Maybe this should be posted in the Tavern? Anyway, I just purchased a 1973 Ford F100 Ranger and the bottom of the bed is rusted, side walls are fine. The supports and frame are o.k., too (for now 🙂
I was thinking about painting the bed with some rust proofing/protecting paint (same kind used in chicken houses on all the steel) and after painting it, installing a bedliner. But my brother suggested that after painting it I put a cut sheet of marine plywood.
Any thoughts?
Thanks.
Replies
1. Get as much rust off of it as you can, scrape it, run a wire wheel on it, absolutely get rid of all the loose rust and more.
2. Treat it with Chesterton Rust Converter or something similar. It causes a chemical reaction which turns the red oxide into a blue-black stable oxide.
3. Immediately take it out to one of those spray-on bedliner places. If you can't get there within 24 hours, give it a couple coats of primer, and then get the spray bedliner.
Drop-in liners will just let the rust re-start where you can't see it.
-- J.S.
I have several coworkers that have had spray on bed liners installed. Both of them are happy with the results.
I can't remember what the other guy used but one of them went to a "Rhinohide", I think that's right, dealer. His liner has small chunks that add enough texture to keep stuff from sliding. It was sprayed on about 3/32" thick and was nicely detailed around the tailgate.
The other guy went to a more generic liner sprayed on at a paint shop. It was a bit thinner and smoother but cost less. After 3 year both liners seem to have held up.
There's also a DIY paint-on liner called Herculiner. I used it, it isn't quite as tough as I'd like. For more discussion see http://www.ford-trucks.com.
-- J.S.
I have a Rhinohide liner. Four years old. hasn't seen "heavy" use doesn't keep things from sliding anymore. it will cut About $500 for a 8 ft bedbobl Volo Non Voleo Joe's cheat sheet
Yes -- put in a spray on bedliner to protect your expensive truck, then put in a layer of cardboard followed by a sheet of crummy old plywood to protect your expensive bedliner ;-)
-- J.S.
truck must be from up north!
no turn left unstoned
Can't be from the rust belt north (buffalo to chicago) cause there'd be nothing left by now no matter what you did unless you parked it inside for the winter. 1973. Wasn't that the first air pollution systems and bodies made from the recyled steel that you could undercoat and keep waxed and the metal would rustout from the inside?
DW
I'm havin a friend weld a ladder for me. So i called a custom paint shop to see what it would cost me to get it painted the color of my truck. He suggested I go with "por 15", He said its a rock hard paint that the custom car gurus use for there frames, $160.00.
Stan
I agree with the other posts, for the most part. I will NEVER put a drop-in bed liner in a truck again. They're slick, they promote rust and I've had gas stations refuse to fill gas cans to be loaded onto a bedliner because of static sparks (I'm skeptical of that one).
In addition to the sprayed in liner, I would suggest laying down one of the heavy rubber mats. In my area, they're made of recycled tires and sold in some of the tire shops and auto specialty stores. They're about 3/8 to 1/2 inch thick, like horse stall mats, and are easily (they're heavy) removed, power washed off when needed and stuff doesn't slide on them. You can toss heavy stuff into your truck and they absorb the shock and give protection to your bed. About $200 if I remember right.
Some people would bitch even if they were hung with a new rope.