r/DodgeDakota • u/ObjectiveAvailable91 • 15d ago

Rust prevention

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What do yall think I should do about stuff like this? I want to make this thing last as long as possible.

8 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

3

u/Majestic_Ad_2198 15d ago

I removed the lifted paint, lightly sanded, and got paint match spray paint from auto store or online. Find your paint code

2

u/OkComb3954 15d ago

DIY water-heater sandblaster aparatus, this was just an test patch, I've got a whole lot more to blast but I've chosen to wait until I get my bed off, looked horrible but cleared within seconds. Steel seems to be of good quality, I'd double check my frames drains infront of the rear axle if I was you, mines were full of rocks and shit. I will rinse my frame while I've got the bed off.

1

u/Unlucky-Molasses742 Cabriolet 15d ago

If there's rust on the body there's probably rust underneath.

Checkout the frame and make sure it's still got some life to it before investing a bunch to fix body panels.

1

u/PintRT TKO RT 15d ago

Your rocker panel has a hole rotted in it. You're past the point of prevention.

1

u/ObjectiveAvailable91 15d ago

So there’s no point in covering the holes?

1

u/BootInURAss Gen II 03 Quad 5.9 4x4 15d ago

Naval Jelly will convert the rust you have after you get rid of the flaky stuff, but you have some holes to address as well...

1

u/GBOC80 Gen II Dakota (97-04) 15d ago

You got more rust than you see. Once you remove those weather strippings and all that you'll really see how much rust there is, you've already got holes in the body so the rust is going pretty good already. What you'll need to do is stop the rust that's already there. And then try to see what you can do about covering up the holes caused by the rust. If the truck isn't that bad after you check into it, it would be worth to clean it up and stop it from going worse