2001 XJ limited - only car i've ever owned. 228k miles. New England Jeep, so theres rust in the underbelly.

the other day, while she was up on the lift getting her oil changed, I asked the mechanic, "Hey, Can I take a look underneath? I want to see where I need to apply some rust protectant paint."

the response was, "Don't do that."

What parts of the Jeep are safe to remove rust? Where should I avoid?

I have a few pictures, and will post if it helps.

Also, what tools/products should I use.

I have wirebrush/dremel attachments, POR15, and Krylon rust spraypaint. Anything else? Anything to avoid?

S

 

Pics always help.

Before spraying anything, sand the rust down to bare metal (obviously), hit it with self-etching primer and either leave it, or paint over the primer. thats is all i have ever done. In my experience, any rust that does come back has always been where two panels meet. I have used undercoating, but only in the wheelwells. Everything else gets painted. POR15 works best directly over rust. Bare metal, not so much. Follow the directions to the letter when using POR15.

 

You want to focus on the floor panels and the frame rails. Every spring, I take the garden hose and wash out the underside of the winter rust and salt. I specially focus on the frame rails, spraying inside them through the access holes. Your springs and rear axle housing look like mine a few years ago when I first got the Jeep from the previous owner. Don't bother with the shocks and leaf springs, they will be replaced anyway. Take a wire brush and the garden hose to the rear axle housing and clean it off. Use a degreasing solution like purple power. Brush away as much rust as possible from the metal. It's a dirty job cause you are going to be on your back brushing and hosing away.

Once the metal is dry you can choose to paint or apply a rust retarder like Liquid Film or LPS 3.

If you have rust holes, then the job gets much bigger. But inspect your floor pans, frame rails, and shock towers in the front of the Jeep. Those are prime rust areas.

 

I used a product called Rust Bullet with good results. Rust has not been visable for over two years now. It worked well on both rusty as well as clean metal. It does not seem to have the same coverage issues that I have read about with POR-15. Use in a very well ventilated space, the fumes are intense.

I also used Eastwood Internal Frame Coating for inside the frame rails and rocker panels. Not sure if effective or not but it seems like a good product.

 

Avoid painting anything rusted. You'll just make it worse. That's probably what your mechanic had in mind.

You'll find you can't get to the most important rust to clean it properly.

There's a better way.

 

lol life hack if you live in snowy areas where rust is horrendous stick a sprinkler on the ground turn it on and slowly drive your jeep back and forth my dad did this with his car and 15 years in snow and salt and its only surface rust with no rot

 

How were the hoses not frozen?

 

There are some companies that can do all that for you and they can also undercoat the jeep so you won't have the problem with rust for along time some places will give you a warranty for years .

 

dunno how to be exact i was young at the time ill ask him when i get the chance.

 

If i remember he had the expensive thermal hose which prevented freezing but i think another way is he wrapped the hose in heat tape or thermal tape to prevent freezing.