Recommendations For Stopping Frame Rust

[someguysjeep]

we use LPS on all our exposed raw steel headed overseas.

i heard rumor that the makers of fluid film and a couple others are having hard times locating ingredients and production is down, so grab it when you see it.

 

[TheBoogieman]

I'm with @Irun with 3 cans of Eastwood on each side of the frame.
p.s. Don't wear new shoes when doing it. It will leak out, no matter how good you think you taped things up.

 

[BlueC]

I'm another supporter of Eastwood's internal frame. But as mentioned, it's designed to spray very thin so that it runs into all the little holes and cracks, like the ones you'll think are taped. Other than that, it's one of their better products.

 

[SSTJ]

I have a 2003 Sport that I bought last summer in eastern Washington. I’ve been cleaning out the frame this spring. So far I’ve got about a half gallon sized container of rust flakes out of the frame.

So far, I’ve drilled a drain hole in front of the rear lower control arm mount, pressure washed the inside of the frame through all the holes, and used a long flexible magnet to get everything I can out of the frame. I’ve also used the cable/chain flail that is mentioned on another post here to knock more pieces loose.

Also, I’ve done the hammer test to all the problem areas and everything is solid. Frame makes a nice “ding” sound at each spot. The front and rear of the frame look near new when looking at a borescope. The area between the front and rear tires is the problem area.

When I looked at the borescope, I can still see “ledges” of rust stuck to the sides of the frame. The ones I can get to, I’ve used a screwdriver and hammer to knock the pieces off. They’re really stuck solid.

I’m ready to coat the frame at this point, and can’t decide between Eastwoods Internal Frame Coating or Fluid Film. We don’t get a lot of salt on the roads here, and I don’t drive it in the winter time much.

My concern with Eastwoods is trapping rust underneath one of the thick sturdy flakes of rust and letting it continue. My concern with the Fluid Film is accidentally washing it out when I spray the frame out whenever I wash the Jeep.

Thanks for your input, guys. This has been stressing me out for a few weeks while I’ve been verifying the integrity of the frame. I plan on keeping this Jeep for a long time.

View attachment 329630

I haven’t read the other replies yet, but your situation sounds a bit like mine was. I described my decision process between Eastwood and Fluid Film in the rust section of my build thread, linked in my signature.

https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/sstjs-mostly-stock-97-se-2-5.50320/post-886849

 

[MT_Mike]

Why doesn't anyone use zinc tabs? They've been using those in boats for a while.

 

[John Cooper]

Holy mother of resurrections!!!!!

 

[MikekiM]

FWIW.... I use three cans of Fluid Film Black per side...
Prerequisites are drilling drain holes and fully flushing all the old shit out of the rails.

 

[97' 4 Popper]

This is kinda unrelated but I thought I would toss this out there if anyone has an answer. I had a frame that was already good flushed it out and used eastwood and then fluid film. Here's the thing, I thought I had dried the frame completely but there was still some water left in the mid section when I ran the Eastwood through. The Eastwood didn't mix with the water at all though, it pushed the water out of the drain hole and it was 100% clear pure water only, no paint.

So what do you think, should I be worried about it trapping moisture or this stuff just doesn't mix with water? 3 years later the frame still looks good, just has some bubbling from overspray but that's on the top and side of the inside of the rails, not the bottom where the water was.


Another thought occurs, this may seem ridiculous but to those concerned about having to reapply fluid film inside you can block off all the holes with caps or duct tape them off. Some may be concerned about ventilation but i think after all that FF it shouldn't be an issue.

 

[MikekiM]

This is kinda unrelated but I thought I would toss this out there if anyone has an answer. I had a frame that was already good flushed it out and used eastwood and then fluid film. Here's the thing, I thought I had dried the frame completely but there was still some water left in the mid section when I ran the Eastwood through. The Eastwood didn't mix with the water at all though, it pushed the water out of the drain hole and it was 100% clear pure water only, no paint.

So what do you think, should I be worried about it trapping moisture or this stuff just doesn't mix with water? 3 years later the frame still looks good, just has some bubbling from overspray but that's on the top and side of the inside of the rails, not the bottom where the water was.


Another thought occurs, this may seem ridiculous but to those concerned about having to reapply fluid film inside you can block off all the holes with caps or duct tape them off. Some may be concerned about ventilation but i think after all that FF it shouldn't be an issue.

I would repeat the treatment of the inside of the rails once they are FULLY flushed of debris and COMPLETELY dry.
Otherwise any internal frame treatment applied will sit on top of the wet spots and potentially encapsulate any remaining moisture in the debris. You would have been better off not doing the treatment at all

The first time I did the FF treatment I taped as many holes as I could. It was a waste of time.

 

[97' 4 Popper]

I would repeat the treatment of the inside of the rails once they are FULLY flushed of debris and COMPLETELY dry.
Otherwise any internal frame treatment applied will sit on top of the wet spots and potentially encapsulate any remaining moisture in the debris. You would have been better off not doing the treatment at all

The first time I did the FF treatment I taped as many holes as I could. It was a waste of time.

You are right that I was better off not doing any Eastwood as my frame was already rust free and had no debris. Perhaps that's why it didn't adhere well in some spots. There's too much FF inside my rails to go back to Eastwood again.

 

[MikekiM]

You are right that I was better off not doing any Eastwood as my frame was already rust free and had no debris. Perhaps that's why it didn't adhere well in some spots. There's too much FF inside my rails to go back to Eastwood again.

I can't speak to the compatibility of the Eastwood and the FF.
Looks like you're somewhere in NY. If the rails are indeed rust free, consider it a blessing and treat them at least annually with one or the other product and make sure you have drain holes.

 

[DuckNut]

Why doesn't anyone use zinc tabs? They've been using those in boats for a while.

Real simple. Zinc tabs are for electrolysis of stray electrical current dissimilar metals through water.

Zinc's do zero sitting on a trailer in the boat yard.

Also, have you ever seen a zinc on a boat trailer? Didn't think so.

 

[topfuel83]

DuckNut is correct, cathodic protection needs an electrolytic solution (like saltwater) to work. That's why you don't see a commercial solution for vehicles. It doesn't work as there is no medium for electricity to flow even though the metal is salty and wet.