Rust/Rot in Bed. Advice?

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I just did this last summer. I cut the strips out and welded in new ones. Pretty easy.

Most people don’t notice until I point it out to them.

 

Looks good! Its funny how only those 2 panels seam to rust. Unfortunately I don't know how to weld, and don't want to pay someone, so just looking for a cheap easy fix I can do myself.

 

Coroseal and Rust-Oleum top coat.
Good for another 10 years.

 

Sand it, use some POR-15 or something to that effect on the bad areas then use a home applied bed liner. It will be fine. Also take the driver rear tire off and knock that dent out of wheel well.

 

POR-15 won't do a thing to bandaid a large hole.

You will need to find intact metal. There are shops that would weld in patches. Then you can prime, paint, bed liner.......whatever you desire.

Its very hard to get a product to bond to a hole filled with air.

Suggest after the repair is to remove the bed mat. These things have a tendency to trap water between the mat and the bed. Things rust/deteriorate faster when they remain wet.

 

NO SHIT! LOL, POR-15 is to stop the rust from spreading. Bed liner it and live with it. I do not see any "large holes" in the OP's post or pics.

 

By the time he finds good metal......there very well could be holes...............

Think farther and deeper.

Fix as you see fit. Myself, would take a different approach looking to a permanent repair.


POR-15 is not a rust stopper. It is a liner, typically used for fuel tanks, able to bridge and plug pinholes.

 

Update:

Mostly surface rust. Got most of it off. Gonna put some sutoleum primer on it. Put the mat back on. Put the canopy on. Weather seal it. Build out a little camper setup then call it.

 

I’d be taking it down to bare metal. If you don’t get all that rust, there will be a big hole in no time.

 

I would take a look underneath also...the rust does look deep. Grind until the rust is gone. If you have enough metal after grinding, plan to coat in POR15 and then apply a UV resistant bedliner. POR15 needs to stay covered to remain effective..i.e., paint, bedliner, shade...

 

POR-15 makes a product called rust encapsulator. I am confident that product is made for this very application. Good luck OP.