Hmmmm, but don't these things typically rust from the inside out? Thus you would need to get oil up inside the door itself. Wouldn't car wax work better than a wipe of motor oil as protection for where you're applying it?

 

I think you're confused. I'm wiping the inside of the door seam (on the bottom of the door). There is no door panel there to take off. There is a seam where it typically rusts, like an inch up from the bottom of the door.

If you get Ford to fix the rust, they have a tool to bend the seam open and do their fixing.

I could wax it but I prefer oil for this job.

Pic from the internet:

 

No, that's the spot I thought you were referencing. I just thought car wax would do as good or better of a job protecting than motor oil. However I will admit only motor oil would be able to seep down into the seam if it is porous.

 

By the way, question for the guys that recommend Por15 for the frame. How exactly do you go about applying it. I mean, do you just powerwash the undercarriage all over, let it dry, and then apply it? What about all the hoses, fuel tank, trans, all the junk that gets in the way of you getting to the frame? Do you just shove a brush into tight places as best you can and hope for the best? It doesn't seem practical for most of us who have good healthy trucks to strip it down to the frame, apply Por15 and then reassemble.

 

I have another top not mentioned but when the rust does start to come, have it removed properly. Don't go for a cheap body job or it will just come back stronger then ever. You need to cut that stuff right out and have new metal put in and properly prepped, painted and finished. Then have the truck undercoated again.

Undercoating is your friend but if you don't want to spend the money on a good body job you might as well let it rot, you're only buying yourself 6 months or so by north eastern standards

 

Honestly, POR15 is good stuff but is very tricky to apply correctly. Its really to be done on a stripped frame with no body on it. 1 drop of sweat in the can will ruin it. It is very expensive.

A better alternative is to clean the frame good and use rubberized undercoating or bed liner, the kind that can be bought in cans. I have had good luck with the spray on bed liner in a can, but the prep work is key.

 

Their website lays it out pretty well. POR-15 is a 3-step process of cleaning the metal, chemically etching it and then applying the product. It'll bond to painted surfaces but works best when applied directly to bare metal. A lot of guys use it for, say, suspension control arms or subframes after they've been removed and stripped.

 

I have read and heard of this product called "fluid film". It sounds good and I will be trying it out soon.

 

If you want to prevent the rust the best way is to clean the underneath thouroughly and have it oil sprayed professionally once or twice a year depending on where you live and how much road salt it sees. Have it oil sprayed about 2 months before winter because the oil is a creeping oil. It works its way into all the cracks and seams over a few months. Some things you can do to prevent wheel well rust is stick you hand on the inside lip of the wheel well and follow the seam all the way it will be full of sand dirt and crap that holds moisture that will rot out the metal. I recommend getting the oil spray done by pros because its cheap usually 120 plus tax and they spray in spots you wouldnt know were there, and you couldnt do yourself without the proper spray gun.

 

get a good women... after she makes your ham samwhich n beer you can send her out to power wash the bottom of the truck...kinda like a sudsy with a happy ending for the truck if you get my meaning