Rust on pickup bed

[Donald]

I was pressure,washing the bed of my 2015 F250 and found these two rust spots. Just pulled off Plastic drop-in liner.

Same area on both sides

Planning on a spray bedliner on Monday. They say they can prime and spray over these but maybe they will say I need to treat the rust first. They provide a lifetime warranty so if too must rust they may not want to spray the bedliner until the rust is fixed.

Unfortunately my garage is filled with tools and OPE. So if I need to deal with the rust first then I will need to wait for warmer weather.

 

[xspeedy]

Hit it with an angle grinder until you have clean metal all around? That rust likely continues for some distance under the paint. Then hit it with layers of a quality primer.

 

[JohnnyG]

My go to for poorly removed rust is Sherwin Williams 920. Penetrating epoxy with hardener. Don't try to spray it though, bad stuff in your lungs.
NASA likes to use it a lot.

 

[oldcodger]

I would wire brush and scrape until free of all loose rust. Then treat with Rustzilla from Amazon. This stuff really works. I have used it on lawn mower decks and ATV frames.

 

[BrendanC]

for my truck, i wire wheeled with a grinder until i had clean metal all the way around, then hit it with a zinc primer and coated with normal spray paint before laying my rubber bed mat in.

 

[Donald]

Hit it with an angle grinder until you have clean metal all around? That rust likely continues for some distance under the paint. Then hit it with layers of a quality primer.

It's a pickup bed. The sheet metal is only so thick. I would think an angle grinder might go through the sheet metal pretty easily.

 

[xspeedy]

It's a pickup bed. The sheet metal is only so thick. I would think an angle grinder might go through the sheet metal preset easily.

That may be my nuclear option. Just go at it lightly or try a drill with different attachments - the goal is to at minimum get the crusty stuff off and strip away paint and underlying rust from the surrounding area. If you just have mostly metal with some superficial rust left, you can use a rust converter before priming and painting. Rust converter doesn’t work well on crust but rather just converts the very surface leaving rust underneath. Just like painting over the stuff.

 

[Dave9]

It's a pickup bed. The sheet metal is only so thick. I would think an angle grinder might go through the sheet metal pretty easily.

You can always start gentle then get more aggressive.... Put a brass cup brush on the angle grinder if you have one, or steel cup brush if not. Keep pressure light and see how it goes. If even that leaves holes then it would be best to weld in new metal. I also have cup brushes with a shank for my drill but that's REAL slow going. Hand held wire brush or sandpaper or 3M brown scrub pads, slower still.

Just getting the crust off, and removing paint around the area till you're seeing clean metal is definitely an option, rust converter primer and paint. It's the shorter term solution.

 

[Donald]

The issue right now is it's too cold to apply any kind of paint.

 

[Donald]

My go to for poorly removed rust is Sherwin Williams 920. Penetrating epoxy with hardener. Don't try to spray it though, bad stuff in your lungs.
NASA likes to use it a lot.

I looked around for Sherman Williams 920 and hard to find and in gallons. I need about 1/2 pint.

 

[spasm3]

I'd oil it. wait till warmer weather. Clean it down to clean metal, then use a rust convertor. And paint over it.

 

[JohnnyG]

I looked around for Sherman Williams 920 and hard to find and in gallons. I need about 1/2 pint.

I saw it listed for about $100.00 a gallon on the web, and yeas very few places stock it, and that's the smallest quantity you can buy.
It's an industrial product, so if you have access to any painting contractors, they may be able to help you get some.

One part of the GOOD news is, that it lasts WAY beyond any expiration dates on the can. I'm using some that is at least 25 years old and it still works great.

 

[JoeDirt41]

SEM Rust Mort is a great product. Inexpensive too. It will eat away most of the rust and convert what it doesn’t. That, or sandblasting is your best option. That will get it down to bare metal. I would not use an angle grinder, looks like the pits are too deep.

 

[Paco Pena]

I've had good results with POR 15. Expensive but a small can will do for that job.

Paco

 

[Donald]

I think I need the rust repair near perfect if I an going to have bed liner sprayed. Otherwise rust may grow and I would not be aware until it was major.

 

[jws926]

Ive been using Rustolem's Rust Remover and it works really good, takes about 30 minutes for anything beyond surface rust.

https://www.rustoleum.com/product-catalog/consumer-brands/auto/removers-and-chemicals/rust-dissolver

 

[Nessism1]

Spot media blast, then POR-15 paint as primer

 

[mattd]

Could be the tip of the iceberg Donald. You’ll have to clean the surrounding area and check it really well.

 

[4wd]

Before the primer

 

[GON]

I have never been able to prevent rust from returning on a automotive body part.

Is buying a replacement bed from the south/ southwest a course of action worth looking into?