Low Rust Taco - brush or not? paint or not? Fluid Film or not?

Careful with the HDMP, there are conflicting reviews where using HDMP resulted in swollen rubber grommets and rubber rot. Exact reason I only use fluid film.

 

-Get a respirator, eye protection, long sleeves and gloves.
-Wire brush the very loose rust, scuff up the rest with 60 grit sandpaper.Better yet, find out if anybody in your area can sandblast the frame with body on frame. Will save you many hours or days of labor.
-Wipe down with MEK.
-Brush on chassis saver.

Advantages are that CS is half the price of POR, requires 1/4 of the surface prep, adheres best to metal with tooth or specifically to rust (that's why you only want to get rid of the loose flake and leave the rest for adhesion purposes). Remember that surface prep doesn't mean you have to get to clean bare polished metal, as there won't be enough grit in base metal to give the coating to adhere to, that's why sandblasting is ideal.

Stay away from rubberized undercoatings which require the same surface prep and can dry out and crack and allow moisture to enter behind the coating and rot the metal without giving you any notice that the metal is rotting out.

I swear by fluid film. I live in the north east and I'e seen 2014s around here that show serious flaking around seam welds and spring hangers. I spray the everloving shit out of my frame with several 11oz FF cans and application wand and brush on two coats onto the frame externals. It is a tiny price to pay (yearly) for the peace of mind I receive driving on salt stained roads. MPHD is another top choice but I have heard bad things about it's reactions with grommets and seals. FF is good for hinges, is safe to spray on electrical contacts to protect against oxidation, is wonderful at waterproofing your worn leather boots. I've applied so much of it I swear to you I've grown to love the smell.

End of lesson: Whatever you do, DO NOT DO NOTHING.

ADD: All heady duty coatings are impossible to remove once they're on your skin. Wear disposable clothing and if the CS or POR hits your skin climb back out and clean it off. I walked around looking like a leopard for four weeks.

 

If you have the original factory black paint, pick an easily accessible area and tap it with a ball-pine hammer and see if the paint chips off. Don't smash it. Gives you a rough idea if the paint is letting go of the frame specifically in areas you might not see them. Pore over the rest of the frame with a flash light and make sure you have no/minimal flaking of coating. If there's nothing that looks rusty then I suggest not stripping the frame in any way and just fluid filming inside and out.

Mineral spirits are a thinner/coating and paint and grease "remover." Available at Home depot or Lowes or big box stores, not a hard to find item.

 

I've used Eastwood's Encapsulator before with good effects. You may need to re-apply it every 4-5 years though.

 

Interesting!

Are u still on tw?

 

We shall see!

I am going to remove ff sprayed on bottom of pass. Frame over stripped naked steel
it seemed to do well over the winter under the rail but not on outside rail

Going to try dawn soap sponges and towel wipe down and see what's underneath after one mild winter

 

Yes.

I have not come back to this in a long time but should have. short story: Chassis Saver is GREAT.
I played with the lanolin based stuff like Fluid Film and feared i would never be able to paint over it. might use it if i ever see rust in the interior dead parts of the cab. The product called rust reformer was purchased by rustolium and it is not what it once was. It was useless.
Considered sanding or sand blasting down to bare petal and applying tractor enamel, auto paint or rustolium. But the prep work for these are too much. I needed something i could quickly touch up here and there, now and then.

In the end a wire brush took off most all of my rust. I used chassis saver that first winter and maybe a couple spots the following fall. Little need for it the following 2 years, but I plan to do it again next month only because i had left over and it doesnt keep long. Anytime a project uncovers a new part of the frame I buy a pint and chassis saver it. like the first 3 feet of the box frame shown I unlocked accsess to this last month. shown here.



I might dilute Cha$$i$ $aver and spray it in the box frame with a garden variety pesticide applicator. But the solvent might eat the plastic, so, not sure what could be used to spray INSIDE the box frame. I used a rag and a steel brush on a sawn off ski pole for the above photos.

Why GQ7227? What are you planning or considering to do?

 

I live in NE IA border and tw showed me how bad these trucks can get that I honestly never knew!
So I am working on mine or trying to
It had a rubbercoat sprayed since new so it's not real real bad except where it got under the rubbercoat but it seemed mild
And I tried to keep salt slop off mostly where I could reach in the bitter winters

 

You know..... I should add a disclaimer to the above:

Take it with a grain of salt. It has only been 4 years. Cha$$i$ $aver is expensive. It might be no better than rustolium in the long run. In 4 years I might see nasty bubbles of ferric nastiness. Might. Might not. BUT, it reduces guilt and fear when the instructions on the can say "PAINT OVER THE RUST" and the fanatic users of the product say "IT WORKS BETTER OVER RUST THAN OVER BARE METAL OR PRIMER... IT LIKES RUST...DO NOT OVER PREP, JUST A LITTLE STEEL BRUSHING"

So, time will tell. But it is worth the extra money if it keeps the frame healthy. I have looked at the newer Tacos, many other vehicles, the trajectory of the automarket.... I hate them all. I fear the future. I must extend the life of this vehicle as long as i can as it might be the last truck i own. OK, not true because i purchased a 13,000 lbs ocean going sailboat last year and I am now looking for a f-350 to move it. But just to move move the boat to and from mexico each winter, nothing else. As far as off-roady camping, commuting and life, this Tacoma might be the last truck I own so I will invest in keeping the frame clean. Fingers crossed.

