As the Michigan winter rolls around I figured for the first time I need to coat the frame of my Jeep. I’m pretty new to the idea and wanted some input on how bad the rust looks on my frame and how I can take care of it and prevent it from getting worse.. please give me some steps that y’all took taking care of your frame inside and out. Iv heard of por15 but for as many good reviews there are bad. Trying to get this job done for cheap. I uploaded some pics so give you an idea of what I’m dealing with. Thank y’all!
Michigan winter frame coating?
- Thread starter Outdoordude
- Start date
That rust is bad, but it's far from the worst I've ever seen, that's for sure.
The way to deal with it is to get out a wire wheel, spend 10 or so hours getting every single section of rust you can get with it and take it down to BARE metal.
Once you do that, paint over the bare metal with a satin black spray paint (something like Krylon or similar) and let it dry.
Coat the entire outside of the frame with Fluid Film (and entire underside), and the inside of the frame with Eastwood Internal Frame Coating. Do that 4 times a year and you won't have to worry about the rust getting any worse.
The way to deal with it is to get out a wire wheel, spend 10 or so hours getting every single section of rust you can get with it and take it down to BARE metal.
Once you do that, paint over the bare metal with a satin black spray paint (something like Krylon or similar) and let it dry.
Coat the entire outside of the frame with Fluid Film (and entire underside), and the inside of the frame with Eastwood Internal Frame Coating. Do that 4 times a year and you won't have to worry about the rust getting any worse.
First understand that that's an opinion and is subjective. Some will swear you should never undercoat it, others like us in Michigan realize that rust is the enemy and salt is the killer and doing nothing doesn't work.
I firmly believe that going through a car wash with under spray often is the best defense against salt however it's pretty hard to do when you can't go through a carwash with a soft top on.
first make sure you drill some drain holes by those rear shackles. There are plenty of videos on YouTube to show you where and what size, you have to make it big enough that water tension doesn't prohibit the water from draining out.
the factory didn't put holes there and that's where the majority of rust problems on Jeep frames occcur.
then I would remove as much as the rust scale as you can buy either wire brush, sandblasting etc.
Then I used a rust encapsulating rubberized undercoating spray that you can get from eastman.com. It comes in spray cans or in quarts and spray it with a undercoating sprayer.
it comes in silver or black however the silver is supposed to be three times the protection. It does say you can paint over it if you don't want the silver look underneath. I went with black.
if you don't want the rubberized undercoating you can get the same formula in just a spray that will do the same.
This will supposedly transform what existing rust there is and prohibit it from spreading more.
at eastman.com there is also an interior frame spray that comes in a spray can with a very long plastic hose it comes out green you spray that inside your frame to Coat it and encapsulate rust and prohibit it from spreading.
this is what I did with mine although mine was in pretty bad shape to begin with. I can't tell you if it really works long-term or not but many swear by it.
I firmly believe that going through a car wash with under spray often is the best defense against salt however it's pretty hard to do when you can't go through a carwash with a soft top on.
first make sure you drill some drain holes by those rear shackles. There are plenty of videos on YouTube to show you where and what size, you have to make it big enough that water tension doesn't prohibit the water from draining out.
the factory didn't put holes there and that's where the majority of rust problems on Jeep frames occcur.
then I would remove as much as the rust scale as you can buy either wire brush, sandblasting etc.
Then I used a rust encapsulating rubberized undercoating spray that you can get from eastman.com. It comes in spray cans or in quarts and spray it with a undercoating sprayer.
it comes in silver or black however the silver is supposed to be three times the protection. It does say you can paint over it if you don't want the silver look underneath. I went with black.
if you don't want the rubberized undercoating you can get the same formula in just a spray that will do the same.
This will supposedly transform what existing rust there is and prohibit it from spreading more.
at eastman.com there is also an interior frame spray that comes in a spray can with a very long plastic hose it comes out green you spray that inside your frame to Coat it and encapsulate rust and prohibit it from spreading.
this is what I did with mine although mine was in pretty bad shape to begin with. I can't tell you if it really works long-term or not but many swear by it.
