I am new to XJ's. I'd like to take a few steps to thwart whatever rust is on the truck. My XJ has minimal rust right now, and it would be nice to keep it that way. Can we list various products and projects that are good to do?

Please list all tips and tricks and links you think are useful to someone to deal with XJ Rust 101.
I will start with what I've learned so far....

Floor pans: What is the right method to sand the floors when the carpet is out?
Wire wheel on a drill?
Sandpaper? Sanding sponge? What grit is best??

When I replace the carpet, I will seal the floor pans from the inside using Walmart bedliner.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Rust-Oleum...allon/16652311
Is this worthwhile, b/c I'd think the pans rust from the outside in. But, for $40, who cares.

I also plan to do this with the rocker panels and doors. It doesn't have to be pretty, since my XJ is black.
I will just coat the rockers with bedliner once I sand off the surface rust.

Rusted bolts, use PB Blaster.

What else?

 

I would start by using something like 400 or 600 grit sandpaper and since you're bedlining it, it doesn't have to be super smooth so there's no need to go over it again. Get the sandpaper drill attachment (it's basically a disc that you can stick a piece of sandpaper on) and that should make quick work of it. You can do the same thing on the underside of the floor pan. It's a lot more of a pain, and some spots are easier than others but it's definitely not impossible. Good luck.

 

You basically just crawl underneath the car with a drill and sand away any rust spots you see? Then apply bedliner directly to the bare metal? Sounds easy and fun. You'd think more people would do this. A cheap $50 protection for the price of a few car washes. What are the best places to coat on the underside? I think I will do floor pans, rockers, doors, trunk, etc.

 

If you can see it and it doesn't move, coat it.

 

Unless your lucky, you're probably gonna need more degreasing and less wire wheeling /sanding. A lot of nasty gets caked on there.

Also don't be surprised when you find a few holes. Get em fixed. Cut the rust out. Put in new metal.

 

I'm glad to see this thread. It gives me some motivation to get under my jeep and do some preservation work.

 

I did this when I purchased my XJ a year and a half ago. I had three areas that had pin holes, so I cut them out and welded in patches. Everything else I wirebrushed, then sanded the worst and covered it all with this: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Rust-Oleum...-8-oz/16652306

Yes, there are better products out there, but I did not want to make a career out of it and this was available locally. I used the same bedliner over the top of that after a day, but the spray can version so I could get a little deeper into some of the seams. I am on a budget with this vehicle and it is currently my DD, so I scraped the sound deadener (moisture gathering mush) off the bottom of the OEM carpet and then reinstalled it. I figure that should help prevent future moisture issues. It all seems to be holding up well.

 

I like this idea. How has this been holding up and would you do anything differently? Purchasing a 98 XJ with literally no rust in the usual places. First stop after purchase, my garage for teardown and rust prevention session(s) on the inside and outside.

 

I still own the XJ and have gone over it twice more in the last four years. It's holding up pretty well. I switched to wire brushing any surface rust, applying two coats of Mar Hyde liquid rust converter ($49.99 for a large container at NAPA that will go a long way if applied with a brush), a coat of chassis saver ($17.00 at NAPA per pint, also goes far with a small brush) and then applying bedliner. Allow sufficient drying time between coats per the instructions. My patches are holding up well and I have no rust on the upper body at all.

I just did a five year overhaul that I will be posting about in a few days. Good luck and enjoy your Jeep!

 

each summer I paint the bottom of my doors/lip of the fenders/bottom of quarter panels with spray on bedliner, and then do the rocker panels and the underside with POR15 directly on the rust after sanding it and using some brake cleaner to remove other residue. My rockers still rusted from the inside though, so that'll be a little project for the summer.

so for a weekend per year and maybe 100$ total in paint and other supplies, I avoid most rust, except the rockers. and they use salt on the roads here so I'm pretty happy with the results.

 

I've always sprayed WD40 in the drain holes in the rocker panels and doors on my XJ and whatever other drain holes else my other cars have. WD40 displaces water and helps keep water from forming rust from the inside of your vehicle.

 

Undercoating works good and almost nothing comes with it from the factory,Its like they want your car to rust out so you go buy another one.

 

I just recently purchased a 98' XJ with very little rust. I hit the auto parts store and bought a couple cans of PB blaster rust inhibitor spray cans and did the same thing you did with WD-40. I will repeat the process before winter returns. Hopefully that will keep serious rust at bay.

 

I spray the bottom of my vehicles with Fluid Film each fall. I also spray it into the rockers and the inside of the doors. (I use a gallon can with an air gun for mass application, aerosol cans to spray into the fiddly bits.)

Probably any kind of oil coating you can get onto exposed surfaces will help. (Some folks just spray cheap or even used motor oil.) I've found Fluid Film adheres really well and doesn't drip much during application.

 

Thanks for the update and insight. My brother, who owns 2 xjs, 2 Comanches and two rub icons just told me about using red grease in the drain areas as opposed to WD40, which we do on all our vehicles. Apparently it is thicker and sticks around longer, especially if you heat up the area. I've asked him to send me the info to post.