Rust spot treatment advice please (1 Viewer)

[WTITW]

Help me save my baby!

I’m thinking wire wheel rust inhibitor and flat black overcoat? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[r2m]

Agree, wire wheel it till it's bright, then Rust-oleum in your favorite color!
Actually, use a brass wire wheel. You won't chew up so much metal and the brass wire wheel will do fine removing all the rust and a bit of the surrounding paint.

 

[BigSwede]

Oh, the horror! Speaking as someone from the land of road salt, I wish my frame was that clean.

But I do have a lot of experience battling rust. Were I in your shoes I would hit those spots with Rustoleum Rust Reformer and in AZ you should be good to go. There looks to be a little bubbled paint around the edge of that frame spot that need to come off first.

 

[WTITW]

brass wire wheel.

Oh, that’s cool, I didn’t even know brass wire wheels existed. That’s why I come here for advice

 

[WTITW]

Oh, the horror!

I know I’m geographically blessed when it comes to rust… But, it’s the only thing that stops a Toyota so I want to treat her right.

…Well, rust, or leaving it parked in the ocean overnight like top-gear did. But that just took a tuneup to fix… although that might have caused some rust issues long term...

 

[Rednexus]

Barely a scratch .

You could also just buy a can of Fluid Film Black ($11 at O'Reillys, but you might need to special order or get it on Amazon since I doubt it's routinely carried in AZ) and spray it right over the rust after descaling the flaky stuff. It will take <5 minutes. In such a dry climate with limited rain you can probably go years between Fluid Film touch ups. IMO normal paint is actually a kind of crappy rust preventative for something that gets lots of abrasion like a vehicle frame. Tougher hard coatings or self-healing coatings like lanolin products (Fluid Film or Woolwax) do a better job. Once you have a rust spot like that, it's hard to get ALL of the rust gone and it will often bubble-up and flake off the paint - IMO paint can make it worse by trapping moisture against the frame, unless you have perfect surface prep.

 

[MrTorgue]

Barely a scratch .

You could also just buy a can of Fluid Film Black ($11 at O'Reillys, but you might need to special order or get it on Amazon since I doubt it's routinely carried in AZ) and spray it right over the rust after descaling the flaky stuff. It will take <5 minutes. In such a dry climate with limited rain you can probably go years between Fluid Film touch ups. IMO normal paint is actually a kind of crappy rust preventative for something that gets lots of abrasion like a vehicle frame. Tougher hard coatings or self-healing coatings like lanolin products (Fluid Film or Woolwax) do a better job. Once you have a rust spot like that, it's hard to get ALL of the rust gone and it will often bubble-up and flake off the paint - IMO paint can make it worse by trapping moisture against the frame, unless you have perfect surface prep.

100% all of this ^

 

[WTITW]

Does fluid film lay down like a paint? Or is it a topcoat? Should I prep and paint first or just hit it with fluid film first? Looks like there’s a few places I can get it in town or I could order it off Amazon.

 

[r2m]

Oh, that’s cool, I didn’t even know brass wire wheels existed. That’s why I come here for advice

Amazon product ASIN B07QMK64WS

 

[r2m]

AND THAT my friends is why my family drives Toyota/Lexus products!
Heck, that would have been a great rock crawler, not having to worry about dents or anything! Just add lockers, regear and some 35's.

 

[Rednexus]

Does fluid film lay down like a paint? Or is it a topcoat? Should I prep and paint first or just hit it with fluid film first? Looks like there’s a few places I can get it in town or I could order it off Amazon.

It's a lanolin coating, so it always stays wet/tacky, and completely seals out water. If you scratch it, it will self-heal. If you are doing Fluid Film there is really no reason to paint, just remove the loose rust and spray over it. Water can't get under Fluid Film (since it's always wet/tacky), but it can get washed or abraded away. Since it is nontoxic, it is NBD if you get it on your hands (it's almost like a lotion).

Woolwax is also a bit thicker of a product, probably better than Fluid Film, but is sold online only. I have the outside of my frame coated in Woolwax Black (applied using their air-powered sprayer) and the inside in clear/carmel Fluid Film. My exterior Woolwax coat is going on 2 years and finally needs a touch-up, and my GX is wheeled a lot and sees lots of water. You probably don't need a full frame coating being that you are in AZ, but it wouldn't hurt either.

 

[WTITW]

It's a lanolin coating, so it always stays wet/tacky

Does it pick up dirt at all? I assume it releases pretty easily but wondering if I'll always have dirt stuck to the frame / hitch if I go that route.

 

[Rednexus]

Yes it absolutely picks up dirt. It then forms a nice, semi-solid crust over the coating that's a bit more water-resistant than just Fluid Film/Woolwax alone. If you might not like that look, you can take advantage of that AZ climate and just do a really good surface prep and paint coating. The lanolin products are a must here in the Midwest where we have salt on the roads.

2021, right after application:

2023, after 2+ years of going through lots of gravel and mud:

 

[MrTorgue]

Yes it absolutely picks up dirt. It then forms a nice, semi-solid crust over the coating that's a bit more water-resistant than just Fluid Film/Woolwax alone. If you might not like that look, you can take advantage of that AZ climate and just do a really good surface prep and paint coating. The lanolin products are a must here in the Midwest where we have salt on the roads.

2021, right after application:
View attachment 3429301
2023, after 2+ years of going through lots of gravel and mud:
View attachment 3429302

The before looks absolutely beautiful.

 

[WTITW]

Yes it absolutely picks up dirt.

Glad I asked. Looks like a must back east but I think I'll just clean it up with a brass brush like @r2m suggested and keep here pretty with Rustoleum.

 

[Rednexus]

Glad I asked. Looks like a must back east but I think I'll just clean it up with a brass brush like @r2m suggested and keep here pretty with Rustoleum.

Definitely be glad you have that option . Just FYI the brass brush can leave some rust in micro-pores in the metal and cause the paint to pop off - if you go that route consider also hitting it up with a flap disc to remove the pores or a pre-paint treatment like Rustoleum rusty metal primer or a spray-on rust conversion product. I used VHT Rust Converter on my fuel tank skid (which was super-rusty inside and out) and painted it since it was beyond a Woolwax-only save, and it's held up OK.

The before looks absolutely beautiful.

If only it still looked that good . The stuff is cheap and working well overall.

 

[r2m]

If we're still talking chemicals, I've used Naval Jelly, no it doesn't go on your toast or bagel.

Remove Rust from Metal with Naval Jelly® Rust Treatment from Loctite Adhesives

Dissolving rust from metal surfaces. Use on automobiles, antiques, patio furniture and more.

www.loctiteproducts.com

It works really good too, but need rubber gloves and to be very careful with it.

 

[KShorthairs]

Wire brush- acetone- POR-15- then paint with whatever. Have done it on numerous Toyo frames and it lasts.