Cleaning salt and such off of the frame?

All right guys, as soon as winter is over I want to get to work getting all of this salt and shit off of my frame and other parts.

Any recommended procedures? Or any recommended cleaning products?

Cheers

 

For any rust spots I use a wire wheel attached to a drill. Then Ill apply some rust inhibitor. Clean that off then spray with some matte black rustoleum. To be honest thouigh, its mostly surface rust right now, so not much of a concerb.

 

Lots of folks will tell you that a good pressure washing will take care of salt residue. Although this is somewhat correct, it's not totally correct. Pressure washing will remove most of the salt from visible areas. If that's all you want / need to do, then go for it. The bigger issue though is salt trapped in hard to get to areas such as within box sections of your frame or in between frame members welded or riveted together. (And there's a lot more areas with similar issues.) Salt trapped in these areas will start the corrosion process and help keep it going. Oh, and did you know that corrosion actually occurs at a faster rate in the warmer months?

If you're really OCD about it, I'd recommend a really good pressure washing - on a lift if possible. Next, use a product from a marine supply house such as Salt Away. This type of product is used in salt water environments to neutralize salt and the effects of salt on marine engines. Just follow the instructions on the bottle.

Finally, now that you have a clean and passive surface, I'd recommend some type of protective layer such as Krown or Fluid Film.

 

How do I keep from damaging things or getting h2o where it does not belong though?

 

sub

 

We get some salt, cinders and liquid chloride on our roads in the winter. I use an oscillating lawn sprinkler under the truck (move it around) when the temps get above freezing. FWIW

 

The biggest thing to remember is not to get too close with the pressure washer wand / nozzle. The outside of your truck is pretty well designed to tolerate a decent amount of water. It's the higher pressure that you've got to be careful with.

 

That sounds hilarious if it was one of those little driving tractor types...haha

Okay cool, I also read about using baking soda to deactivate the salt, or neutralize it I guess. Do you recommend that as well?

Well specifically it was baking soda mixed with something else in a bit of water in a spray bottle

 

I have no experience with Baking Soda. I'd stick to something designed specifically to neutralize salt like Salt Away.

 

I used salt away while in the Coast Guard on our motor life boats, that stuff is VERY effective. I would highly recommend it, and warm water seems to help too.

 

Mosin nagant with corrosive 7.62x54r?
Yeah I'm saving the old military cartridges for the end days. Haha

But okay i'll try to use hot water and look up this salt stuff

 

Salt away hooked to a garden hose look it up on google. Used heavy in the marine world to keep boats in good shape

 

I don't know of anyone who failed frame inspection this side of the Rocky Mountains...

 

I looked up the SDS for Salt Away to see what is in it. The active ingredients are, drum roll please, ...

65997-01-5 Corrosion Inhibitor 5-10%
7732-18-5 water, distilled, conductivity or of similar purity 70-90%

So what is behind zero hazard CAS no 65997-01-5? It's "tall oil, sodium salt" which is a fancy name for a common additive resin soap aka, or technically, an "emulsifier promoting detergent or cleaning activity". Looks to me like Salt Away is pretty much just soap and distilled water. I'm in the wrong business.