DIY undercoat on my new 2005 Tundra

Hey guys, I just joined the gen 1 tundra club and after lurking on the forum decided to make my own account.

I was lucky enough to get a great deal on an absolutely beautiful 05 tundra AC in Massachusetts, where I live. It had the frame replaced under recall in 2013 and the last owner, a heavy duty truck mechanic, took good care of it.

Here's my question. While the frame was replaced, being in the salt+liquid calcium hellhole MA is, the frame has significant surface rust. Past the the aesthetics, I would like to make sure this truck lasts.

When the weather gets warmer, I was going to take the bed off, sand everything I can to bear metal, then undercoat with rustoleum primer, followed by rustoleum anti-rust black farm equipment paint.

How would you guys go about doing a diy undercoat on an already rusty frame?

 

Welcome. Look into Fluid Film or maybe Woolwax?

 

Fluid film and woolwax are made by the same company- woolwax is a little thicker and the one I went with after several online / tundras searches

I bought the gallon / spray gun kit off Amazon and was lucky enough to have a buddy of mine let me use his lift

I suggest getting a disposable full body paint suit and goggles- it gets a little messy !!

It stays WET and will never flake off like most undercoating also won’t hurt any wiring and acts like a lubricant on all your suspension parts - just try to keep it off of your exhaust

good luck

 

Thanks Midnight! That seems significantly easier than painting everything on with a brush. Would you still recommend sanding everything down to metal? I don't want to lock the rust inside with woolwax.

 

The woolwax is an oil that penetrates and neutralizes instead of Trapping or locking the rust in. My entire underbody was woolwaxed black for $300.

 

Awesome MNtundra, thanks for clearing that up. Seems like woolwax is the way to go, as it seems like an easy solution for both getting my frame looking nice again and keeping the rust away.

I still don't know whether to remove the bed or not though. Idk how well the part of the frame that touches the bed has held up and I'm thinking taking the bed off will make spraying easier, as I don't have a lift unfortunately.

 

Any pics of that black wool wax I just did my whole truck with moly grease that Phm recommended it was cost effective And should last a few years
I have seen guns packed with grease for 60+yrs supper hard to clean but no rust at all

 

Woolwax is a transparent
“dark mustard “ color out of the can

It only appears “black” on a black frame it’s mainly looks like “clear” oil on top of whatever base it’s on

I sprayed my entire undercarriage when truck was a couple months old- it’s my first new vehicle ever at age 46( at the time )and I want to take care of it as I plan to keep it forever- therefore I have no experience spraying it over rust or anything with age to it

As far as taking the bed off i think it would be a good idea to sand and spray frame with a good rustoleum type of paint if you have that option then apply woolwax wax over top as a protectant to make your hard work payoff !
but I’m no expert ??

Many say to reapply yearly but I have only done once so far and product is still wet/tacky - granted I only drive the truck on weekends and only have about 9k on my 18’ thx to a take home company truck and it is not driven in rain/ snow too often and is hand washed only- yea I “baby” it

There is all kinds of info about woolwax/fluidfilm online - do your research and have fun !!

It’s a labor of love !!

 

Oil and Grease for under $20. Check my build page for details and more pics.

 

POR-15 has worked well for me. PIA to put on, but minimal maintenance thereafter. Better bet in my opinion if you’re taking the bed off. You can additionally coat with fluid film, oil or wool wax thereafter.

 

They do make a black dyed one now. I used it in my truck in the fall. Protects the same just makes it look a little cleaner.
https://www.woolwaxusa.com/Woolwax®-12-ozAerosol-Spray-Can-BLACK-995-ea-when-you-buy-12_p_49.html

 

oh ok cool-
I stand corrected

 

First time I bought the clear. Next time the black. My thinking is I like the clear better. The black would make it harder to find a oil leak.

 

Here's a quote from the woolwax website

Woolwax® is not a rust remover or converter, however Woolwax® can be applied over existing surface rust. Woolwax® will form a heavy film and prevent moisture and oxygen from reaching the existing rust. Thereby stopping it on contact. Heavy bubbling or flaking rust should be wire brushed before applying Woolwax®.

I'd wire wheel, then do POR 15 to kill the rust, then paint it. You can apply something to it after that to keep it protected throughout the winter.

 

Oil Saturation on that weld. So cheap and easy with a paint brush, bottle of engine oil, and squirt bottle. Juicy!




Gnar gnar welds rusty, crusty, and Dusty Rhodes.

 

Thanks for all the responses on my first post. Looks I know more or less what I'm doing now. Going to sand the frame down, hit it with por15 or rustoleum primer, paint it black with farm equipment paint, then woolwax.

It's gonna cost me $140 bucks to do the job, but I thankfully already have an air compressor, air sander, and paint gun (gonna need kellersport woolwax gun though).

Figure it's worth the work to completely remove the rust and repaint the truck once before maintaining with woolwax. First vehicle I've ever bought @19, so I'm trying to take good care of it.

 

Keep us updated on everything with pics. Since you’ve decided to go the paint route I’d recco using Ospho as a rust prep prior to POR. Skip the Rustoleum Primer and just paint the POR on after the Ospho Treatment. Follow the directions as light surface rust needs not wire wheeling with Ospho. POR needs a UV Top Coating, as well for proper use.

You’ll have a very difficult time properly painting inside the front boxed frame portion and around the backside of the rear supports bracing just in front of the rear wheels which are the two most problematic areas of rust on our trucks. Both areas have overlaps that need a penetrator.

You’ll spend less time greasing (protects) and oiling (penetrates and crawls up into crevices) at far less cost and it actually is far superior. Just saying, but its your truck and look forward to your results.

 

I would agree with grease oil/ trans fluid method of protection
the only way to remove rust prep and paint it right you would need to remove almost everything sandblast /wire wheel prep and paint which you then need to deal with overspray of sand and paint and still have to treat where you cannot blast and paint
here’s a pic after grease

 

What about the inside of the tube frame? A lot of these will rust from the inside out.
Seems like any treatment would be a waste if you don’t address inside the tubes

 

@Professional Hand Model, I like your post and saw it on your thread. Are there any concerns about rubber parts or hoses with oil spray?

 

None from my perspective, but I understand the concern. I’ve read most of the rubber (not much really) under the truck is impervious to oils. Only rubber I can think attached to the frame is the sheathing around the Parking Brake Cables Ends.