I paid special attention to the spare tire wheel and the up-and-down gizmo.

It has all held up very well, except for the trailer hitch: they have hidden flake areas everywhere that come back every year so they need constant vigilance. So do the rear bumpers: either painted or chrome: I swear they must be already rusting on the inside surface when they install them on the assembly line.

 

I recommend the WoolWax kit that comes with 4 (reusable) jars and the gun with the correct nozzle already on it. I've done my frame twice, another Taco and a 4runner and still have 2 jars left. When they run out, I'll start buying by the gallon.

Put the jar in a pot of hot water for 5-10 minutes before you spray, it thins just a little and gets into crevices a little better, such as the sandwiched portions of the frame and where cross members meet the long sections.

As for that small surface rust, wire wheel it, rattlecan it, then WoolWax the whole frame.

 

The other thing I like about either Fluid Film or Wool Wax is that within a fairly short period of time after application, it loses the "wet look" and doesn't stand out as a fresh spray. It takes on a patina with some dirt and dust that almost makes it look like it's a factory finish that is aging well. It also seems to wear away over time instead of just building up and leaving a thick and sticky mess.

 

May not be far from the truth, I'm doing CA's and ball joints this weekend, opted to do whole arms instead of just the bushings because realistically it would add at least 6 hours to the project. These are brand new and came with factory installed scratches and rust.

 

A few years back, my son purchased a really nice 2005 LB AC Tacoma with 140k on it that just had a new frame installed as part of the campaign just before he bought it. It was an obvious and beautiful job the dealer did when we scrutinized it. In addition to just about everything connected to the frame (shocks, control arms, sway-bar links, brake lines, name it: they also replaced the (chrome) rear bumper. (OEM); yet here we are: only five years later and the chrome face of the bumper already has those tell-tale rust dots showing through on the chrome surface. There is also some kind of a cross-member under the rear of the bed that is perforated with rust-rot holes that didn't get replaced when they did the frame. I asked about it and I believe the response was that the piece "was part of the bed: not the frame."

Toyota can be really "slow outta the gate" sometimes.

 

Yeah that's why we pay extra for OEM parts! LOL

Veering off topic now, sorry, back to undercoating.