Frame Rust Question

[Larry Bellah]

I took the bed off of my 1950 truck, since the bed is off I wanted to do some work on the rust on the frame. I will not be taking any part of the cab off, but can crawl around under there. What are thoughts on just painting everything with rust converter paint? Or do I need to sand all the rust off. I'm sure that sanding it and then painting is the best, but is the rust converter a good stop gap until I can pull everything off the frame? Also, any worry with the rust converter damaging something? Should I make sure I keep it away from certain areas?

 

[vwnate1]

Anything you can use to close the steel to air will be beneficial .

It's best to remove as much rust as you can first .

There used to be fish oil based paints you could brush on .

 

[Chip]

I've used Por-15 (black) for years. Known for being a frame paint. Encapsulates rust. Brushing on flows fairly smooth before drying so it does not look like it was brushed on. Remove as much loose rust as possible then brush/roll on. It will chalk up exposed to sunlight but a clear topcoat will stop that. I've used the Por-15 clear on wheels but be prepared for a stinky mess. Seems as hard and as durable (or more so) as factory wheel clear. Frame paint will be a bit thicker, so be prepared to beat the coating off bolt heads when restoring... but will stop rust.