1997 Ford F350 Underbody Rust Removal - Busting Rust

Before the Rust-Mort was applied.

After the Rust-Mort was applied, there was an immediate difference. Notice how the coating of the rust converter chemical turned the color of the frame black. This is because the primary ingredient is phosphoric acid, which reacts with rust (iron oxide), and effectively creates phosphate (a hard, black substance). It should also be noted that because the chemical is so potent, proper eye protection should be worn, and inhaling the fumes should be kept to a minimum.

When we finished coating the frame with the Rust-Mort, we gave it a couple of hours to dry. Then we prepared to coat the frame with black Rust-Shield, to which we added a small amount of acrylic reducer in order to give us a glossy finish.

Before we applied the Rust-Shield paint, we wrapped up our entire exhaust system with masking paper and masking tape (found at any hardware store) to keep any overspray from turning it black. This would have also been a good time to wrap our transmission, transfer case, driveshaft, and anything else we didn't want overspray to stick to.

It's important to note that two or more light coats will be better than one thick one. We also made sure to maintain a 10- to 14-inch distance from the frame while applying the Rust-Shield. And, like our scraping process, we started at the driver side rear of the truck and worked our way around.

In these before and after photos from the rear of the truck, you can see how much of an improvement we made with just a few hours worth of work.

Having everything one solid color underneath really makes for a clean, smooth look, and will help fight rust for years to come.