'04 F250 tiny rust dots

[Devlin]

I apologize if a similar topic has been dealt with already, I searched the forum and didn't find it if this has been addressed.

I have a 2004 Ford F250 that has hundreds of tiny little rust dots and one sizable rust dot (1/8" dia). These dots seem to be caused by rock damage.

The truck's only a couple of year's old so I need to stop this rust before it gets out of hand.

I was planning on prepping it for fresh paint myself and having a shop paint the truck. I'm going to grind out the larger spot and then was planning on simply sanding down the truck to deal with the tiny dots.

After reading through some of the posts though I'm having doubts that this will really address the problem. What advice would you guys have?

Just to be clear, I'm planning on owning this thing for a long time and want to do it right. The dots are really tiny, so small that unless you get right up to the truck you can't see them.

Thanks,
Devlin

[Phil V]

If we're talking about the hood nose then strip the whole front half of the hood down to bare metal, if you don't it will come back to you haunt you later. Same with the front part of the fenders.

[Devlin]

The rust is all over, there's hundreds if not thousands of the tiny little micro spots of rust. The hood is actually ok because it has a hood deflector. The damage is on exposed leading edges along sides like where the fenders are and the doors along the edges of the window openings are. The largest spot I referred to is above the rear left fender.

If I have to take it all to bare metal then I have to take 75% of the truck to bare metal. A real stinker considering the truck is only 3 years old. I live in Alberta, it's not like I live on the ocean.

[SHOWCAR FINISH]

If 75% was needed you might as well strip the whole car. Then sand the surface rust off, metal condition, and epoxy prime. Rust forms fast so don't leave it bare for any amount of time, and use rubber gloves when touching bare metal. Without knowing better me and a few students prepped a car for prime one day. The next day we went into the booth to prime and discovered someones finger prints as clear as day all over the car. The oils from his skin turned to rust so everywhere on the car were hundreds of rusted finger prints. Anyways, You can also look into products that can be used to protect paint from rock chips for next time. Don't really know much about it though but it probably dulls the gloss a bit.

[Phil V]

Devlin, take the truck to your local Ford dealer and show them the rust damage. See what they have to say.

[SHOWCAR FINISH]

Which makes me wonder, is there any guarantees from their paint suppliers on most cars? 3 years is awefully fast for a car to have that. Is that why you mentioned that, Phil?

[Ron H]

You definately need to take the truck to your dealer and let them look at it. The warranty covers from the inside out, not the outside in. Meaning, if it is damaged from fallout, salt or other external source the warranty will not cover it. It is worth the trip. Regards Ron

[Phil V]

I agree with Ron, Ford guarantees their vehicles against RUST THROUGH for however long that particular vehicles warranty is for. That means rust holes only, so I doubt they will stand behind any surface rust. Either way it couldn't hurt to take the truck in to the dealer and see what they have to say.

[SHOWCAR FINISH]

hehehehe! What a cop out! That's funny cause surface rust won't stop until you get rust out.

[AutobodyCAD]

I agree with Ron, Ford guarantees their vehicles against RUST THROUGH for however long that particular vehicles warranty is for. That means rust holes only, so I doubt they will stand behind any surface rust. Either way it couldn't hurt to take the truck in to the dealer and see what they have to say.

You COULD try drilling little holes everywhere there's rust, and then wash it every day for a month or two before taking it into the dealer!

[dave_demented]

hmm maybe, i think they'd be able to figure it out that it was drilled. put a little pit of aircraft stripper on small parts of the truck to make it bubble up

[dixie1776]

CROOKED PEOPLE, just hope his dealer isn't a regular reader if he does decide to do something not so honest.---sounds like something a customer or two that i have had would do, but in this case, there is something underlying causing the problem from the sound of it-- not just impact chips. i believe that i would take it as is so that you won't be making the problem harder to fix for yourself, just in case they deny fault.

[dfox1234]

Are you sure this is not fall out. What part of the country do you live in?
It sounds like pieces of ferrous oxide embedded in the clear coat.
I would suggest clay barring a small spot first and see if that does it.
HTH, Dean

[studebaker]

The rust is all over, there's hundreds if not thousands of the tiny little micro spots of rust. The hood is actually ok because it has a hood deflector. The damage is on exposed leading edges along sides like where the fenders are and the doors along the edges of the window openings are. The largest spot I referred to is above the rear left fender.

If I have to take it all to bare metal then I have to take 75% of the truck to bare metal. A real stinker considering the truck is only 3 years old. I live in Alberta, it's not like I live on the ocean.

Has it been anywhere near a grinder?

[dave_demented]

i saw a ford once with small specs of rust all over it, i was able to compound them all out