The only place I've found any rust on this whole truck (besides some surface frame areas that I already took care of with POR-15) is on the very bottom inside lip of the passenger side door. The other door is perfect so maybe Ford didn't prep the area correctly or something...who knows. It's not rotted, just some surface rust and bubbled paint. Theres good metal underneath. Since I had some POR left over, I decided to fix it temporarily until I can run down a small amount of Arizona Beige paint to spray on the area with my little spray gun.

I wire brushed and used my DA sander with 120 grit to get the bubbles off, smooth it off a little and rough the area up some for adhesion. POR wont stick unless it's got some bite.




Degreased and prepped it, masked the outside of the bottom door off with a strip of tape and brushed on some POR. I know, looks like crap but at least it'll neutralize anymore rust and no one will even know it's there unless they look under. I'll get some paint and clear next week to finish it. The POR directions say once its dried and cured you can scuff/sand it up with some 320 grit and paint right over it. I'll let you know how that turns out.

 

You might want to look at getting some "body cavity wax". I'm not joking with you thats what its actually called. My body man sprayed it into all the rust prone areas on my 69 Mach 1. It more or less looked like it was spray lithium grease in an expensive can but it was much cheaper than battling rust at a later date. I would get a can or two and spray it inside the door where that seem is, then I'd probably pull out the rear interior and do your cab corners. Those seem like high rust areas for your neck of the woods.

 

Both my doors are doing the same thing

 

I'll have to look into that stuff. I actually have done some cab corner inspection and they appear solid but that stuff you are talking about sounds like a great preventative measure.

The one thing I hate about buying a used vehicle is 99% of people dont get up underneath and hose everything out. This truck is actually in killer shape (for being a nearly 8 year old Ohio truck) and only having 58K on the clock but I wish you'd seen the driveway when I hosed out the underbody...yuk..what a mess!

 

Trust me, I was scared to death to make the trip to buy my F150 as it was out of South Dakota for fear of finding a rust bucket. I can't believe the rust and corrosion you guys face in that area. One 05 I was looking at out of Nebraska only had 60k on it and had rust bubbles on the cab so I had to pass on it. I'm glad I did as I have a mint condition, low mileage truck.

Here is a link to some of that Body Cavity Wax.
Amazon.com: Eastwood Heavy Duty Anti Rust 13.5 oz - Cavity Wax: Automotive

I think the stuff he used was a 3M product though so that should be something that can be found locally.

 

Thanks man! I'll look into ordering some of that.

As for here, the salt isn't nearly as bad as in Minnesota or Michigan or similar states. The problem is that nobody takes care of it. If you go to the carwash once a week or so in the winter and hose out the underneath of a vehicle, it stays nice. If you leave that stuff all over underneath the vehicle for 5 years then it gets rotted. Our '07 MKX was purchased brand new and even though it is also low mileage (41K) It has been through 4 winters and is still shiny and black underneath.

 

my passenger door is doing this. i saw it ans was pissed! i know i can't go to the dealer for a fix since i didn't get them to underspray when i purchased and gave me the run around for another spot under my hood from a rock chip.

how much was the por-15?

i guy at work recommened cleaning it up and keeping a suply of grease in there.

i think it does this from the gutter water that gets kicked up.