Definitely one of the things I don't miss about living up North -- you Southern boys have no idea how much salt they actually lay on the roads up there and the devastating effect it has on the condition of your vehicle!

And the modern vehicles (roughly '90's and later) are much better then they used to be. I think the mid-70's GM trucks were the absolute worst -- within five years back in Minnesota these trucks would be rusted halfway up all the outer body panels.....

 

I clean and paint the underside of my truck every single year.

I first pressure wash it for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours, getting in every nook and cranny I can possibly get into. I first get as much stuff as I can with just high pressure water, then I go over it with Dawn dish soap and a scrub brush. After that I then high pressure wash it again and check it over carefully to ensure everything is spotless.

Then get Rustoleum high gloss black oil-based paint, with my air compressor and a HVLP sprayer, I then apply 2 coats of paint on ALL frame rails an components.

Total amount of time to do all of this is roughly 10 hours... or a full-day's work.

It ain't no fun getting road salt, sand, dirt and the worst --- pieces of road kill on your face or in your mouth.

But after it's done drying, it looks really sharp and I've got the piece of mind that my truck's frame is well protected.

 

I use the 3M undercoating on my stuff. I did my truck as soon as I got it using about 10 cans. When I wash my truck I try to rinse down the underside whenever I can, its never once a week. I also spray WD40 on all the pinch welds, inside the hood and doors and in- between the sheet metal and the plastic wheel flares. The WD stands for water displacement and applying it to the welds should keep the water from collecting and causing rust, the trick is getting it in all the right spots. I plow through a $5 can of WD every month. I'm not a huge POR15 fan, I know some have had really good luck with it and others not so much.

 

I do the same thing with the joints. However for anything rubber, like the door seals, windsheild seals, steering boots, etc, I spray them well with silicon spray to keep the rubber soft and clean.

For the doors and hinges, I use white lithium grease.

Makes a huge difference.

Edit:

Speaking of which... does anyone ever use the Walmart SuperTech WD40 they sell? Is it the same as WD40? The reason I ask, is because it smells entirely different than WD40. I was wondering if it is missing some property that WD40 has in it? Another reason I ask is because I can plow thru a can or two of WD40... and that Supertech stuff is about 1/2 the price of WD.

 

Since I aquired a mint 2008 Harley Davidson Supercrew last year, it does not even see the road during the salt season! Best rust prevention there is! That is what my beater is for.

 

That's saying it only helps if applying to a NON rusted surface. He just has too many "won't", "aren't", and "not"s going on.

What he meant to say is that POR-15 is for rusty surfaces. You brush the loose rust off and paint the surface with it, like "Rust Bullett", etc. It would work great on the steel axle housing and tubes, but then a wire brush and a can of black satin paint works great too. If no rust otherwise, as 05SilvrFX4 said .... hosing it off well often is good.

There was a member on here who took his near new truck and sanded lightly and added more paint to everything .... but the rust often starts in the hidden seems, etc. That's where washing the salt out helps.

 

anti-rust treatment every year. (krown, Rustcheck....I prefer "antirouille Metropolitain" here in montreal)
anti-rust oil sprayed everywhere under the truck and inside the door..cost 75-100$ to have it done here in quebec.


pressure wash is pretty much the worst thing to do....moisture buildup you know?


I had a 1987 ranger before and sold it in 2003 with about no rust a little surface rust on the frame , but about nothing on the body.

sold my 2001 ranger last summer and nothing more then a bit of surface rust on the corner of the bed where it get sandblasted by the wheel shooting road debris.

 

Check the local automatic car washes, if ur truck can fit. Mine here has an undercarriage spray as part of the basic wash. Never knew that before, so now once a week i run both my 06 and my g/fs 04 Ranger through the automatic.

 

I powerwash undernath my truck at a quarter wash every couple weeks whether or not it needs it. When I got it on my buddys lift I go around and sand stuff down with sandpaper then clean it with a wet rag and then spray semi flat spray paint. My under carriage is pretty clean

 

I do the samething. Use the high preassure wash at the local wash joint. Then go home get the garden hose and spray up inside the wheel wells, flares, and the upper ledge of the rocker panels. I do this routine couple times a week.

 

I did the entire undercarriage in Por-15 in 2010, just sold the truck January 2016. Hardly any rust and the POR-15 was still holding up great. Sorry to bump my old topic back up, but I thought I would give an update. The POR-15 did peel from a few spots, but overall held good. Compared to other 2007 trucks in the year 2016, there was a fraction of the rust they had.