The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Help with surface rust

Im going to start by saying I know nothing about paint and body work and any and all help is greatly appreciated.

I left my truck in phoenix for the my last deployment and after two Arizona summers the paint on my hood and roof had faded. There are several spots where it may be bare metal. Upon my return from Iraq I brought my truck back to central Texas, where after one weekend rust has already started. I will only be here until July, when I'll be moving to Virginia. So currently I am living at a townhouse, so everything I do will be done in a parking lot.

I will not be doing body work and paint for sometime (probably a couple years) but I need to get rid of this rust ASAP. Thats where I need some advice on how to do this. My idea is just sand it a spray some primer. Will this be ok?

My main focus on this truck is suspension and drivetrain, paint comes way, way later. I just cant stand the rust. Thanks for your time.

the surface rust from 'sunburn' isn't a real bad thing, they can live for decades that way without worsening if relatively dry .... real corrosion needs to be removed, but for surface rust I'd sand it a bit, treat with some phosphoric acid to neutralize the rust, coat with a good sealer primer - or just some cheap enamel

Bill

When I bought my truck the guy I got it from sons had sanded the front of the cab to bare metal. They then lost interest. When I got it a year and a half ago it had surface rust on most of the cab. I sanded then used some phosphoric acid from one of the discount auto places then a primer sealer and some spray can enamel. I just moved it inside actually I built a shop over the truck. I used some paint remover to strip a small section this week and it looked great after being outside in Mississippi for 1 1/2 years. Just don't strip any more than you have to use the acid as directed. I let it sit rinsed then hit everything with a brush on a grinder the repeated the process until it is rust free.

If you are at Ft Hood, try the auto craft shop on post. I would guess they have a body shop operation with everything you need.

If you're not concerned about appearance there are aerosol can rust converters that you could spray over the area that should kill the rust that's there and help prevent more in the short term. I got a can from the body shop that did my restoration and it works just like the brush on type.