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2001 xj. 140k miles. ive repaired a number of things on this jeep so i want to keep it. i need to deal with this rust issue because otherwise its in very good condition and im trying to maintain that.
its mostly the door bottoms and door frame weld seals. you can see in the photos. other small areas are the front bumper peppered with pin hole rust and where the back bumper bolts in is bubbling under the paint.
the under carriage needs help also, it was undercoated but is missing or has peeled off years ago. some spots look great others are already rusted.
so short of doing a frame off restoration which i dont have the money or interest in what quality half measure can i take to stop the degradation and improve its appearance and protection?
repair the doors or find rust free replacement doors?
I nervous to get into the painting part of that job.
the Previous owner attempted to repair the door bottoms and it looked good when i bought it but its come back to what you see in the few years i have owned it.
i am planning to clean up the under body, spray with rust converter then re under coat with rustoleum rattle can.
I too am having the same issues with my 92. I fixed all the rust and repainted about 7 years ago. Now have rust in some areas and my door bottoms are falling off in chunks.
Easiest and cheapest solution is a rust-free XJ from a SW region of the US.
Unfortunately, living where it snows and they salt the roads, a rust-free XJ will dissolve also.
Maybe find a pristine XJ, strip it down completely and use an epoxy based paint?
If it were me I would wire brush it, buy the starter kit of POR 15, prep properly, couple coats, and then spray. Will it hold? Who knows. I have had good luck with what I like to refer to as rust retardation on my '00 with it. But figure it will run you about $35 and your time. Fluid Film, as BlueRidgeMark mentioned, is awesome. Live in the NE and they put that crap on the roads. This October was my 3rd year of doing it. Totally sold on it. My friend bought the Fluid Film gun kit. Has a compressor that will run it. The cool thing about the gun kit is one of the long hoses that sprays in a 360 degree pattern. Great for getting in the uni-body. They sell a wand that does the same thing for the spray cans but using spray cans can get a little pricey. If you can afford the gun, have a compressor to run it, and buy gallons it is cheaper. Fluid is not a less is more situation IMO. I go to town under there. Use a 1/2 gallon every October. Run my car through the $5 automatic wash bay from time to time in the winter. Do not pay the extra buck for the undercarriage. Fluid Film will eventually wash off. Every little piece of crap will stick to it. Working under there with Fluid Film applied is a mess. In April I power wash it off. Once I am done working on the Jeep, been refreshing it for the last 3 years, I will most likely apply every April for the whole year. One thing about doing the uni-body. Beware of your rear diff breather in there. The first year I avoided that section. Thinking gunking up the breather is not a good thing. Since then have moved it to the engine compartment so now I go to town in that section too.
When bottom edge of doors are rusty, it is usually worse on the inside panels of doors because there are no paint coatings in there, just overspay. Will have to remove door card to have a look in there.
I sprayed inside of doors with Rust-Free Clear and a fog wand, same with inside rocker panels. It is a coating that 'creeps' and does not harden. Safe to use around electronics and window regulators.
11-11-2016, 11:21 AM
rust repair on doors bottoms?
