I took the bed off my truck and applied POR-15 to the frame, shackles, cross members and brackets. I did the three step process (marine clean, metal ready and por-15) and grinded down/ sanded the rust and metal down on all surfaces.

My bed is a little rusty too so I POR-15'd inside the wheel wells about 4 inches up and cut off the rotted sections behind each wheel. I also POR-15'd the structural components of the bed.

It was a days job, especially when you consider the time waiting after the metal ready was applied and after the first coat of POR15 (I put on two coats). I put it on liberally even though it goes on pretty thin. I used about 3/4 of the quart that I bought ($47 at bond auto paint division).

I had to cut 3 of the 8 bed bolts. It took two guys to lift the bed off but we needed a third to flip it onto the rails gently. putting back on took two guys and two girs.

 

finished project after second coat had some time to set up

 

Lookn' good Rust repair is never an easy project

 

I still have to button up the bed. Its back on the truck with all new hardware and bushings but the cuts behind the wheels need to be finished up. I'll post pics of that when I get there. School starts today so it might be a little while.


My one question may or may not be related to the project. After rewiring the taillights (i got lazy and cut them), everything worked fine (i guess I checked everything except the actual taillights cause it was light out) but backups worked, directionals, brakes etc. The other night, however the clock went to 12:00, the dash lights stopped working and the taillights stopped working.

I checked my connections on the taillight wires and it seems fine. Fuses are fine too. Any ideas???

 

Nice! I really want to do the same thing with my truck next summer. THough I need to cut out and weld in a new shock support..

 

thats so crazy!!! i pulled my doors and i cut the window motor wires (individually, male/female quick disconnects,taped off,insulated,battery disconnected)
and mine does the same thing except my taillights work, my map lights dont work,the lights in the doors dont work, the door ajar buzzer and the headlight reminder buzzer stopped working and whenever you try and turn a interior light on or open the door or turn the headlights on my clock resets to 1 ..

hope someone finds a cure!

 

I just cut off and repaired some rotten places in my frame. I am preparing to do the POR 15 thing too. It's great to see one done, nice job. Did you plan on doing the axel and leaves? How about the cab part of the chassis? DO you think one quart would do all of that too? How much marine clean and rust treatment did you use, if you did it again what might you do different (other than cutting the light wires)> Thanks a bunch, it looks awesome.

 

I did the pan underneath the gas tank and underneath the rocker panels too. I have no plans on doing the axels or leaves. T

he leaves are moving parts and show absolutly no signs of anything but surface rust. Plus- I plan to purchase new leaves in a couple years. The axel is in good shape too and I did not want to bind anything up (drain bolt, housing etc).

1 quart would probably be fine for the entire frame, 2 coats, and cross members. I plan to do the front sections of the frame, A arms, and inside front fenders this winter after hunting season.

I used standard bottles of marine clean and metal ready (20 oz???) and used roughly half of the marine clean and 1/4 of the metal ready.

If I could do anything differently I would wear the right size rubber gloves instead of size S (my gf is a nurse and we have a few boxes around the house) because they broke many times and I got POR15 on my hands which took a week to come off.

 

did you do inside the frame rails ?

 

no. thats nearly impossible to do to a fully boxed member. I am going to take some bar and chain oil I have for my saw and dump it down the end and in the plugs. May also use used motor oil (that's leggit, right?). I plan to continue doing this anually.

Anyone have any insite on the electrical problem??

 

I heard Rust Bullet work better.