Torklift tie down maintenance

[bobbolotune]

My 6 year old Torklift tie downs are in sad shape. The paint (or probably actually it is powder coat) is falling off so that there is now a lot of exposed and rusting metal.

So I need to paint them or something.

To prep, I started by scraping them with a wire brush and some emery cloth. That is helping to remove the chipping paint and some surface rust. But it is not taking all of the rust off down to bare metal. I think it would need to be sanded with a power tool versus hand scraping to accomplish that. But I don’t want to start sanding off metal. That means less metal left which can hurt the strength of tie down. Besides it would be a lot of work all that grinding.

So I am thinking I will hand brush with a wire brush plus some light emery cloth. Then I will need to paint over some rust. Is it ok to do that?

Or maybe this isn't’ necessary. Maybe it doesn’t really matter if the tie downs rust. For example, many of the metal parts under the truck are as rusted as the tie downs. Maybe there is so much metal on these parts that rust will never deteriorate the part to the point of failure.

However the tie downs were originally a painted part so I suppose I should paint them.

Then my next question is what to paint them with. The only thing I know of is rustoleum. Or is there something better?

So my questions are 1) how much prep should I do or can I paint over some rust, 2) what to paint the tie downs with, 3) or maybe rust on tie downs doesn’t really matter (except for how it looks) and I could defer this job since I am currently busy preparing other things for a 2 month trip.

I know that these are very basic questions but I don’t have experience with this topic.

[markchengr]

Rust converters (reformers) have been around for many years. They work by converting ferric oxide (red rust) to ferrous oxide (magnetite). I use them whenever there is any rust on steel before painting. You can even just convert the rust and leave it unpainted if appearance is no concern. They turn the rust black. There are a number of different brands.

[zcookiemonstar]

Hey nice to see someone else from the Chicago area has a Truck Camper. They are not common around here

[StirCrazy]

if you want to use a mechanical wheel, get a brass one, it will take rust and pain off but is softer than the steel so it will wear instead of the steel.

Steve

[bobbolotune]

JimK-NY wrote:
Even if you use Rustoleum or a similar product designed for rusty surfaces, I would still do the best surface prep that is feasible. You will get longer paint life if you start with bare metal or mostly bare metal. Certainly get rid of any heavy, flaky rust.

Makes sense. Thanks, I will do this. Also just to rough up the old paint before painting over it.

[JimK-NY]

Even if you use Rustoleum or a similar product designed for rusty surfaces, I would still do the best surface prep that is feasible. You will get longer paint life if you start with bare metal or mostly bare metal. Certainly get rid of any heavy, flaky rust.

[bobbolotune]

I’m the OP. Lots of great advice here, thanks! I am glad I asked because some products have been pointed out that I was not aware of. Also that my question about over sanding weakening the part was answered (not to worry about it).

Someone recommended “Rustoleum Rust Converter”. From google searches the Rustoleum product seems to be called “Rust Reformer” not “Rust Converter”.

There is also a product VHT Rust Convertor which has good reviews on Amazon. Maybe that is what the responses talking about rust converter meant?

I also found POR-15. But from this website:

por15.com/products/rust-preventive-coating

Scroll down a little and it is a 4 step process of degreaser, metal prep, then the POR-15, then paint. That is a lot of work. But maybe just slop on the POR-15 is good enough for tie downs?

Multiple good options here. It may come down to which I find on the shelf at Home Depot. I am leaning toward the Rustoleum Rust Reformer or VHT Rust Convertor because it is simple spray on. Then the instructions say to paint over it but that can again be just simple spray paint.

[bobbolotune]

Geo*Boy wrote:
How are stainless steel Fastguns rusting?

I'm the OP. It is the (steel) tie downs that are rusting, not the fastguns.

[Geo_Boy]

How are stainless steel Fastguns rusting?

[JimK-NY]

You can use a wire brush. I would save some work and use a circular brush in an electric drill. Don't worry about removing metal. You would need to grind for days and use up many brushes before you would even start to weaken the brackets.

Eventually stone chips take a toll and I have had to repaint mine a couple of times. You do not need to remove every trace of rust, but the paint job will last much longer if you do a thorough job of surface prep.

[towpro]

I used to spray them with mat black rust Rustoleum when they started to look bad. I would spray them right on the truck, just point the can the right direction.

[Kayteg1]

Rust converter still suppose to be painted over.
Home Depot has Rust converter, although in some areas on special order.
Great stuff.
For final paint, the 99 cents rattle cans from HD are good as well.

[wnjj]

sbryan@vtbryans.com wrote:
POR will work over rust. Clean them up best you can and then a couple of coats of POR.

I can vouch for POR-15. It's expensive compared to plain paint but works excellent.

[ticki2]

The best product I’ve used so far is Fliuid Film . I spray the undercarriage every fall . No serious prep , just scrape off obvious peeling and spray it on . My truck has plowed snow in the salt belt and still looks pretty good .

[Grit_dog]

Knock the loose stuff off, maybe wire brush or wire wheel it and give em a rustoleum rebuild. Or any other number of products.
Steel doesn't have to be prepped to a near white condition for paint to stick to it.