Rust on my 2011 JKU
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 347
Likes: 0
From: Orlando, FL
I used the baking soda because the corrosion looked so severe, I wondered if they had driven the vehicle through a puddle of battery acid or something. It couldn't hurt to neutralize it, so I did this as a just-in-case measure...
Baking soda will do nothing to rust itself...
---------
Paul
Baking soda will do nothing to rust itself...
---------
Paul
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 413
Likes: 0
From: VERMONT
To the O.P. , I am sure it is just surface rust. The chasis and suspension incluiding the solid axles are not E-Coated like the Jeep's body which I am not even 100% sure that our Jeep Panels get any special attention like other higher vehicles get.
Anytime you get a dent or a chip in the paint appears , it will rust, it is nature's way in returning metal back to a mineral dseposit. The best method would be to wash with a mild soap , rinse , air dry, then either apply rustolieum's rust reformer, or another PQR-15. it is not just paint, it will chemically convert the rust back into shiny clean metal again. You only have to sand the flacky areas , other areas can be applied with out any other prep, just the surface has to be clean and dry.
I did my entire chasis with 2 coats with the above product, Goes on as a white tint, then slowly dries in 2 hours as a gloss black. Be careful with other products, either poor prep or bad products like some of those ruberized coatings can lead to a haven for rust due to the product cracking easily from road stones, causing a hole where moisture and debris get inside and start to form rust, worst part now is that you can not see this in it's early stage, by the time it starts flaking in a large manner to notice, you will have a lot of work on your hands to remove that product>
I also picked the rust reformer due to it can be either air brushed on or a regular paint brush will do , which is how I was able to get every suspension component to stop rusting. I live in the vermont, So if my jeep is not rusting here, I must be doing something right.
Not knocking any product, I learned a lot on here, many members have used numerous products with good results. What really matters is in the prep work, usually bad results come from little or no attention on that part, time consuming but , the results can be night and day.
That black paint that comes with the JK's is on the axles and other suspension components is only a thin coat of paint, no E-Coating as I mentioned earlier, it will all become an orange surface color overe time. For those who have had sucess with no surface rust on their JK's, Must have not been sprayed on a Mon or Fri,,lol
Surface Rust is not serious, most of the time it just looks bad, if living in a salt belted state as I do,, it was my first mod as to stop any metal corrision , the cold harsh winters at -20 is hard enough on the chasis, without adding salt corrision.
If you plan to keep your Jeep for many years as I am, I would use the above or what other members used with good results. As with any product, it will require maintenance, such as stones hiting your chasis time to time nicking the protective coating, When I do my preventive maintenance , I always check all the areas, a little sanding , soap/ wash. dry and just add another coat in the area and youer good to go again. When the product chips that I used above, it does not flake, only that spot become orange in color over time , still protyecting the areas around it. Not expensive to do, just a little time consuiming.
Sorry for the above Novel,,,lol but this topic seems to come up a lot, so I figure I would explain the whole story on my personal findings. The rust reformer I used could be found in most places like Wall-Mart, Advance Auto, etc. Small white bottle. I used 5.5 bottles total with the second coat. On humid or cold days, it will take longer to dry, best to let sit overnight to fully cure.
Hope this helps.
SLIM 
Anytime you get a dent or a chip in the paint appears , it will rust, it is nature's way in returning metal back to a mineral dseposit. The best method would be to wash with a mild soap , rinse , air dry, then either apply rustolieum's rust reformer, or another PQR-15. it is not just paint, it will chemically convert the rust back into shiny clean metal again. You only have to sand the flacky areas , other areas can be applied with out any other prep, just the surface has to be clean and dry.
I did my entire chasis with 2 coats with the above product, Goes on as a white tint, then slowly dries in 2 hours as a gloss black. Be careful with other products, either poor prep or bad products like some of those ruberized coatings can lead to a haven for rust due to the product cracking easily from road stones, causing a hole where moisture and debris get inside and start to form rust, worst part now is that you can not see this in it's early stage, by the time it starts flaking in a large manner to notice, you will have a lot of work on your hands to remove that product>
I also picked the rust reformer due to it can be either air brushed on or a regular paint brush will do , which is how I was able to get every suspension component to stop rusting. I live in the vermont, So if my jeep is not rusting here, I must be doing something right.
Not knocking any product, I learned a lot on here, many members have used numerous products with good results. What really matters is in the prep work, usually bad results come from little or no attention on that part, time consuming but , the results can be night and day.
That black paint that comes with the JK's is on the axles and other suspension components is only a thin coat of paint, no E-Coating as I mentioned earlier, it will all become an orange surface color overe time. For those who have had sucess with no surface rust on their JK's, Must have not been sprayed on a Mon or Fri,,lol
Surface Rust is not serious, most of the time it just looks bad, if living in a salt belted state as I do,, it was my first mod as to stop any metal corrision , the cold harsh winters at -20 is hard enough on the chasis, without adding salt corrision.If you plan to keep your Jeep for many years as I am, I would use the above or what other members used with good results. As with any product, it will require maintenance, such as stones hiting your chasis time to time nicking the protective coating, When I do my preventive maintenance , I always check all the areas, a little sanding , soap/ wash. dry and just add another coat in the area and youer good to go again. When the product chips that I used above, it does not flake, only that spot become orange in color over time , still protyecting the areas around it. Not expensive to do, just a little time consuiming.
Sorry for the above Novel,,,lol
but this topic seems to come up a lot, so I figure I would explain the whole story on my personal findings. The rust reformer I used could be found in most places like Wall-Mart, Advance Auto, etc. Small white bottle. I used 5.5 bottles total with the second coat. On humid or cold days, it will take longer to dry, best to let sit overnight to fully cure.Hope this helps.
SLIM
Last edited by SLIM_SNOOPY; Jun 21, 2011 at 04:08 AM.
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 326
Likes: 0
From: Houston, TX
Not gonna lie I've had a few vehicles rusty from the get go, I've just made it a monthly routine to coat the underside of the jk with rustoleum. Looks like new for 3-4 weeks and keeps the rust away!
JK Newbie
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
From: Bulverde, Texas
I have had my Jk for two weeks now and after reading this post looked underneath and found adequate amounts of surface rust w/out any dents. very good advise here that i plan to follow. Thanks everyone for keeping me informed.
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 343
Likes: 0
From: Duluth, Minnesota
Great advice guys..
I'll definitely be following some of these tricks. no need to reinvent the wheel, right?
on a similar note, my 6 month old 2011JK has rust on the folding front window torx screws. I think the washers are bad so the orange rusty haze is creating a halo around that area. kinda pissed about it but i think it might be just the washers i have to replace. i HATE visiting my local dealership since they're a bunch of crooks (wierd huh?) but i'm thinking of taking it to them so i can at least have the incident recorded and possibly have new screws supplied. i don't trust them with my jeep!
on a similar note, my 6 month old 2011JK has rust on the folding front window torx screws. I think the washers are bad so the orange rusty haze is creating a halo around that area. kinda pissed about it but i think it might be just the washers i have to replace. i HATE visiting my local dealership since they're a bunch of crooks (wierd huh?) but i'm thinking of taking it to them so i can at least have the incident recorded and possibly have new screws supplied. i don't trust them with my jeep!
