So I was at Harbor freight today and saw the frame paint in the paint section so i decided to pull the trigger and see how it looked and turned out.

I have been planning on coating my frame this summer in preparation for its next many many winters to come so here we go!

on the frame rails in between the tires i used 1 can of converter and 1 can of chassis paint. with some left over of both.

Wire brushes were like $4 and $6 a piece for the paint.


1. I started by power washing the CRAP out of the undercarriage of the vehicle.
2. Next I sanded the parts of the frame that had rust on them with a wire brush, This was a fairly simple job because the only real rust was on the body mount welds.
3. After knocking off the loose surface rust and scrubbing pretty hard i applied the the rust converter paint. It works as a converter and primer in preparation for paint.
4. while letting it dry i moved onto the other side frame rail. sanding, then painting.
5. Following the main converter and primer i applied the Chassis and Grill Paint to help finalize and protect the 1st paint coat.
6. I moved onto other parts of the car (cross members, tranny cross member) by sanding and painting.

I tried to remove the gas tank skid plate in order to better sand and paint but realized the fuel tank was coming with it so i decided not to mess with it in the parking lot while it was full.

I know this was a super easy and cheep preventative maintenance so we will see how long it lasts and looks good for.

Post some thoughts, was it worth doing? Will you do it?






Rust after sanded

Converted applied:

Hours later after it has dried

That makes your frame look new. It looks like you started out with a very solid frame which makes the finished product look great. Good job!!

I think you made a great decision in doing this. After seeing some of the rust nightmares others have experienced on this site and seeing a few transplanted rusty undercarriages when looking at some used 4runners here I think prevention like this makes a lot of sense.

Looks great.. Dis u have any rust around the bottom area of radiator?

I definitely have to do this. My runner spent many years in Utah and Wyoming, getting more than it's fair share of snow and salt. You can see my rust from afar. Thanks for posting details and pics.

I need to do some rust prevention on my Runner. It's got a few surface rust spots that I don't want to spread/grow and this looks like a good route to take.

Looks good! I also just spent the last two weekends prepping and applying POR15 to the entire frame and skid plates (both sides). I even hit the spare wheel with it as it had a little rust from hanging up there for 13yrs.

My truck also really only had some surface rust on the welds and a couple of very small areas, but I decided to POR15 the entire frame as I have a '95 Taco that has a rotted frame. I'm not going through that again!!

I got under the truck and hand washed the undercarriage. Easy to do with a truck that never really went off road or has any leaks from the trans and oil pans). I then wiped everything down with acetone before applying the POR15.

Seeing how many older toyotas (FJ55, FJ60, and older mini-trucks) are scrapped due to frame rust, I think every toyota owner should perform this task once every 5 years or so. I'm going to give it a whirl one of these days.

Did you paint over the POR15? It breaks down in UV (not that it will get much sun under your tuck), but it is not intended to be a top layer product.

Most of the land cruiser folks prime and paint over the POR 15.

Also most frames rust from inside out. I'm going to hose mine out to get rocks, dust and dirt then backfill with used motor oil like the guys in Canada

I was thinking of do this too. You could also use Fluidfilm. How would you inject it into the frame?

Looks good. I did mine last year. I pressure washed it, sanded it with a flap disk on a 4" angle grinder. Then I brushed on oil based Rustoluem. Came out well. But I agree 110% that you need to address the inside too.

That's the plan. I just put the last coat of POR15 on yesterday and need a little break from it. I purchased some VHT chassis paint for the top coat.
Do I have to prime it? I was planning on spraying right over the POR15.

ill try and get a up today of how the paint is holding up.

I just did this about a month ago because it was really starting to bother me. I'll get pictures up next week but this is what I did after reading and reading up on rust prevention. I decided I wanted something that was spray on instead of paint on, bc brushing seems too messy.

1. Took my 4runner to a manual car wash and washed the underside, I think I spent $5 in quarters. I just used water.
2. Waited for it to dry, then the next day removed the spare tire.
3. Got underneath the truck with a cordless drill and a wire brush. My was pretty bad so I had a lot of stuff come flying off. Wear long sleeves, eye protection and a mask!! I think I spent about 2 hours wire brushing everything I could get my drill into.
4. Then I briefly wiped everything down acetone, I got pretty lazy with this part bc I really wanted to start spraying.
5. I ended up using 3 cans of Eastwood Internal Frame Coating and tried to coat the inside of the frame as best I could. It comes with a long tube/hose so you can get it pretty deep inside. Wear eye protection and a mask, this stuff seems pretty toxic! One area I was noticing that saw more rust then normal was rear trailing arm connection point to the frame. I guess since it sticks out and is open, salt and water can build up in this area. Note to self remember to wash this area off more often.

Amazon.com: Internal Frame Coating Rust Prevention w/Spray Nozzle: Automotive

6. Then I used 2 cans (maybe 3 I forget) of Eastwood Rust Encapsulator Paint - Black Aerosol. I only did one coat of this, but it seem to cover pretty well. The first can was fun bc you're covering everything up, the second can (or the rest) was just tedious. I think this part took me around 2 hours.

Eastwood Rust Encapsulator Paint - Black Aerosol 15 oz : Amazon.com : Automotive

7. Then I let it sit for 24 hours to dry.
8. Next day I used 1.5 cans of Eastwood Extreme Chassis Black Paint Satin Aerosol 14oz. This was a slight pain bc it was hard to paint black on black primer. I wish there was a different color for the primer. I think this took less than 2 hours. Remember to wear long sleeves, eye protection, a mask and gloves!! this stuff is hard to get off. Always wear latex gloves anytime you paint anything, that's what I've learned.

Amazon.com: Eastwood Extreme Chassis Black Paint Satin Aerosol 14oz: Automotive


I never removed a wheel, but I bet I could have done a better job with the front wheels off. Actually I had to fix a squeaking coming from my front driver side brakes (my rusted brake shields were touching my rotors) and I ended up spraying encapsulator in that area.

If I could go back I would have added one step before the encapsulator... Eastwood Rust Converter Aerosol Stop & Prevent Rust.

Eastwood Rust Converter Aerosol Stop & Prevent Rust : Amazon.com : Automotive

But now I'm not embarrassed when people look at the 4runner. It actually looks pretty good. I forgot to check but when I jacked up the frame I was wondering if the paint would chip on not. I dont think it did.

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Too much text with out pictures is boring. Sorry I'll get some up soon.