frame paint???

[Dodger]

Well now I am ready to mount my box, what paint to use on the frame rails? Naturally POR-15 would be the first choice, but man that stuff is expensive. So what is the second choice?

[dgorila1]

How about either good old Rustoleum paint, which seems to hold up real well when the surface has been prepped right. Another idea is the brush-on or spray-on bedliner material. That stuff is indestructable and should last forever if applied properly.

[hot rod]

I would not suggest spay on bed liner or undercoating, as you will inevitably coat some things you don't mean to coat (like wiring, air lines, bolt threads, etc.) making your life miserable when you need to crawl under the truck and work on it. Stick to the rustoleum. Brush makes a nice heavy coat to keep the rust away, but the spray gun does a better job on the nooks and crannies. Toss a coin.

Way back in the day we used a primer call zinc chromate from 3M on our stake body beds and tank trucks when we would sandblast and recondition them to go onto a new chassis. Sprayed over the freshly blasted metal the stuff was virtually indestructible. I remember after years of service the paint topcoat would eventually chip off inside the wheel wells from rocks etc, but that primer coat would never chip off. It was a hideous ugly yellow-green (which you painted over anyway) but I am her to tell you it worked. I don't know if the stuff is still available, probably the epa got rid of it like everything else that actually worked good.

[dgorila1]

Originally Posted by hot rod

Way back in the day we used a primer call zinc chromate from 3M on our stake body beds and tank trucks when we would sandblast and recondition them to go onto a new chassis. Sprayed over the freshly blasted metal the stuff was virtually indestructible. I remember after years of service the paint topcoat would eventually chip off inside the wheel wells from rocks etc, but that primer coat would never chip off. It was a hideous ugly yellow-green (which you painted over anyway) but I am her to tell you it worked. I don't know if the stuff is still available, probably the epa got rid of it like everything else that actually worked good.

I believe zinc chromate is still available. Just check with your local auto or commercial paint supplier. Like Rod says the stuff is great for inhibiting rust. We used it extensively in ship repair as well as auto body.

[Bob E]

I would agree, . .zinc chromate is fantastic, . . .however, . . .last I knew the EPA killed it, . .or made the manufacturers change the formula, . . probably not as good as the old stuff. Damn gov't screwed up toilets, light bulbs, gas (ethanol), and probably 27 other things that I can't think of right now!!!

[#90-GTSC]

When I was in the airplane biz we used zinc chromate as a primer for corrosion resistance. All the aluminum got zinc chromated.

[blizzardND]

I used cold galvanize paint on things I don't want to rust, but don't care the finish. I painted angle irons on a 20' antique windmill out in our yard 10 years ago, looks like I painted it yesterday, comes in gallon cans or spray cans. On the RumRunner I used many quart cans of Krylon Rustoleum and disposable foam brushes.

same paint, no overspray.
-blizz