Opinion on Body Armor

S

Sheep Jeep

New member
Is there anyone living in the snow states where they use salt on the roads in the winter? If you have applied body armor does the salt and snow get between the armor and the vehicle and cause rust? I am looking at the Smittybilt Body Cladding but I don't want to apply it if it is going to rust underneath. Any opinion welcome. Thanks.
 
13_gecko_rubi

13_gecko_rubi

Caught the Bug
I've seen several folks here in Michigan have rusting issues between body and armor and many others that haven't. Generally it's the armor that rusts and then it embeds itself into the paint. The folks who have had good success including myself have done these steps.

1) have the parts powder coated by a quality shop. Many parts the powdercoating that comes on them isn't very good. Have it done locally by someone good.
2) clean and wax the body very well
3) I remove my armor every year or two and clean behind it and rewax the body
4) I ran a bead of rtv on the armor along top and some vertical strips to try and keep the crap out and also provide a barrier between armor and body. I didn't seal the bottom as I want anything that does get in to be able to get out. I just put the rtv on the armor and let it fully cure before installing on jeep. It's just a seal.

If it does rust some behind it realistically you are never going to run without the armor again due to all the nutsert holes. You just want to take care of the rust if it starts so it doesn't go from normal surface rust to scale rust and become an issue.
 
wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Man, I really feel for you guys in the rust belt. I bought a JK from a friend that lived in NY and although he took care of it, the thing was covered in rust and corrosion. Took a lot of time and effort getting it cleaned up and it was near impossible to remove a lot of the parts installed on it. If it were me and I lived up there, I'd be hard pressed to install body armor especially being that most of it is just for looks.
 
jcslax17

jcslax17

Member
In another thread on here someone mentioned applying plasti dip to the body as an added layer of protection for the paint under the armor. Idk how well that will actually help but probably better than nothing if you get a thick enough coating
 
hinrichs

hinrichs

Caught the Bug
I went with alum body armor this time around due to rust. Not sure if I had any issues on my last jeep I traded in, but I never took the armor off to find out....well mainly due to stripped bolts but still.
 
B

Bingobelle

Member
Personaly I would never ever do any kind of modding to the jeep that demands drilling in the body because of all the snow and salt on the roads during wintertime here in Sweden.

Especially not if the nut insert holes are going to be hidden behind some kind of "armor plates"

Not worth it.

The frame is not a problem, just spray a lot of linseed oil under the jeep, on the frame and inside the frame every autumn.
 
Goldeneagle1LC

Goldeneagle1LC

Member
hinrichs said:
I went with alum body armor this time around due to rust. Not sure if I had any issues on my last jeep I traded in, but I never took the armor off to find out....well mainly due to stripped bolts but still.
Click to expand...

Wouldn't this potentially cause more issues with rust because of the two different metals?
 
wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Goldeneagle1LC said:
Wouldn't this potentially cause more issues with rust because of the two different metals?
Click to expand...

Dissimilar metals can be a problem but I think the idea is that normally, it's the steel armor that rusts and works its way over to the body. What would trouble me is that dirt, sand and even small rocks can and will get between the armor and wear through the paint. I've seen that happen with my armor. If I lived in a rust prone state, I'm sure that would be a source of rusting. Also, I've seen what the crap they use on the roads back east do to aluminum wheels. I don't know how any of you guys deal with that crap.
 
Sharkey

Sharkey

Word Ninja
I was going to paint my lower tub with plasti-dip before putting on my EVO armor but never got around to doing it. In theory though, it might work as enough of a protective layer to prevent rust.
 
hinrichs

hinrichs

Caught the Bug
wayoflife said:
Dissimilar metals can be a problem but I think the idea is that normally, it's the steel armor that rusts and works its way over to the body. What would trouble me is that dirt, sand and even small rocks can and will get between the armor and wear through the paint. I've seen that happen with my armor. If I lived in a rust prone state, I'm sure that would be a source of rusting. Also, I've seen what the crap they use on the roads back east do to aluminum wheels. I don't know how any of you guys deal with that crap.
Click to expand...

I didnt get my skins powder coated, but painted them as good as I could using alum pro primer and I have had no corrosion issues that I can see.
 
cozdude

cozdude

Guy with a Red 2-Door
I know from my own experience that the right primer for both paint and power coat goes a long way. When I ordered my Evo rocker guards they came power coated. In a year they rusted a pitted. I had them sand blasted and recoated. The place that did it said they were not even primed which is why they rusted he said. Ever since then the power has held up great and no more rust spots have emerged.

If you live on the east coast and want powder coat I'm sure the place you take it to will know what sort of primer needs to be applied to make it last for a long time.

Since I'm sure powder coat is slightly different from east to west this is why I had issues and why Evo stopped pre powder coating things unless your local
 
caminton

caminton

New member
Great, I didn't even think about that. Once I move to North Dakota, this will be something I'll have to worry about.

Is there anything I should do to my underside before we move? Hopefully I'll have the new lift/control arms/shocks/axles installed by then, so it should be all mud-free and ready to go. Can I do anything to prevent rust on the bolts and all?
 
Clifford33

Clifford33

Caught the Bug
You can also silicon around the edges of the body armor and wipe away any excess leaving only the silicon in the crack between the body and the armor you shouldn't have water getting in between if you do that.
 
S

Sheep Jeep

New member
Bingobelle said:
Personaly I would never ever do any kind of modding to the jeep that demands drilling in the body because of all the snow and salt on the roads during wintertime here in Sweden.

Especially not if the nut insert holes are going to be hidden behind some kind of "armor plates"

Not worth it.

The frame is not a problem, just spray a lot of linseed oil under the jeep, on the frame and inside the frame every autumn.
Click to expand...

I have not heard of spraying linseed oil. Does this help with preventing the salt from corroding?
 
Ddays

Ddays

Hooked
wayoflife said:
Also, I've seen what the crap they use on the roads back east do to aluminum wheels. I don't know how any of you guys deal with that crap.
Click to expand...

Sharkhide is the answer on alum wheels. I applied it to my unfinished Chamber Pros and it works like a charm. Not been through a whole winter yet but did have them on for a couple months dealing with the road salt.
Cleaning involves soapy water & that's it.

As far as the skins, I used stainless nutserts and literally dunked them in silicone RTV before installing them.

Then I dumped used motor oil in-between them and the body so I'm all set!
 
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