Howdy. I've been thinking about this for a while. My '93 Limited is getting some crust on the underside of the floorboards and the usual on the axles, etc. The truck's not about to fall through, but I'm going to own it for a long while still. Right now though, it's position is my winter everyday driver in the Michigan salt season.
When I first got it like 4 years ago, it wasn't perfect underneath, but better than most all 1st gens. Unknowingly, I sprayed rattle can rubberized undercoating on everything underneath. In the meantime, I had the dog legs replaced cuz they rusted out (like the rest of them).
From what I've read, and my own experience, the rubber stuff isn't good if you have pre-existing rust. The rust is growing up beneath it, like on the seams underneath where there's reinforcement ribs (not the frame) for the floorboards. You probably know what I'm talking about
: .
What I propose to do this spring/summer, is lift it up and spray stripper (paint stripper, that is) and powerwash everything to remove the rubber junk (and oil, grease, road grime, etc). Then send down the excessive areas. Then, give everything a few coats of POR15. Though the underneath isn't really exposed to sunlight, I'd sand and then give a couple coats of regular paint over that, then clear coat for an extra layer of protection.
What do you guys think? If I had access to a rotissory (not spelled right) I'd do a body off frame resto, but this ought to do some good. Any suggestions or comments? Thanks guys.
Note: (I've refinished my rocker panels, door/tailgate undersides, and coated these and the door insides with some high grade oil based anti-rust stuff, so I should be set there for a while).
When I first got it like 4 years ago, it wasn't perfect underneath, but better than most all 1st gens. Unknowingly, I sprayed rattle can rubberized undercoating on everything underneath. In the meantime, I had the dog legs replaced cuz they rusted out (like the rest of them).
From what I've read, and my own experience, the rubber stuff isn't good if you have pre-existing rust. The rust is growing up beneath it, like on the seams underneath where there's reinforcement ribs (not the frame) for the floorboards. You probably know what I'm talking about
: . What I propose to do this spring/summer, is lift it up and spray stripper (paint stripper, that is) and powerwash everything to remove the rubber junk (and oil, grease, road grime, etc). Then send down the excessive areas. Then, give everything a few coats of POR15. Though the underneath isn't really exposed to sunlight, I'd sand and then give a couple coats of regular paint over that, then clear coat for an extra layer of protection.
What do you guys think? If I had access to a rotissory (not spelled right) I'd do a body off frame resto, but this ought to do some good. Any suggestions or comments? Thanks guys.
Note: (I've refinished my rocker panels, door/tailgate undersides, and coated these and the door insides with some high grade oil based anti-rust stuff, so I should be set there for a while).
