- Article/photo's courtesy of
- Paul Unangst, AKA Can Can
Rust Bullet
Things underneath my rig were ugly indeed…….. Luckily for guys like me, there are several products on the market designed to combat the ravages of rust. One such product is Rust Bullet. It is listed in the MSDS as a metallic polyurethane coating, and is basically a one-step product. In other words, Rust Bullet is designed to work all by itself, with no priming, mixing or top coating necessary. Other similar products require the use of a special metal cleaner and a primer prior to being applied, and need to be top coated as well.
Now it was time to get to work. With a wire brush, paint scraper and hammer in hand, I set about the time-consuming process of removing all the loose rust flakes, disbonded undercoating and road grime accumulations from the underside of the K5. Most people will choose to partly or fully dismantle a vehicle when attempting a project like this. I decided, however, to do the job with the truck totally intact, which made reaching some of the areas a real chore. To make matters worse, I discovered that some of the rusty sections were actually rusted right through.
The rubberized undercoating was the only thing holding the rotten metal together in 3 spots. I carried on with my surface prep and decided to deal with the holes in the body a little later. When it was all over, I would say I put about 8 hours of elbow grease into the prep. I could have spent a lot more time on sanding everything down, but according to the folks at Rust Bullet, their product will go on fine over existing paint and other coatings, as long as the existing surfaces are roughed up a little bit.
Doing the Prep Work
Fuel Tank Skidplate and Trailer Hitch - Before
Passenger Side Rocker - Before
Driver Side Floor and Frame - Before
Driver Side Floor and Frame- Before
Driver Side Rear Floorwell - Before
Passenger Side Rear Floor - Before
Results of the Prep Work
Patch on Passenger Side Rear Floor
Patch on Driver Side Rear Floorwell
I was finally ready to apply the Rust Bullet to the truck. The application guidelines recommend that both coats be a minimum of 3 mils thick for a total of 6 mils. For those who don’t know, 6 mils equals about 1.5 millimeters. I was using a brush, so I basically went as thick as I could without having any runs. I would be willing to bet that I achieved the minimum coating thickness very easily. Without further ado, I grabbed my can and my paint brush and rolled under the truck. I broke up the truck into three sections and started with the job.
I was immediately impressed with how the Rust Bullet went onto the metal. It went on nice and thick and stayed workable for a few minutes without running or clumping. I was able to move very quickly and completed the driver’s side starting even with the front edge of the driver’s door from the frame outward all the way to rear spring shackle within an hour. The rear corners of the truck, the fuel tank skid plate, and the trailer hitch took another hour, and then I worked my way back towards the front on the passenger side.
All in all the job went well, but I wasn’t able to get to every little nook and cranny. This is why dismantling the truck proves to be your best option if you’re trying to obtain 100% coverage. Four hours is the recommended drying time between coats. I took a little break, snapped a few pics, and started to apply the second coat. Up until now, I had no complaints about the product- however, I quickly realized that Rust Bullet doesn’t change colors as it dries. This makes it VERY hard to tell whether your second coat is being thoroughly applied or not. Perhaps an experienced painter could tell the difference, but I was forced to go “by feel” to see if I had missed any spots. In my experience, the second coat of any paint job takes about half the time of the first. In this case, it took almost the same amount of time to do the second coat.
1st Coat on Frame and Rear Shackle - Passenger Side
1st Coat on Frame and Rear Shackle - Drive Side
Trailer Hitch and Fuel Tank Skidplate - After
Passenger Side Rocker - After
Passenger Side Frame and Floor - After
Passenger Side Frame and Floor - After
Driver Side Frame and Floor - After
Driver Side Frame and Floor - After
I finished off the job by touching up a few spots that I had overlooked. I also applied some silicone around the patches that I had screwed into place to ensure that no water could get behind the aluminum plating. All in all, the whole process was quite painless. I wasn’t able to get to a lot of the middle of the rear floor panel, due to the location of the fuel tank, driveshaft and dual mufflers, but I ended up getting all of the worst areas treated.
Patch on Passenger Rear Floor - After
Patch on Rear Floor Beside Wheelwell - After
Patch on Driver Side Rear Floorwell - After
According to their website, you can cover your Rust Bullet job with virtually any paint or coating that you want. I chose to skip the topcoat for now- I personally think the metallic silver color looks good. I also wanted to test the effectiveness of the product over the winter to see if it stands up as advertised, and a topcoat would only make it harder to see if any rust was able to make a comeback.
In closing, I would recommend that you visit rustbullet.com for a detailed description of the product and to find the answers to any question you may have. They have a comprehensive website that compares their product to others on the market, as well as long and detailed FAQ section. They also have a copies of both the application guidelines and the MSDS sheet available online for those of you who may need that level of info.