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Internal Frame Coating Question

15K views 109 replies 19 participants last post by  Crf311 
#1 ·
Hi all,

I'm going to coat the inside of the frame on my TJ with Eastwood internal Frame Coating. I'm just wondering if anyone else has done the same and has any tips or tricks. The coating is pretty expensive so I rather buy just what I need. I was going to go with 3 cans. Is that enough for the entire frame?

Thanks!
 
#2 ·
I remember 2 cans being enough, but having a third on hand can’t hurt. I got the inside of the frame as clean as practical before spraying. I hosed it, used a wet/vac with gerry rigged rubber tubing to suck as much of the rust flakes and crap as possible, and also blew out the inside with a blow gun. The Eastwood stuff is thin and runs, but also tacks/sets quickly.
 
#3 ·
Same as above, I also took the opportunity to drill drain holes in the bottom near the rear control arm mount.
2 cans would probably do it, I did a third and used it in other spots.
Make sure you wear glasses and gloves and long sleeves, this stuff doesn't come off easily. And paper or cardboard under the Jeep as it will drip.

I went for the black instead of the green(for some reason most guys do the green internal??) It blends in much better under there. Finished off outside of frame with chassis black, looks new again
 
#4 ·
I went with the green, for me it'll be easier to ensure full coverage with the snake cam. I flushed the frame with a hose a few weeks ago and it still seems clean, but I'm going to try the shop vac trick as well. Do you go all the way up into the frame above the wheel wells? There's a couple other crevices that I'm going to use it in and eventually I'm going to por-15 the exterior of the frame.
 
#5 ·
I used a wet/vac and bought round end adapters from Home Depot that I inserted and duct taped smaller diameter, thin wall tubing to (vinyl or rubber, not sure). Sucked everywhere I could around the wheel wells through the frame holes. A section of the driver’s side was rotting at the time so I was removing big and small rust flakes. If a section is rotting, it’ll be obvious and the Eastwood stuff will only temporarily cover the area before the rot starts falling off again. Had to do an Autorust repair, but the Eastwood spray has been great for the rest of the frame. I also drilled the drain holes in front of the rear control arms as Shark_13 said.
 
#7 ·
Drain holes aren't going to hurt the frame structurally. The ones typically drilled are ~1/2" diameter and just in front of or just behind the rear LCA mounts. I am sure they help get water out post mud holes or water crossings, but otherwise they don't do much. They are worth doing, but not a replacement for regularly cleaning the frame.

I just used Eastwood's over the last week. It's a bit of a process to do it right. Also, Eastwood's isn't just for the frame, you should use it on key areas of the tub too. 3 cans are only enough to do one coat on all of the areas I mention below. And if it's the first time applying, I think more than 1 coat is necessary. I'd get 5 cans.

You will spend more time cleaning than applying the paint.

Prep:
Remove or just pop out the Christmas trees on the front of the rear fender liners. Reach up and pull down the liner on the back corners of the tub.


Cleaning:
1. Maybe do what the other guys are suggesting and begin by vacuuming out as much loose stuff as possible from the frame. I did not do this, but it probably would have been better than chasing everything with water.


2. Alternating between having the Jeep parked uphill and downhill, run a garden hose through the frame, torque boxes, inside the wheel wells, and inside the back corners of the tub.

3. Take it to the quarter car wash with ~$5-8 to and repeat cleaning all of those areas. The garden hose simply doesn't have the power to remove all of the junk. If you have a pressure washer, the better option would be to just do this at home on a hill.


4. Let the Jeep dry for days. I had to let mine dry for 3.5 days. It's only been in the 60's here with rain so things don't dry quickly. If you don't allow for sufficient dry time, you're wasting your time and money with this job.

Spraying:
1. Straighten the tubes that Eastwood's supplies with the cans. Maybe lay them straight in the sun, heat them with a hair drier, press them under some books. I didn't do these things, but wish I had. It's really annoying trying to shove that tube down the frame and have it coil up on itself. It's hard to utilize the full 24", and you don't know which direction the nozzle is pointing.


2. Put cardboard underneath any areas you're spraying.


3. Spray all of the areas I mentioned. Again, don't neglect the torque boxes, inside the rear wheel wells, and the back corners of the tub.
 
#8 ·
bobjp said:
Drain holes aren't going to hurt the frame structurally. The ones typically drilled are ~1/2" diameter and just in front of or just behind the rear LCA mounts. I am sure they help get water out post mud holes or water crossings, but otherwise they don't do much. They are worth doing, but not a replacement for regularly cleaning the frame. I just Eastwood's over the last week. It's a bit of a process to do it right. Also, Eastwoods isn't just for the frame, you should use it on key areas of the tub too. 3 cans are only enough to do one coat on all of the areas I mention below. And if it's the first time applying, I think more than 1 coat is necessary so I'd get 5 cans. You will spend more time cleaning than applying the paint. Prep: Remove or just pop out the Christmas trees on the front of the rear fender liners. Reach up and pull down the liner on the back corners of the tub. Cleaning: 1. Maybe do what the other guys are suggesting and begin by vacuuming out as much loose stuff as possible from the frame. I did not do this, but it probably would been better than chasing everything with water. 2. Alternating between have the Jeep parked uphill and down hill, run a garden hose through the frame, torque boxes, inside the wheel wells, and inside the back corners of the tub. 3. Then take it to the quarter car wash with ~$5-8 to and repeat cleaning all of those areas. The garden hose simply doesn't have the power to remove all of the junk. If you have a pressure washer, the better option would be to just do this at home on a hill. 4. Let the Jeep dry for days. I had to let mine dry for 3.5 days. It's only been in the 60's here with rain so things don't dry quickly. If you don't allow for sufficient dry time, you're wasting your time and money with this job. Spraying: 1. Straighten the tubes that Eastwood's supplies with the cans. Maybe lay them straight in the sun, heat them with a hair drier, I didn't do these things, but wish I had. It's really annoying trying to shove that tube down the frame and have it coil up on itself. It's hard to utilize the full 24's and you don't know which direction the nozzle is pointing. 2. Put cardboard underneath any areas you're spraying. 3. Spray all of the areas I mentioned. Again, don't neglect the torque boxes, inside the rear wheel wells, and the back corners of the tub.
Something I did that I think was worth it was taping up all the holes in the frame. Prevents green busts spraying out and getting things you didn't want paint on.
 
