tetroseal any good?

hi ppl, ive just discovered tetroseal (cracking stuff) as was looking for something to re-coat my sills which i had patched last year for mot, theyre showing signs of surface rust again. anyway because it seems like good stuff and ive got plenty of it, 5 ltrs, i started looking for other places to paint it, rust in the arches etc and was thinking of jacking it up and coating the entire underside of the bus. will this cause any problems as ive heard that it can crack and hold moisture in etc.. anyone have any experience with it?? how many coats should i apply? how much dreaded prep work is required?

before anyone mentions i dont really wanna shell out £500+ to get it waxoyled

jonny mac said:

hi ppl, ive just discovered tetroseal (cracking stuff) as was looking for something to re-coat my sills which i had patched last year for mot, theyre showing signs of surface rust again. anyway because it seems like good stuff and ive got plenty of it, 5 ltrs, i started looking for other places to paint it, rust in the arches etc and was thinking of jacking it up and coating the entire underside of the bus. will this cause any problems as ive heard that it can crack and hold moisture in etc.. anyone have any experience with it?? how many coats should i apply? how much dreaded prep work is required?

before anyone mentions i dont really wanna shell out £500+ to get it waxoyled

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The problem with this type of traditional underseal is that it dries hard and cracks when the vehicle flexes in use, this allows water to get in and rot soon follows. There are different types available that include additional waxes etc that stop it cracking. The most readily available is "hammerite underbody shield with waxoyl" which I have used with some success but there are others.

it all depends on how much space you got to work in, you can buy hand spray pumps for waxoyl, and if you can heat the stuff up enough - I use an old burco water boiler, they are usable, I picked mine up for £10 on ebay, plus waxoyl itself is about £20 for 5litres round here.
but make sure the underside is clean and dry before you do it, it takes me about 2hours with the jet wash to get all the muck out, yum 2 hours under the disco getting wet sounds great dont it . leave it to dry for a day then its a couple of hours with the wax spray, a shower and a beer and the disco is ready for the winter.

thanks waldershelf and trax, looks like waxoyl it is then. not lookin forward to the mess. is it worth drilling any holes in the chassis to spray it in there or is that a big no no. what happens when you heat it up trax? does it become more plyable?

jonny mac said:

thanks waldershelf and trax, looks like waxoyl it is then. not lookin forward to the mess. is it worth drilling any holes in the chassis to spray it in there or is that a big no no. what happens when you heat it up trax? does it become more plyable?

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You shouldn't need to drill any extra holes, there are plenty of access points but if you need to, go for it, it won't weaken your chassis as long as you don't go stupid and drill too many.
As trax says if you use the hand pump up sprayers that waxoyl sell warming it up thins the stuff down and makes it easier to spray. I am fortunate enough to have a compressor so I use schutz gun plus extension which makes the job a lot easier and quicker

I did to use Waxoyl but now it's Tetroseal wax/oil it's jet black and after being applied it shrinks tight to the metal so covers everything completly and stays put, unlike waxoyl that will stay greasy and will washed off Tetroseal doesn't.

discool said:

I did to use Waxoyl but now it's Tetroseal wax/oil it's jet black and after being applied it shrinks tight to the metal so covers everything completly and stays put, unlike waxoyl that will stay greasy and will washed off Tetroseal doesn't.

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That sounds pretty much like the waxoyl "underbody seal with waxoyl" I used, Comma and Dinitol both do similar products as I'm sure others do. The original waxoyl is too thin and the coating not robust enough to be used on the underside of a vehicle really it's a cavity wax, although the black version seems a little better. I've just done my 90 chassis and underside with a selection of zinc primer, undershield with wax and waxoyl, hopefully it will stave off the tinworm for a bit longer.

That's right waldershelf as u say waxoyl great for inside doors behind headlamps etc but out in the open ??.
So I will stay with the Tetroseal and as always do a touch-up before the winter with a spray can of the stuff its the heavy metal bits that take the punishment in the winter, it did last winter, rods, arms, springs, damper and all that kit... etc etc.

jonny mac said:

what happens when you heat it up trax? does it become more plyable?

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you can heat it right up, as i said I use an old burco and take it up to around 80degC, it runs like water at this temp and stinks like a bugger, but it runs into every cavity and sticks to the underside like ****e to a blanket, yes it will wash off, but if you assume that its just another service job, it becomes one of those annual jobs to do before winter.

Lets not mix up the two product types here, waxoyl is a thin product that is best used as a cavity wax, undershield with waxoyl is a much thicker black product that dries to a robust almost rubbery consistancy that will not wash off or dry out completely and crack. I might seem to be going on like a salesman for waxoyl but it's just that I have used their products for quite a few years and been happy with the results, I know other manufacturers produce very similar product ranges.