Just got a 2009 Ranger and looking at ways of extending the life of it by treating the rust. I have encapsulated the rust on the doors and tailgate and painted over it. Now I am on to the frame. The frame is rusty, mainly surface rust, which is surprising for a Michigan vehicle as we use lots of salt on the roads up here. I have created my own rustproofing material from grease and wax and want some opinions on whether the frame rust needs to be encapsulated before application, or if I can get away with smearing this concoction over the rust. This will be a huge labor saver, and need to know if it is counterproductive to treat rust this way.

This is my first Ranger and must say I should have picked one up a long time ago!

 

I'm actually doing this over the weekend. I have the bed off the truck because I replaced the fuel pump assembly... while I have the bed off I am going to wire brush the entire frame and then paint that and the bottom of the bed with this that I purchased:


On the label that I saw at home you can paint directly over rust... it's pretty much like POR14. But I think with most of this stuff it's all in the prep work. Probably spend a couple hours sanding and cleaning the frame then painting it.

I have a 2001, so yours probably isn't nearly as bad as what mine is. The worst part is the rear tire carrier. The rest of the frame appears 100% solid. Just the rear tire carrier took the brunt of all the rust...lol

-Nigel

 

A couple of years ago I did a complete resto on an old C10...the frame was covered in surface rust....you need to wire brush or scrape...or even sand blast the loose rust off...it doesn't need to be bare metal....then you get thus acid wash solution you spray on and keep wet for about 20 min...thus stuff neutralizes the rust from ever coming back..then just hose off the white residue it creates. Next step is to brush POR 15 over the frame...this stuff is amazing. You will never have rust issues or ever have to cover it up with a wax or oil solution. It's the next best thing to powder coating, with the advantage of being able to do touch ups if the frame ever gets scraped.

 

A couple of years ago I did a complete resto on an old C10...the frame was covered in surface rust....you need to wire brush or scrape...or even sand blast the loose rust off...it doesn't need to be bare metal....then you get this acid wash solution you spray on and keep wet for about 20 min...thus stuff neutralizes the rust from ever coming back..then just hose off the white residue it creates.Sorry can't remember the name of it. Next step is to brush POR 15 over the frame...this stuff is amazing. You will never have rust issues or ever have to cover it up with a wax or oil solution. It's the next best thing to powder coating, with the advantage of being able to do touch ups if the frame ever gets scraped.

 

The acid wash is called vinegar

 

I believe the product name was Metal Prep

 

Thank you for the replies. Let me be more specific. I have used Por15 and do not have any desire to put that much effort into it. The bed will stay on the frame. The original plan was to neutralize the rust, paint over it, and then grease the frame with the grease/wax mixture. Now my idea is to cut out the rust neutralizer and simply coat the frame in the grease/wax mixture. It should "seal" off the metal and existing rust from the outside world, but is it enough to stop the rust from progressing? I assume it is because the metal will no longer be exposed to the atmosphere. Or am I incorrect?

 

As long ad it stays covered, and not wash off....it could work.

 

It is not hard to remove the bolts, disconnect the fuel feed, disconnect the electrical, and pull the bed off. You will be able to clean up the frame and rust proof it more efficiently. It was an afternoon job on my truck.

I used a wire brush on a side grinder to remove the heavy scale, coated it down in vinegar for a half hour to kill the rusting, washed it with water, wiped with alcohol, and coated it with cold galvanize. While I was waiting for it to cure on the vinegar I replaced the shocks. While I was waiting for the cold galvanize to cure I wire-brushed the rusty bed bolts and sprayed the heads with cold galvanize. I also replaced the fuel pump (the real reason for pulling the bed). When the cold galvanize had cured I sprayed it with flat black rustoleum.

 

Never new there was such a thing as "cold galvanizing" spray...
Have you used it before ?

https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.1...SAAEgLHz_D_BwE

 

I work at a fabrication shop and we use it for touch up for hot dipped parts. We use a different brand but it seems to hold up alright.

 

I used the ZRC brand brush on cold galvanize with an airless paint sprayer.

 

Thanks jimel44. As long as it stays put the seal should work. Looks like I will go through with encapsulating the rust, paint it and then apply to goo. No lazy way out of it I suppose.

 

 

Welp first coat down.

-Nigel

 

man, good job. you blew it apart!

 

Looking good! just went through this with my ranger after welding in a new front on my bed. The rust was so bad that the two font bolts weren't even holding anything anymore. When i took the bed off I sprayed the frame with rust stopping enamel from ACE, just make sure its as clean as you can get it and it should be fine, also for an extra measure I sprayed over the framer as well as the underside of the bed with the rubberized undercoating. The stuff is tough and it'll keep water and salt out!

 

Hi all. I just completed the frame rust issue on my 2006 and thought I would pass along how I did it and the results. I live in SC and rust is not a big issue for local trucks. However, my truck even with low miles (85k) had the dreaded frame rust due to the fact that the truck spent a good portion of its life in Pennsylvania. I had to replace the leaf spring shackles and mounts because they were toast so I tackled the frame rust at the same time

I did a lot of research on rust converters and decided to go with Gemplers. Very little prep is needed other than getting scaly rust off and at $20 a quart was very reasonable. I mostly used a wire brush attached to my drill which did a really decent job. Remember you do not have to get it down to bare metal just get the flaky stuff off. Gemplers is very easy to apply I used a spray bottle and a cheap nylon brush to spread it around after spraying it on. Where rust existed it turned a very tough black finish other non rust areas it just gives a nice clear finish that takes a topcoat of paint nicely. I top coated everything with Satin Rustoleum in rattle cans and it looks really good and I think it will hold up well.

Like others have said the tire carrier is the hard part because with out removing the bed there really is no way to get the top portion done (I just dealt with the bottom portion and the cross member in the front of it. My total expense including the shackles and mounts was under $150 and I feel money well spent. It came out better than my expectations and my car buddies were all in disbelief how good it came out.

Hope this helps someone out...

Cheers!