2-in-1 Rust Reform & Seal frame paint

[Kevco2]

I have my 1997 Suburban 4x4 up on the lift with the whole front end off and out of the way. Im a New England guy and rust is the ultimate enemy to every vehicle I hold near and dear. Has anybody tried this rust reform paint/undercoat from Rustoleum? I want to roll it on nice and THICK to try keeping my battle wagon on the road for another couple decades. How well does it perform and seem to last? What type of surface prep did you have to do? I have many heavy gauge wire wheels for the grinder ready to tackle the heavy surface scaling. Any tips for cleaning/preserving the inside of the frame? Unfortunately I cannot do the whole body off proper job that I would desperately love to do. Just do not have the room and winter is coming fast

Thanks,
-Kevco

 

[TechNova]

I use this inside frames. https://www.amazon.com/3M-Cavity-Wa...hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4583520388033775&psc=1
with these nozzles. https://www.tooltopia.com/3m-automo...ign=PLA&scid=scbplpMMM08851&sc_intid=MMM08851
There are others out there, but they don't perform as well, many dry out.
shop around, those are just the first two sites I Googled to get you the 3M numbers.

 

[JACK34]

Yeah I just did on the frame and underside of my box. I used cans and it's called rust reformer. I needled all the rust off and wire wheeled the best I could and sprayed it on covered great. I painted to bottom of the box after the rust reformer with rustoleum high performance protective enamel 4 parts paint 1 part acetone and 1 part catalyst. Turned out great. I found a rust free box and before it goes on this truck I plan on doing some good prep and my best. The only thing that keeps these trucks from rusting out is not exposing them to salt. But we try to keep em going don't we. Good luck.

 

[Kevco2]

Yeah I just did on the frame and underside of my box. I used cans and it's called rust reformer. I needled all the rust off and wire wheeled the best I could and sprayed it on covered great. I painted to bottom of the box after the rust reformer with rustoleum high performance protective enamel 4 parts paint 1 part acetone and 1 part catalyst. Turned out great.

So you had just used the straight rust reformer. Did that work more like a surface treatment to convert the active rust and turn it into a paintable area? The stuff I came across on their website seems to be a rubberized undercoating that contains the rust reformer product as well. I am trying to formulate a multi-prong attack; stop all the rust possible, seal everything with a good paint and then top with an actual undercoating. Im sure it is overkill, but I have really become paranoid after watching the Suburban deteriorate so quickly

 

[Kevco2]

I have tried using the Eastwood textured rust encapsulating paint, but it just did not hold up on the small parts and areas that I have tried it on.

TechNova: Was a type of the wax coating what GM originally used? There are some well hidden nooks in the frame that have something similar to a waxy consistency.
How clean of a surface does that 3M cavity wax require to work well?
I am not sure how deeply cleaned I will be able to get inside the front crossmember and boxed sections of frame on the 4x4

What is the experiences of having coatings stand up to road debris from being driven all the time

 

[JACK34]

All I did was needle and wire wheel as much rust off as I could. Then sprayed it with rust reformer to convert the rust. Then sprayed it with the Rustoleum high performance paint mixed like I said. I don't know about any rubber coatings or wax cosmoline coatings. If it gets spotty again I can do the same thing again but you start spraying rubber coating or wax on things if it fails and you decide to try and remove it good luck. Anyway thank God my truck was never sprayed with any of that nonsense Ziebart or whatever. Just bare metal I can work with that.

 

[Hipster]

After cleaning use Ospho or Rust-Mort. Kleen Strip prep and etch you can find in Lowes is similar. Basically phosphoric acid that helps convert rust. Then prep for paint.

Almost all these conversion type coatings are a bit of a snake oil type product. Better then nothing but not a replacement for blasting.

I'm not a fan of undercoating on a frame because rust can form under undercoating and you'll never know until it's a big hole.

 

[RI Chevy guy]

I've been using Rust Reformer extensively (also in New England!), like all coatings prep is key. I've been using wire wheels to get the loose and built up stuff, treat it with a paint prep to get rid of oils and wax that may remain, spray with rust reformer- and, this seems to be key: let it dry for 24 hours. at this point I'll paint with two coats of chassis black, I've been using VHT on my Jeep but think I'm going to Eastwood's 2K chassis black for more durability

 

[Bloodwater79]

Cant Beat POR15 for sealing up rust. I have used it on several differnet vehicles everything form a 1957 belair to a 2017 F150. Frames, floorpans, inner doors and fenders. its some mean stuff and as long as you prep the area it bonds and lasts a long time. Did the entire undercarriage of my dads 1976 f100 work truck back in the 90's and the POR15 outlasted the top part of the bed that had rhino liner on it, we did both at the same time back in 1993. wish we did the entire bed instead of just the frame undercab, floorpan, and underbed

 

[JACK34]

Yes I have heard really good things about POR15. I saw the step by step video of the prep the cleaning with the acid spray or whatever it is then wet it down. I'm sure POR15 is awesome but when your upside down and it drips on you then you can't get it off your skin for 6 months makes it hard to show up to church looking like you are that guy that doesn't take a bath. How do you guys prep these frames without removing all the fuel lines tank and brake line. The passenger side isn't bad but getting into the inner part of the frame is not easy unless you sand blast it and that would be like a frame off restoration. And if you are prepping using phosphoric acid doesn't that eat up something you don't want it too? Like a fuel line a rubber any line your eyes. I'm just talking about the frame from the cab back. It would be a nigtmare to try the bottom of the box with the box still on the truck with this acid prep ETC... Holy Cow.