#9 ·
A small hole won't affect your frame at all - crud in the frame that sits for 5 years will do much more damage.

Get 3 cans and do both torque boxes while you're doing the frame

As with any type of painting the real difference in finish is due to prep work. Get ALL of the crap in your frame out no matter how long it takes, then flush repeatedly my frame was in really good shape and there was still a lot of road sediment. Let it completely dry before eastwood application



Get green you'll be able to see coverage better, then rattle can outside of frame after



 
#11 ·
Another trick: tape a coat hanger/wire to the end of the hose so you can control where the spray goes while inside the frame.
 
#16 ·
I just put a snake camera in and it's pretty nasty in there. It looks like there's a layer of sand on the bottom, but when I put my finger in it just feels like rusty metal. There's tons of flaking, which I'm going to try to suck up with the shop vac after work tomorrow. I'll probably run the hose through it again, want it clean as possible and coated before the nasty weather gets here. Gonna do the outside of the frame as well as all of the undercarriage with por15 over the next few months.
 
#17 ·
Great thread and keep us updated. I have a great frame with what looks like some corrosion products settled insode of frame. Going to clean best I can using shop vac and power washer. Will try and locate borascope from work and inspect before treating. I will post pics of scope. Thanks OP for starting.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#18 ·
Figured out a way to help break up the big stuff. Bought some bigger nuts from the hardware store and just dropped then inside the frame rails. As I drive around they roll and break up the big stuff inside which I just vacuum up. Not sire how I'm going to get the nuts out but I'll figure it out.
 
#19 ·
campermh said:
Figured out a way to help break up the big stuff. Bought some bigger nuts from the hardware store and just dropped then inside the frame rails. As I drive around they roll and break up the big stuff inside which I just vacuum up. Not sire how I'm going to get the nuts out but I'll figure it out.
I've been following this thread for a while as this is a future project of mine as well. To get those nuts back out of there, I bet a telescoping magnet would work. I have one that extends on a wand almost 2 feet. It is not super flexible but it will fit in som of those channels. Also you can try attaching a magnet on a piece of 1/4" plastic water line then feed that into chassis to collect the nuts. Good luck... curious how it turns out.
 
#20 ·
campermh said:
Figured out a way to help break up the big stuff. Bought some bigger nuts from the hardware store and just dropped then inside the frame rails. As I drive around they roll and break up the big stuff inside which I just vacuum up. Not sire how I'm going to get the nuts out but I'll figure it out.
Interesting idea. If you can fish those bad boys out in a couple days post up and let us know, because I have a bunch of big nuts hanging around the garage. No lewd comment intended.
 
#21 ·
I just left them in during the day and drove the car up a couple of steep hills, slamming the brakes on my way up and down. The shop vac seemed to pull them towards one of the holes on the frame, so I stuck my finger inside of the nut and used a pair of needle nose to play surgery and get them out. They broke a lot of the big flakes up, but I think using something like a steel marble would be better as it could roll around easier.

Something like these: https://www.amazon.com/Pieces-Grade...8&qid=1476922330&sr=8-5&keywords=steel+marble
 
#22 ·
I've recently been toying with the idea of using some sort of chimney brush to squeeze in one of the bigger access holes, then scrub fore and aft with paracord. They make brushes in steel, and two stiffnesses in poly, but so far all are too large. Anyone try a noodle brush?
 
#24 ·
MoFarmBoy said:
I've recently been toying with the idea of using some sort of chimney brush to squeeze in one of the bigger access holes, then scrub fore and aft with paracord. They make brushes in steel, and two stiffnesses in poly, but so far all are too large. Anyone try a noodle brush?
A brass bristled furnace brush sounds like what you are looking for. You can probably find one at your local HVAC supplier
 
#29 ·
bobjp said:
You could also use the magnet to collect the rust in the first place.
The OP was talking about putting steel marbles or large nuts in the chassis while driving to help knock out some of the internal flaking he has, then trying to figure out how to retrieve those objects. I don't think a plain magnet would do very much to pull anything significant out of there.
I really think it's best just to use a stiff bristled furnace brush to do your best to knock out the heavier stuff, then use a shop vac to suck it all out. You can use 1/2 inch or maybe even 5/8 flexible hose attached to your vac hose to really get in the channels. Word of caution when doing that though, wear ear plugs as reducing that vacuum hose can create one heck of a whistle sometimes.
 
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