 

NE Iowa? yeah. That is lots of salt. I am from Wisconsin. I wish you luck.
Not sure what will work with and over your rubber coating.


If you do Chassis Saver I can give a little advice:

-Find an abrupt concave slope. Or straddle a bar ditch that is dry and grassy where you can freely get access to the truck. Break it up into 3 or 4 rounds based on access depending on how you park her.

-Buy lots of different sizes of wire brush.

-Small paint brushes come in handy.

-Make a gallon or two of lemonade

-Wear safety glasses

-It is not crucial that you immediately paint after preping. Some even say take the truck to the car wash and let it dry in between. It is not like normal autopaint that needs bare metal, immediate application of primer, etc.

-Chassis saver will not last long after being opened. By the reducer. (paint thinner will not work). Pour a layer of 5mm reducer over the top of the pain in the can before closing the can for storage. Tape the lid. wrap the can in plastic wrap. Put it in a zip lock. It will buy you a couple months at room temperature. Do not freeze. Keep cool.

-If you spill the reducer on any paint or dye it will run (not counting automotive paint, that is stable. more the "4x4" text on your mudflap or the white text on your tire).

-Chassis saver will stain everything forever. Your skin will have black blotches for 2 weeks. Your paint brush will not be cleanable or reusable. Have many disposable cotton rags at the ready.

-cover your wheels with old sheets or tarps

-Maybe it is just the 3 cans I have owned... but the cans are hard to open not like normal paint can. So have many of those hook shaped pain can openers.

 

I live in Nova Scotia, the rustiest auto place in North America. My 84 Camry had the 4 fender lips rusted off and holes in the trunk lid and hood in 4 years. No rust proofing applied.

I’m old, in my experience of seeing lots of anti rust products, the liquid stuff is the best over the long haul, like Fluid Film. In Canada, we have Krown Rust Control and Rust Check, either places are good. The runny stuff goes into seams and is reapplied annually.

My 02 was Krowned when new and almost every year since, it has no rust in the body and has the original frame, original paint. It’s 18 years old this month.

what I find with the hard rubber like sprays or paint, if you don’t get the prep perfect it eventually gets loose and then traps moisture and that accelerates rust. This can happen with box liners.

if you are able to remove the body, sand blast the frame, clean it properly, hit it with an epoxy primer, then a top coat of say Rustoleum, this will look best. But it will eventually get chipped and rust can start. If not perfectly prepared, it will rust. The liquid stuff will outperform the painting, but is much messier and needs to be reapplied annually. Doors and door frames are drilled and sprayed, taillights removed and sprayed inside the box.

Rust Check and Krown are not harmful to pavement or your lawn, rain washes it away, so the dripping is not near as harmful as petroleum/solvent based product. Not sure about Fluid Film. All 3 are very good to protect electrical connections like you battery posts. I use them on the non stainless metal bits on my boat/outboard which is operated only in salt water.

 

that is NOT a 1st gen frame interior, is it? it does not look like what mine looks like
i have to make a run to San Antonio to get some chopped rear frame in xcellent condition to test these products out before i spray them
stupid riots getting in my way for LT

i wish the damned pros would know something about this so i could've ended this endless chronic headache long time ago

 

You still in FoCo?

If so I might stop by sometime when I come up. Want to check out the frame etc, see Old Brett and whatnot.

 

It is. it is an 04 4 door. In that photo I had just recently cut the plate with the welded backing nut off the front. It holds the front bumper on. I did so to install a high clearance bumper and front rack bracket for my hang glider (ok, i am now a dad, my flying days might be over.. it is more a lumber and metal rack now). I figured while i was in there i should chassis saver so I ordered a quart. I could only get the first 2 or 3 feet. Still thinking how I will get the rest of the boxed fram. Planning to touch up my truck and wife's subaru soon.

Good to know. Thanks for your writeup. Still toying with it as an option, especially on hidden cab space and mechanical joints.

 

I am still in FoCo. And I would love to chat with you and Bret and pick your brains. You both know about about these trucks and have done mods I plan to do. I would say you are welcome to stop by any time, but i must add my wife is an Epidemiologist and has not let the family out of the house or let visitors in since February. So.... As soon as this COVID thing settles down, YES!!! For sure!!!

 

ok front section!
i have no pics from that far up, only from the cat area and back

 

Yeah that’s be great. Just let me know when your wife won’t blow torch me if I approach your front door and we’ll get together.

 

If you come up with a way to wire brush and paint inside those boxes PLEASE report back. And yes, the fluid film might be best in those areas as you will not do MORE damage by encapsulating the rust inside. BUT, I feared it would collect more dirt in the box frame and from what i could see with my endoscope, it was not in bad shape.

 

Agreed.

 

I guess since we are on this topic, I was considering painting red numbered arrows in the wheel wells, under the frame and in drain holes of my wife's subaru to make it easier for her to wash her car when she goes to the car wash. "After the visible aesthetic parts of the car, please spray each number until the water is no longer turbid"
Like: 1↗ ↙2 ←3 4→
She is an infections disease veterinarian so she drives in livestock shit all the time. Treats her car like a truck. Not complaining. She IS taking initiative and cleaning sometimes. Just missing the spots that collect dirt and induce rust. In the process I found I could drill a few holes in plastic body parts and make it easier to blast out dirt.

I will likely do this to my truck also.
1) it will make her know i am not being condescending if I do it to only her vehicle.
2) it would be handy reminder for me especially in the dark.
I mean... way less embarrassing than when i write R and L on my shoes. Function over Fashion.