Hey thanks a lot man. You wouldn't say the rust is bad enough to jeopardize the integrity of the frame?
In some sections the frame looks fine. The only section I can see (from the photos at least) where the frame integrity looks like it could be compromised is the front portion. However, that's just what I can see in the photos. But that type of rust you see in that photo is the beginning of frame rot. If the outside of the frame looks like that, the inside generally looks even worse.
Cleaning and painting is good advice. One think we did in Vermont was, spray the underside with bar and chain oil, cut with about 5%-10% kerosene to make it spray with a suction sand blaster gun. Bar and chain oil sticks well and fights rust.
A second vote for Fluid Film. I used to coat the underside of my '15 JKUR a couple times a year when I lived up in Northern Virginia. They would put some "beet juice" chemical down on the roads for the ice, then they would also salt the roads. My buddy also had a '15 JKU and he never did anything to his. After 2 years, his looked like crap, and when I sold mine to a dealer, the service folks remarked that I must have just come from out west, because the underside was clean as a whistle.
Did you use it to coat the inside? I assume I would need to break up the rust first and clean it out?
I did empty a can down the insides of each rail and hoped for the best. Definitely knock off and/or treat as much of the current rust as you can. Fluid Film doesn't treat the rust, it's just a sticky goo to keep crap from getting to the metal.
In the last photo I think your tub at the body mount needs more attention than the frame.
Swamp Yankee
TJ Enthusiast
Another product I’ve been looking at besides the great fluid film is New Hampshire Oil Undercoating, even comes tinted black to make your frame look new!
Fughuert
TJ Enthusiast
Frame looks completely fine, just surface rust, no scale. Wire wheel and por 15 then fluid film the inside is what I’d do.
Skip any rubberized or Eastman garbage it’ll just trap salt underneath it once it starts to crack, oil based stuff inside only.
Your torque boxes look fucked, might only be the middle mount rusted out though.
Skip any rubberized or Eastman garbage it’ll just trap salt underneath it once it starts to crack, oil based stuff inside only.
Your torque boxes look fucked, might only be the middle mount rusted out though.
Here is how I treated my 2004 TJ with minor surface rust. I blew out as much rust inside the frame as possible using the same methods described in a fine post on this site. Power washed and cleaned the inside frame cavities. When dry, I used Eastwood internal frame coating and drilled drainage holes near the rear shackles as described in the post mentioned earlier. These holes are important as I noted quite a bit of water draining from them after power rinsing. The TJ was then taken to a local auto body shop where the entire undercarriage that had surface rust had the rust removed with a needle gun and then coated with an industrial coating they use on their shop vehicles. After an entire summer of curing I then removed the front and rear bumpers and again power washed, rinsed and blew out any debris. After drying I completely coated the entire inside frame with Fluid Film using a spray gun as well as the whole under carriage. Lastly, I bought plugs to fit the big round holes in the frame to keep debris/salt from getting in. These will stay in place during the winter. In the spring, I will remove them and repeat the power wash/rinse/dry process, leaving these holes open. If after all of this I still get rust, fuck it; I'm done.
@chino1969 If you don't mind me asking. What shop did this work for you? I'm close to you, maybe I'll look these guys up in the future.
I personally would stay away from any undercoating. The rust looks like if you don't deal with it now, Spring may be too late without dealing with replacing some spots. I agree with Chris on most points. Get as much rust off as you can. Especially under the floorboards. It is getting too cold to use paint unless you have a heated workspace that you can leave the Jeep for a good week for the paint to actually dry and protect how it should. If you do then use a good brand (I like Rustolium) and then use a rusty metal primer nice and heavy and then topcoat. Never put something like Eastwood's frame coat inside the frame
Actually any type of "permanent" coating. Rust will ALWAYS find a way back in. You need a protective coating that you can see if rust is returning through. Fluid Film or one of several Cosmoline products. If you use any type of hard coating like paint or frame coat use it in an area that if (when) rust comes back you can do something about it. Inside a frame can make it look good while the rust just keeps on eating. And there will be nothing you can do.
