Member Since: 07 May 2017
Location: God’s own Country
Posts: 171
Underbody/chassis coating
Hi Folks,
Furlough 2.0 has meant I have an unplanned chance to do some preventative maintenance.
What’s best these days for chassis protection? Lots of people quoting raptor and lanoguard but unsure if they’ve had long term testing yet?
Do I need to take back to bare metal and prime first still? I’ve heard of chemicals that get rid of rust but unsure if this is part of the prep or something totally separate.
Apologies for all the questions- have limited time now there’s a vaccine 😂
Cheers!
10th Nov 2020 11:09 am
LIAMMCL
Member Since: 27 Aug 2013
Location: Northumberland
Posts: 413
Take a look a Buzzweld products. Website and YouTube videos.
A few people on here have done their disco's with it and all seem happy.
10th Nov 2020 11:44 am
pagoda
Member Since: 13 Aug 2009
Location: Not London Anymore (or the US for that matter)
Posts: 1929
I've just done this with my new to me 2016 LR4. It had a little more than just the normal surface rust as it seems the PO liked to drive the vehicle on the beach
I did quite a lot of research on what to do both inside the chassis and outside, since I'm quite OCD about these things and I bought this LR4 to keep for donkeys. Also, I'm based in the US for now and products differ.
My conclusions were that you do not want to use anything that coats a rubberized layer; i.e. the theory that you can apply a coat of some thick gloop to cover the chassis. The reality seems to be that these actually accelerate corrosion and can trap moisture. Lots of info on the internet on this. Here's a good example of a clean looking pickup with a rotten under-body caused by rust-proofing.
Instead, I used a rust encapsulator on the underside (having first attacked rust spots with a wire brush), then used an anti-rust primer followed by a rust inhibiting enamel paint (eg Hammerite, although here it's Rustoleum). I really rate Bilthammer products and have used them a lot on classic cars where rust is a real issue. They do a great rust inhibitor and it's the best I've used (and I've tried a lot). It's called Hydrate 80 https://www.bilthamber.com/corrosion-prote...reatments. Can't get them in the US though.
Inside the chassis I washed thoroughly, dried the vehicle for a few days using targeted dehumidifiers and then sprayed with Dynax cavity wax by Bilthammer. (I had a couple of tins left over from doing a classic car).
I also wash the underside of my vehicle at least once a week in the winter as the Yanks are in love with dumping salt and spraying a brine and glue mix onto the roads, which is the perfect cocktail for rust. Insane (although winters are harder than in the UK to be fair).
Lots of choice, but I think regular washing and going after rust spots when they arise is the key. There isn't in my view a fire and forget solution. The fuel tank support is particularly vulnerable in my experience. I link Dinitrol if applied correctly but it's not available here. Inside the chassis I'd suggest a thin film, which is why I like Dynax. It remains soft.PAGODA
10th Nov 2020 1:34 pm
gstuart
Member Since: 21 Oct 2016
Location: kent
Posts: 14111
Must admit I’ve used dinitrol to treat the inside and outside of the chassis / under body
Also done the same with jet washing , then used my steam cleaner , finally allowing it to dry and also found using an endoscope to ensure it was clean and dry before applying the treatments
Good call ref the rubberised paints and how they can create more problems
10th Nov 2020 3:08 pm
TT___50
Member Since: 07 May 2017
Location: God’s own Country
Posts: 171
Cheers all will get my wire brush out pronto!
10th Nov 2020 4:36 pm
gstuart
Member Since: 21 Oct 2016
Location: kent
Posts: 14111
Also found a dremel was very useful for the hard to reach areas , Plus was surprised how much rubbish etc was behind the plastic wheel arch liners
Few piccies when I done mine also some items I used
decent pair of safety glasses
some throw away overalls
Old plastic sheet to lay down onto ur driveway , then drove onto it and threw away after
Also made the mistake at first of not wearing an old woolly hat after some dropped into my hair
Scraper, plus one of the changeable bladed scrapers
Some decent plastic clip removal tools to make life easier
Assorted bag of cable ties so when removing the plastic wheel arch liners was ideal to re secure any broken ones along with any loose cable looms sensor wires etc
New plastic wheel-arch liner clips , can get 100 x clips for under a tenner , the VW T5 fit perfectly
Hope that helps
Last edited by gstuart on 10th Nov 2020 5:52 pm. Edited 1 time in total
10th Nov 2020 5:37 pm
gstuart
Member Since: 21 Oct 2016
Location: kent
Posts: 14111
Almost forgot , got 4 x of these 7 x ton plastic wheel ramps, plus of course axle stands , raised suspension to off road height and pulled the F26 fuse from the engine bay to prevent suspension from moving
Please let us know how u get on plus of course some piccies if u get chance plse, thks
10th Nov 2020 5:47 pm
pagoda
Member Since: 13 Aug 2009
Location: Not London Anymore (or the US for that matter)
Posts: 1929
+1 for the rhino ramps (although I only have two!)PAGODA
10th Nov 2020 5:51 pm
pagoda
Member Since: 13 Aug 2009
Location: Not London Anymore (or the US for that matter)
Posts: 1929
gstuart wrote:
New plastic wheel-arch liner clips , can get 100 x clips for under a tenner , the VW T5 fit perfectly
Great tip! Do you happen to know what size they are? Just looked on amazon and there seem to be variations (6.3, 8, 9 and 10mm).
Great if you happen to know; no worries if not. PAGODA
10th Nov 2020 5:57 pm
gstuart
Member Since: 21 Oct 2016
Location: kent
Posts: 14111
Hiya
Hole is 8mm , will find the full specs as well for u
Member Since: 13 Aug 2009
Location: Not London Anymore (or the US for that matter)
Posts: 1929
Brilliant - thank you. More googling to do later today.PAGODA
10th Nov 2020 6:56 pm
gstuart
Member Since: 21 Oct 2016
Location: kent
Posts: 14111
Ur so welcome and always happy to help where I can
Also just remembered I used a small Cross Pein Pin hammer to gently tap the clips in at the back of the wheel arch liners where they can be difficult to push home
As always if I can help any further please feel free to give me a shout
10th Nov 2020 7:16 pm
TT___50
Member Since: 07 May 2017
Location: God’s own Country
Posts: 171
G as always thanks so much for your detailed responses and pics! I will update as and when . . .
10th Nov 2020 9:20 pm
gstuart
Member Since: 21 Oct 2016
Location: kent
Posts: 14111
My pleasure mate , always a team effort and indeed Plse let us know how u get on
Also is great there are many chassis drainage holes for when u inject the inside of the chassis with treatment , can see it coming out after pushing the Lance up the inside of the rails
Before I forget , can use some plastic tube along with the different pushfit connectors to make up a makeshift Lance or buy one pre made , another tip is if u find the treatment cans particularly thick can put them into a bowl of warm water along with shaking them for several minutes
Also handy injecting inside the shell underbody
Dinitrol also do spray guides from there website , however they charge for them
Good luck and hope the above doesn’t come across trying to teach u how to suck eggs
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