Filling Rockers to prevent rust

[68K30]

I removed my inner rockers and installed new outers in 1981 and just this summer replaced the outers ,but not because of rust, they were full of dents. I had no floor strength problems and I live in centlal Pa.,lots of salt. The metal on the outers I removed was still in great shape.

[FormerMember]

Sounds like I could put some 2" holes in the inner rocker to allow for cleaning and "airflow"

[mrein3]

Lots of information in this thread regarding rockers.

THE only reason they rusted out in the first place is that back in 1972, trucks were painted on the line by a human. Where a human could see/reach, it got painted. Where a human couldn't see/reach you have bare steel.

In 2008, car/truck bodies are built with galvanized steel. This steel, when put together to form a vehicle is then dipped into a primer solution. This coats the INSIDE and outside of everything before it is painted. So now you have two layers of protection, the galvanized coating on the steel and the primer coating which is probably similar to epoxy primer we spray in our back yards which I have found to be pretty damn tough.

So now when Ford sprays foam in the A pillar, it is inside of metal that is pretty well protected and probably won't show corrosion for a LONG time.

The next time you replace your rocker, use a garden sprayer and spray POR-15 or rustolium or similar in there. The first set lasted 30+ years with no protection in there. You put on a new set and coat it you'll probably never have to replace it again.

[67ChevyRedneck]

Also, a lot of guys garage their restored trucks (not me ) and the only time they ever see water is when it gets washed...

[68gmsee]

Originally Posted by mrein3

............In 2008, car/truck bodies are built with galvanized steel. This steel, when put together to form a vehicle is then dipped into a primer solution. This coats the INSIDE and outside of everything before it is painted. So now you have two layers of protection, the galvanized coating on the steel and the primer coating which is probably similar to epoxy primer we spray in our back yards which I have found to be pretty damn tough.........The next time you replace your rocker, use a garden sprayer and spray POR-15 or rustolium or similar in there.

The first set lasted 30+ years with no protection in there. You put on a new set and coat it you'll probably never have to replace it again.

Very true. I like the idea of spraying POR-15 in there. Some of these small sprayer are relatively cheap since you probably would use it only one...

One thing about the first set lasting 30+ years. The rockers on my 69 were already rusted through when I bought it in 87. Here we have a lot of muddy farm roads so I guess it depends on the part of the country you're from.

[69halfton]

what about roll-on truck bedliner stuff.

in canada we had a conpany called line-X...dont know if they are in the US though.

rhino liner and duraliner stuff like that/ i was thinking of doing the botton 3 inches of my fenders so i dont have to keep looking at paint chips etc down there..