Rust prevention?

[dustboy]

I had my friend weld up these rock sliders for me. I have since sprayed them with primer and rustoleum, which has been relatively ineffective.

What I'm most concerned about though is the inside of the tubing and where it meets the frame. I'm sure the tubing is not 100% airtight which means moisture will get inside. What do you metal guys think is the best solution for this?

Option 1: cut holes in the tubing, so water goes freely in, and out?

Option 2. attempt to completely seal the tubing, possibly trapping moisture in the process

Option 3: try to coat the inside of the tubing with a rust preventive coating?

 

[David_in_TX]

I recommend using Boeshield T-9.

I would drill a drain hole on the lowest point and spray a liberal amount of Boeshield T-9 inside the tubing every 4-6 months.

http://www.boeshield.com/

 

[R_Lefebvre]

You *cannot* completely seal up the frame, or any other body part. Automakers gave up on this idea long ago. It usually just ends up trapping moisture in.

That frame was likely dipped in a rust preventative. If you can't manage that, you'll have to spray something in there.

 

[VE2WHZ]

cut hole
and shoot oil on few time ...

or wd-40 or other "oil" in spray


on winter on my region for prevention of rush (lot of snow ...)

i shoot my truck with oil (i dont remenber the name but if neede i will go on my garage ...)

is very good for protect !!!

 

[dustboy]

Yeah, I figured you can't keep water out 100%, so it's best to let it dry out now and then. My frame has holes all over it, probably for that reason. I'll make a 1/4" hole in the bottom of each piece and then blast it with some rust inhibiting spray.

As for the outside, I think I'll hit it with some Herculiner or similar bed liner material.

 

[VE2WHZ]

out side

POR-15

is the top
http://www.por15.com/

 

[ChrisInVT]

out side

POR-15

is the top
http://www.por15.com/

POR-15 is all hype. I spent a few hundred dollars in POR-15 re-doing the floor of my truck, and completely coating my bumpers. Needless to say, the POR-15 has actually flaked off in places and the bumpers have developed numerous rust spots. The $4 wal-mart rattlecan spray paint is holding up better than the POR

 

[ntsqd]

POR-15 is all hype. I spent a few hundred dollars in POR-15 re-doing the floor of my truck, and completely coating my bumpers. Needless to say, the POR-15 has actually flaked off in places and the bumpers have developed numerous rust spots. The $4 wal-mart rattlecan spray paint is holding up better than the POR

You did the prep to the letter on the can? A friend & I have extensive experience with POR-15 (he more so than I) and the only times that either of us has had a problem is when we did not do the prep exactly as they say to do it. Even substituting normal DuPont Metal Etch for their "Metal Ready" has lead to inferior long term performance. I have experienced exactly what you describe and it was traceable back to my not doing a good job of prep.
POR-15 is a moisture cured Polyurethane, it doesn't want to be treated like normal paint. The longest lasting POR in our 'inventory' is the Scout II tub interior that got misted on after painting it. You can even see where rain drops hit the paint.

POR does have a problem though, it does not deal with UV exposure. If it is going to be somewhere exposed to sunlight, even just reflected sunlight, it needs to have a top coat. I have had good luck with spraying on Rustoleum when the POR has cured to the slightly tacky point.

For the interior of the tubes a climbing/crawling oil is one option. I think Boeshield is in this class. WD-40 is most definitely not. Look up this type of oil on the Aircraft Spruce page. It is sold to rust resist welded tubular aircraft frames. Never mind: http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/appages/tubeseal.php
Another option might be the "Waxoyl" that I've seen mentioned on the LR forum. Not too familiar with that stuff though, would bear more investigation.
Eastwood sells a kit to coat and seal interior spaces (like inside of rocker panels). My same friend has used it, but I nothing more about it.

 

[ChrisInVT]

You did the prep to the letter on the can? A friend & I have extensive experience with POR-15 (he more so than I) and the only times that either of us has had a problem is when we did not do the prep exactly as they say to do it. Even substituting normal DuPont Metal Etch for their "Metal Ready" has lead to inferior long term performance. I have experienced exactly what you describe and it was traceable back to my not doing a good job of prep.

POR-15 is a moisture cured Polyurethane, it doesn't want to be treated like normal paint. The longest lasting POR in our 'inventory' is the Scout II tub interior that got misted on after painting it. You can even see where rain drops hit the paint.

Yeah, I prepped it exactly the way the directions told me to. I even purchased the ridiculously expensive Metal Ready to prep the surfaces that weren't rusted.

 

[threepiece188]

I would be more concerned about developing fatigue cracks on your frame. You seem to have created a cantilever condition that will probably cause some deflection of the frame at the mounting area. You might have considered welding a flange to the end of the tube that is about the same height as the frame rail. You could then attach each tube with four or six bolts over an area of about 6x9 in. Besides being stiffer, there's no risk of damage to any high strength steel from the heat of welding.
Dan

 

[xechcorx]

Boeshield has become a very popular lubricant with cyclists. Chances are any of your well stocked cycling stores will have it in stock, in a drip applicator bottle as well as the spray form you'd be looking for.