When people respond to "is this too rusty" you need to consider where they live. In Az or Ca that rust is unbelievably bad. Here in NY that is some surface rust with a few bad sections.
I use Fluid Film and am amazed how good it protects. But it can wash off so you have to keep an eye on it to make sure it covers the metal and stays wet. That is the lanolin protecting and wicking into every book and cranny. Put a good coat inside the doors (all 3) to keep the pinch seams from rusting from the inside.
That NHUC or whatever it is called is one of those cosmoline products. It works well. And lasts quite a while. It will leave a waxy coating to seep in and protect well.
My preference for the FF is that if you need to work on anything under the Jeep you can wash the FF off and work on a clean dry item. Not have it coated in waxy-ness, or even worse, covered in undercoating making you need to chisel it off just to put a wrench on.
Actually any type of "permanent" coating. Rust will ALWAYS find a way back in. You need a protective coating that you can see if rust is returning through. Fluid Film or one of several Cosmoline products. If you use any type of hard coating like paint or frame coat use it in an area that if (when) rust comes back you can do something about it. Inside a frame can make it look good while the rust just keeps on eating. And there will be nothing you can do.
When people respond to "is this too rusty" you need to consider where they live. In Az or Ca that rust is unbelievably bad. Here in NY that is some surface rust with a few bad sections.
I use Fluid Film and am amazed how good it protects. But it can wash off so you have to keep an eye on it to make sure it covers the metal and stays wet. That is the lanolin protecting and wicking into every book and cranny. Put a good coat inside the doors (all 3) to keep the pinch seams from rusting from the inside.
That NHUC or whatever it is called is one of those cosmoline products. It works well. And lasts quite a while. It will leave a waxy coating to seep in and protect well.
My preference for the FF is that if you need to work on anything under the Jeep you can wash the FF off and work on a clean dry item. Not have it coated in waxy-ness, or even worse, covered in undercoating making you need to chisel it off just to put a wrench on.
I don't mind at all. The shop is called Collision Zone, Inc., Bethel Rd., Oxford, PA.
So for the inside of the frame, you recommend knocking the loose crap out and then using a rust reformer then fluid film? Another shitty part is it’s getting into the 30s here in Michigan so you think the rust will get worst even if I park it and wait till the spring? I have no problem getting my ass out there it’s just that I want the paint to work correctly.
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Fughuert
TJ Enthusiast
Fluid film is basically oil so you could spray that if you’re worried about continuing rust, just heat up the cans in warm water to get them to flow better.
Get the 360 wand for fluid film and get inside your torque boxes and other vulnerable sheet metal areas if nothing else.
Based on the photos of your frame there really is nothing wrong with it at all, this forum flips its lid over any small amount of surface rust. The inside may or may not be another story.
It isn’t going to fall apart over the winter but I’d still fluid film or similar product over it at least.
Then come spring wire wheel or flappy disc all around the rust and failing paint and put fresh paint on it. I swear by por15 based on my experience but you need to follow directions closely.
Just avoid any rubberized or eastwood garbage, especially in salty Michigan.
Get the 360 wand for fluid film and get inside your torque boxes and other vulnerable sheet metal areas if nothing else.
Based on the photos of your frame there really is nothing wrong with it at all, this forum flips its lid over any small amount of surface rust. The inside may or may not be another story.
It isn’t going to fall apart over the winter but I’d still fluid film or similar product over it at least.
Then come spring wire wheel or flappy disc all around the rust and failing paint and put fresh paint on it. I swear by por15 based on my experience but you need to follow directions closely.
Just avoid any rubberized or eastwood garbage, especially in salty Michigan.
And the fluid film has to be sprayed on a bare metal surface? Or the film will Cover existing rust and stop it from continuing?