How to prevent rust?

[AnotherUser]

I have been living on the coast for the last 6+ months and I am starting to get a lot of rust spots. What is the best way to prevent this.

Also, can anyone recommend a good source for buying touch up paint? I need the metallic silver.

[timsrv]

you can never prevent rust (at least not all rust), you can only slow it down. The coast and/or salted roads are tough on vehicles. For every spot you see there are another 10 or more forming in places you can't see. Best advice is to keep you rig under cover (when not driving it) and deal with the spots when they occur (don't put off). If you're looking for a temporary solution you can grind it out and put a primer/sealer on it. I'm not talking about a rattle can, get a good 2 part sealer from an auto paint store. The good stores also sell Preval sprayers (http://www.amazon.com/Preval-267-Spray-Gun/dp/B0000AY19M/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1422439289&sr=8-4&keywords=preval+sprayer&pebp=1422439297283&peasin=B0000AY19M) for quick and easy applications. This type of thing is only to prevent it from getting worse. It's better to do this than to wait until a hole forms. Of course there's the spots that rust from the inside out (like in your wheel wells and rocker panels). Burntboot can tell you all about this kind of thing. Here's a post he made not too long ago: http://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/showthread.php?1476-Rust-Repair&p=9445#post9445 Tim

[AnotherUser]

Fro touch up painting, what about products like this Dupli-Color Perfect Match - Touch Up Paint at auto parts stores http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/DPL1/BCL0125/N1967.oap?ck=Search_N1967_-1_-1&pt=N1967&ppt=C0171

[timsrv]

That's more for cosmetic repairs. It will do very little to help with rust prevention. Tim

[Cadin]

Phosphoric acid (Naval Jelly or similar) will react with rust to form iron (ii) phosphate, greatly slowing down the progression of the oxidation. You could even wire brush and use something like POR-15 after the phosphoric acid treatment. The nice thing about POR-15, Rust Bullet, or similar is that it is an isocyanate (super glue) and uses water to cure. Like any other painting it is all in the surface prep. (Certainly don't just paint over!)


This said, to stop rust you need to eradicate it in one way or another. Eliminate oxygen and electrolytes. How bad of rust are we talking here? Structural or surface?

All of our steel came from rust, and to rust it will return...

[AnotherUser]

I'm trying to put together a full product list of what I need from start to finish to deal with rust spots and match the paint when done. I understand the process, I just don't know what the best products are for this, in terms of brand name and where to buy.

[Cadin]

Is it surface rust, or is the metal rusted through? What is the location of the rust?

Some pics might help, different situations call for different measures...

This is doing it correctly...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQhG6dyX_AI