Rust already along frame and component welds on new truck?

Hello TW, I went under the truck today after cleaning it and I noticed that some paint is flaking off the areas where it is welded and the areas of exposed metal are now a brownish in color resembling the presence of rust. It is like this on the seam welds of the lower control arms and the rear axle cover welds. Is this normal or abnormal? I used to have a 2019 that didn't do it as much as this one so im a little suspicious.

 

that sucks,brah

 

It’s normal. Look at your drive shaft in a month. It’s just surface rust.

 

To me that stuff looks an awful lot like the pictures of mud you posted on Dec 7 in your other thread...

See if it doesn't wash off with some soapy water or even just a damp rag.

And as far as rust goes, all things rust, end of story. If you want to keep this truck in good shape for a long time to come, you'll want to look into a yearly undercoating. Fluid Film is my product of choice. There are several others. They all work on the principal of making a thin layer of greasy oil to block out moisture and oxygen.

 

Everything rusts eventually. Well said.
To the OP, no worries. It's metal and it rusts. If you don't want any rust move to the south or keep it out of the rain and snow.

 

It did not come off with soapy water and rag, as well as power washing.

 

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Metals rust or corrode. Some faster than others. Period. If you can effectively shield them from oxygen, chlorides, acids and water, then they won't. But it will require an ongoing effort to prevent/minimize it.
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So I’m gonna go against everyone else telling you to relax and just say that YOUR TRUCK IS FUCKED OP. Between that and the mud? Damn son.

 

Short version, a flakey like scale forms at the surface during the welding process, it's normal. The welds on the frame and many other components are not cleaned prior to coating. In a short time those same flakes come free and expose the bare metal.

I personally, on a nice lazy day, cleaned primed and coated those areas. An anti-corrosion is fine, fluid film for example. Or do nothing, it's the same on just about every vehicle. Only in extreme conditions will it ever become a structural issue.

 

When I rotate my tires l usually hit that stuff with a wire brush and a can of black spray paint, its a non-issue.

 

Someone get me the oxygen bottle! shit i just miss the brand new sheen that my truck used to have. sometimes i see couple year old trd pros driving around me here in the bay and the underside is completely deep black clean. I dont know how they do it and keep it so clean.

 

Normal. Welds are the first to rust - lower control arms, cab mount, rear axle.

If you wheel your truck seriously, there will be plenty of trail scars on the frame each year. Just spray some semigloss black rust paint on the welds when you touch up the trail scars.

 

I don't think that's rust, the bead anyway. It looks like Toyota is using silicon bronze welding rod on some of these frames. Mine has the same welds.

 

I did notice on both the trucks i had new the paint that had flaked off a bit on the welds showed a copper orange ish color. Funny that theyd do that and make neurotic people like me panic.

 

^this. The result of the silicon bronze welds is a goldish brown color that hardens at the bead. It’s not rust. However it can turn into rust because the result is a surface that paint can’t adhere to. To the small exposed area results in an open door for rust to penetrate the surrounding metal. If you look at this picture, that small brownish tint at the edges of the weld beads will end up the same way if not treated properly before painting- as in wire wheeling or otherwise removing prior to paint. A simple scrub down isn’t going to remove it.




I’ve seen too many people mistake this for rust right off the bat.

 

I did not know this. Today I Learned.

 

I have used fluid film on my last two Tacoma’s.

 

Cosmoline it before gets worse.

 

The wire used is ER70S-3, supposedly. It's the silicon that bonds with oxygen, intentionally so for deoxidizing, and floats to the top/edges. It forms a glass like compound on the surface. It often times cracks and pops off as the weld cools. If not cleaned before coating, paint will stick but eventually the glass will crack, water intrudes to the bare metal below. Eventually the glass breaks off taking the paint with it, exposing the now rusted bare metal below.