R51 undercarriage

Any topics related to 2005-2012 R51

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Kestral
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R51 undercarriage

Postby Kestral » Thu Jun 22, 2017 5:52 am

As some of you know from my previous posts I am doing some work on the underside of my 2012 R51 not that it is that bad ...Yet! The problem here in Western MA is everything rusts out! My sister has a 2013 full size Chevy truck with only 8,000 miles on it and the frame already has rust on it! So I don't want my Pathy looking like a mess on the underside here is my plan and what I have finished so far..

I cleaned up the wheel wells prepped them then applied 3 coats of professional rubberized undercoating.

I removed and cleaned up my belly pan lite sanded it then primed and painted it flat black Rustolium.

Today I start my frame work my frame is in really good shape for a rust belt truck. I have a few rust spots showing mostly where the welds are. My plan is to sand the rust spots then clean them with brake clean to remove any oil, moisture etc then prime the spots with Rustolium Rust Tough spray paint. After a good dry time I will clean the rest of the frame with Rustolium wax and tar remover then coat the entire frame with Professional Rubberized Undercoating.

Some say coating the frame with rubberized undercoating is a bad thing as water can get under the coating if it cracks and cause rust and that's true but that is also true with paint. After talking to a quality auto body shop it will work fine as long as the frame is prepped correctly and clean.

Anyway I just thought I would post my anti rust plans.


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eieio
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Postby eieio » Thu Jun 22, 2017 8:01 am

on the rusted weld areas and anywhere else difficult to resurface with sandpaper, a wire wheel and drill motor (and safety glasses) should work well

Kestral
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Postby Kestral » Thu Jun 22, 2017 8:47 am

eieio wrote:on the rusted weld areas and anywhere else difficult to resurface with sandpaper, a wire wheel and drill motor (and safety glasses) should work well
That's a really good idea! And I have a cordless drill and new wire wheel sitting on the shelf. Yes thanks for that I did not think to use it!

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eieio
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Postby eieio » Thu Jun 22, 2017 8:50 am

Kestral wrote:
eieio wrote:on the rusted weld areas and anywhere else difficult to resurface with sandpaper, a wire wheel and drill motor (and safety glasses) should work well
That's a really good idea! And I have a cordless drill and new wire wheel sitting on the shelf. Yes thanks for that I did not think to use it!
........glad to help. looks like you're on the right track. DON'T FORGET THE EYE PROTECTION!!!!!!!

Kestral
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Postby Kestral » Thu Jun 22, 2017 5:30 pm

eieio I suppose that you don't have to worry to much about rust where you live right?

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eieio
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Postby eieio » Thu Jun 22, 2017 7:59 pm

Kestral wrote:eieio I suppose that you don't have to worry to much about rust where you live right?
dry is us, no road salt during the winter snow either :D

Kestral
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Postby Kestral » Thu Jul 27, 2017 7:23 am

Just an update I finished undercoating my R51 frame and it really came out fantastic! I spent most of my time cleaning it with brake cleaner and a few rags so the undercoat will stick. On the frame I wound up useing the professional grade Ruberized coating at Harbor Fraight called (Armor Tough) I bought a few different kinds of coatings and this one seemed the best it goes on nice and even and thick! It has prob the worst smell of the bunch but dries real nice and looks great! The Rustolium professional brand also works well but goes on more like black paint and will require several coats and many more cans as it does not go far. The Harbor F Armor Tough I applied two coats. It took me about 12 cans to do the frame and rear wheel wells the front wheel wells seem to be all covered in plastic so no need to coat them. By the way the HF Armor coat Professional grade runs about $6.00 per can. Less then the others but I found it to work the best out of Rustolium brand, SEM brand, 3m brand, Duplacolor, and Parmatex, (I will use the remainder of the other cans for the underside of my old tractor)

Sorry no pix my phone camera does not work and I don't have another camea.


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