Rust chemicals.

I have a 1 ton Ford with a 12' flat bed dump. The bed is all metal and needs sand blasting and painted but I might be to cheap to have it sand basted.

About 10 years ago I went over it with a wire brush on an angle grinder and painted it. To much rust still under the paint to last any time.

There was an episode of Trucks a while back were they went over rust spots with a grinder and then put some chemical treatment on the metal before painting.

Does any of this stuff work? Is it cheaper than sand blasting? I don't mind going over it again with the grinder as long as I know the paint has a chance this time. Also going to be moving into new house soon with a garage in the basement so the truck will be out of the weather soon...I hope.

Thanks for any input.

Google POR 15 ...Stuff's not cheap, but it works well.

Check out ZeroRust. They have a website. POR is good but has isocyanates in its hardener (like 2K urethane paint) which can be bad news for a large surface like you"re talking about. ZR is also cheaper. I use it on my loader and scaffolding.

Check out rust repair section here:
good site

theres a product called OSPHO thats reasonably priced,or i should say it was last time i bought any...you need to wire brush loose rust/paint before applying...it kills rust and turns it into a black phosphate coating...i've used it on quite a few Gulf Coast Cancer [rust] victims and body work still holding after more than 15 years.
i usually bought it at sherwin williams but lowes and home depot have their brands too.

Tractor supply carries it. I've used it with great results.

Listen to the fellows as they know. There are several different kinds of rust preventers. One cheap one I used isn't much more than an extremely thin coating of what appear much like latex. I wouldn't recommend it.

The last I used didn't seem to me to let the paint adhere well. Might cost extra bucks but these fellows can advise you well.

I have used many kinds of rust preventers, The only one I found to work was OSPHO. I am sure there are others,I just didnt use them I guess

Look in the GEMPLERS catalog or web site. They have a porduct that does seem to work.

I've been using Zero-Rust for three years and so far, it seems to work pretty good. I do know that the old Rustoleum "Rusty Metal Primer" is pretty much useless. Once upon a time they claimed it was made from whale-oil, and maybe it was better back then?? No whales in it today. I'm not sure what whales have to do with rust anyway, but they do live in salt water and I can't say I ever saw a rusty whale.

Zero-Rust has great adhesion and sets up fast, even in a shop that's rarely warmer then 50-60 degrees F. I know some brands won't cure at those cooler temps and some make you wait two days between coats.

I've replaced a lot of sheet metal and frame sections in several trucks. Some three years ago, and so far the sections treated with Zero-Rust still look good. At least, none has peeled off and no rust bleeding through. As I understand it, a good rust stabilizer does so by sealing rust so moisture cannot get it, thus the need for real-good adhesion and a rock-hard water-tight coating.

I've heard the POR-stuff is just as good. I just bought by price and whoever had the best buy per gallon when I needed it. Mine all came from McMaster-Carr, MSC, or Enco Industrial supply.

My experiences with the rust converting coatings has not been good. No better then just keeping paint slopped on it.

Por-15 is worthless if the sun can get to it. If top coated it may hold up. The driveshaft in my truck still looks half decent as I brushed some por-15 on it many years ago. Didn't even try to clean it up any.

Zero-Rust states very clearly that it is not ozone/sun tolerant and must be topcoated. The POR stuff might be the same. They are both sold as primer-underlayments, and I can't think of any primers that hold up well on their own - except maybe epoxy.

(quoted from post at 15:27:33 11/30/10) I've been using Zero-Rust for three years and so far, it seems to work pretty good. I do know that the old Rustoleum "Rusty Metal Primer" is pretty much useless. Once upon a time they claimed it was made from whale-oil, and maybe it was better back then?? No whales in it today. I'm not sure what whales have to do with rust anyway, but they do live in salt water and I can't say I ever saw a rusty whale.

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My experience with Rustoleum Rusty Metal Primer was really good.

I bought a quart of it in the mid '80's and painted an old rusty trailer. It looked good enough with just the brown primer and I didn't top coat it. It was still rust free when I finally sold it about 15 years later. It always stayed outside in the high heat & humidity.

I read one time that it has fish oil in it that penetrates the rust sealing & isolating it from moisture.

I've never used the spray cans, so I can't way one way or the other on it.

Try using some Rust Eraser from ZEPon it first. I first used the stuff on an old wood stove that had set out for several years and had fine, flaky rust all over. After a couple of coats of the stuff and running a wire brush over it a few times while it soaked and a good rinse the end result was that it looked almost like it was sand blasted, it was that clean. Once dry I gave it a coat of stove black and today, nearly 4 years later, it still looks like new.

The part number on the stuff is M995 but hopefully the link will work for you.
ZEP rust eraser