Opened a can of worms... Pulled battery and tray after traces of rust spotted.

[DIFF LOCK]

Full disclosure: I'm not a paint and body work guy, so I have no idea what I'm doing. I'd welcome any guidance from guys/gals who know the right steps to take care of this.

Backstory: New-to-me 2004 TOYOTA Land Cruiser w/161K miles. Noticed some rust around the base of the battery tray, and my OCD wouldn't let me walk away. Decided to pull everything out and this is what I found, as well as my progress in trying to clear it up. Gotta say, in this 100+ degree Arizona weather, this job sucks big time. Lots of work and slow progress. As far as related power tools, I have only a corded drill and so there are some space limitations. I'm pretty close to the point where I'm just going to be hand sanding to try and get in all the awkward spots.

As you can see, the metal on the left side of the battery tray area is really textured and pock-marked--leading me to believe the rust has fully permeated through to the underside; I can definitely feel the texture on the backside.

Did I mention I'm quickly losing interest in this particular project? It blows. Please help!

 

[AlpineAccess]

That looks like pretty typical battery acid effects on paint. You've cleaned it up nicely, so now just to get some paint on it and set a new battery in.

You can put a spray can with some neutralizer into the holes there and fog the areas you can't see with spray primer/paint a few times. Should be ok.

 

[Dockofthebay]

I'd part it out.

 

[WarDamnEagle]

Use a rust converter if you are really concerned (e.g. Corroseal or something similar). Then rattle can on top and put it back together. I seriously doubt you are actually feeling rust through to the other side.

 

[Mike NXP]

If that's your biggest concern on the truck I'd say your doing alright. It cleaned up nicely and should last another 20+ years

 

[mitchjohnson000]

As a rust belter, that isn't even close to going through the metal. 2020 cruisers sitting on the dealer lot have more rust than that.

 

[DIFF LOCK]

It’s this area that I’m thinking has rust throughout…

 

[mitchjohnson000]

If you are really concerned about it, buy a can of fluid film and call it a day. Every year I buy a gallon of it and spray the entire truck.

 

[AlpineAccess]

Rust convertor and POR15 and it will be fine.

 

[Eighteen11R]

If it worries you, get some POR 15 and give it a coating...as long as you can seal the area from future oxidation, you'll be fine. Nice job preparing the surface mate.

 

[Kabanstva]

I would’ve just left it as is and just spray the crap out of it with Fluid Film to be honest

 

[WreckDiver1321]

As a non-Rust Belt guy who is dealing with a rusty Cruiser, you've definitely done enough prep work and cleaned the rust out enough to make it a non-issue. Since you live in AZ, once you finish it off you'll never have to worry about it again.

Get some Rust-Oleum Rust Reformer and stick the nozzle up to each of those holes, then hose it for a few seconds. Mop up any overspray from the sides and let it dry. Hit the rest of it with a coat or POR15 and call it a day.

 

[DIFF LOCK]

Quick update:

I had Krud Kutter The Must for Rust on hand. I put some in a clean spray bottle. Made a quick pass with the wire brush attachment on my drill, then immediately followed it up with the spray bottle. Covered the whole area, got in all the crevices, etc. Let it soak, then wiped it down with dry shop towels and followed it up with some Rustoleum Etch Primer. I plan to let it dry overnight and then tomorrow I’ll lightly sand it and go over the area with Rustoleum Matte Clear. Will this suffice?

 

[longjohn]

Impressive prep. It's too late to do a rust reformer, which likes bare metal/residual rust, so now you just gotta trust that Rust-Oleum to live up to its name. Just check it again next year in case that rust creeps back out from under your lovely clean finish coat.

 

[AlpineAccess]

Looks good

 

[Eighteen11R]

Borrowing from the famous Carl Spackler; "He got all of that one!"

 

[trdtoyotrk]

Great work. I had the same issue when I went to install my SLee tray for the bigger battery. I ended up doing all the same stuff as you but went with POR15 and now I have a glossy black battery area and probably never have to worry about it again. The nice thing about POR15 is that you can lay it on heavy and have it spread under the various layers of bodywork.