Rust Removal Tips for Your Jeep

Keep Your Jeep Rust Free

When I started off-roading and doing off road post checks on my Jeep I began to notice scraps on the undercarriage. Those scraps turned into spots for rust growth. Living in a place that uses road salt on the road exasperates the growth of rust. 

The winter months and all the salt on the road can cause havoc on those scratches. 

Read More ➤➤ Tips to Winterize Your Jeep

Working under my Jeep

There were a lot of scratches, scrapes and dings from my time on the rocky trails. I decided to try some Do-It-Yourself products since at the time that's what fit my budget at the time. 

Rust on My Skid Plates Under My Jeep

If you are looking for a low cost solution this may work. I highly recommend getting a professional undercoating if you have a newer vehicle.

 

Permatex Heavy-Duty Rubberized Undercoating 

Permatex Rust Treatment  

This spray takes 24 hours to set. I decided to test out this rubberized undercoating.  At the time I didn't understand how this product worked. I now wish I would have used it on my bumpers and undercarriage. 

Undercoating

My front and rear bumpers were becoming a real rust infested problem. You could see the rust coming growing underneath the powdercoat. The best solution would be to sandblast the whole bumper and start over. It didn't fit my budget at the time. So I tried out POR-15.

Rusted front bumper

When you expose bare metal to oxygen and moisture you create prime growing conditions for rust. I have dinged my front and rear bumpers a lot over the years while off-roading. 

rusted front bumper

I did my best keeping up with the maintenance of keeping the rust at bay. However, living out East where there is an unusually obscene amount of salt dumping on the road plays havoc with my bumper and the rust invaded. 

Rust Removal Steps 

That nasty, corrosive rust must be stopped. During my rust removal and prevention process I started with sanding. I used a wire brush and sanded away as much of the rust as I could. Then sprayed on a Permatex Rust Treatment and let it dry for 24 hours.

Rust removal tip

Final Step 

I used Krylon Rust Touch spray paint,  semi-flat black paint. I let it dry for about three hours, then I pulled off the tape and paper. 

Top 5 DIY Rust Removal Treatments  

Permatex Rust Treatment
Rustoleom Rust Remover 
Oshpo
Corroseal
Rust and paint stripper wheel

brushing off rust flakes

With each of the liquid products you must prepare the metal. Remove all flaking paint and rust dust. Rinse with water. Then the liquid products can be painted on. I also sanded the bumper as best I could. 

Before and after of rusted bumper

Out of those 5 products, I felt the Oshpo worked the best, but it still didn't prevent the old rust from coming back on my bumpers. It worked great on the rock rash on my sliders.

Rust Prevention Products

POR-15 was another product I tested out on my front & rear bumper.

Rust Prevention in 5 Easy Steps with POR-15

POR-15 Rust Prevention Update 

Testing Out Another Product - POR-15

I tired the product POR-15, the rust prevention kit. It's a 3 step process. I have found in my rust treatments that prepping the metal is the key. I spent a lot of time sanding off the rust as best I could. 

using POR 15

Then it was on to the 3 step process of the POR-15 Kit. It's really very simple. Spray on the degreaser to clean the metal. The instructions stated to keep the metal wet for 15 minutes. During that time I used my wire brush to help remove that stubborn rust. After rinsing off the degreaser, the next step was the metal prep. This is a liquid that needs to remain on the metal for 15 minutes. 

POR 15

After the Metal Prep is rinsed off the the bumper dries, the POR-15 can be painted on the bumper. POR-15 is a thick black paint. I used two coats. Once the POR-15 paint dried I sprayed on a black matte rust prevention spray paint. The POR-15 is sensitive to UV rays. 

After POR-15 was applied! 

Jeep Momma is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn commissions by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. When you click on and/or make a purchase through a link to an Amazon Affiliate link placed on this website, we may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.