Tips on Preserving a Chassis

andy vash · Mar 22, 2018

I’ve just bought a td5 with a standard steel chassis, in the past I’ve always had defenders with galvanised chassis. The chassis looks to be in good condition with only light surface rust, but how do I preserve it, do I paint it, wax oil it or do both?

I would appreciate it if anyone has some tips and can recommend some products

Discodevon · Mar 22, 2018

Hi I have been using a good quality chainsaw bar and chain oil... 5 Litre bottle into a bucket of hot water then spray it on with a compressor

dag019 · Mar 22, 2018

andy vash said:
Do I paint it, wax oil it or do both?

Combination of both. Fill the inside with dinitrol, along with all other cavities (doors, bulkhead etc). Then my preference for the outside it to clean, prime and paint, rather than wax. I am just beginning to look into what paint to use as it is on my list for this summer. Both of mine are gavlised but no loner new so would benefit from some extra protection.

mojo247 · Mar 22, 2018

i've heard this stuff is meant to be good> http://www.buzzweld.co.uk/

K14 · Mar 22, 2018

I would clean the chassis, and waxoyl it ( inside and out ). The problem with paint is the rust can creep under it.

dag019 · Mar 22, 2018

K14 said:
I would clean the chassis, and waxoyl it ( inside and out ). The problem with paint is the rust can creep under it.

That is where the primer is important, if you use a rust neutralising primer it should prevent or at least limit this. I am currently looking into corroless paints which are apparently used by on ocean oil rigs so should be good stuff.
Corroless is also reported on other forums to be used by buzzweld who just re-brand and mark the price up. I however have not looked into this and at this point is just internet hear-say.

mojo247 · Mar 22, 2018

it can if it is not cleaned properly!

use a flapping wheel or propoer wire brush to remove rust before priming and don't use rotating wire brushes as this just polishes the rust!

also use an acid etching primer before painting

Turboman · Mar 22, 2018

K14 said:
I would clean the chassis, and waxoyl it ( inside and out ). The problem with paint is the rust can creep under it.

It won't do that if you prep the chassis properly, and use a quality primer.

K14 · Mar 22, 2018

To do a proper paint job on a chassis would take forever, which is fine if you have the time. The good thing with waxoyl is you can give the chassis a clean, mask up brake discs etc, then spray it everywhere

mojo247 · Mar 22, 2018

and paint with a 1" or 2" brush to make sure you get in all the pits!

Turboman · Mar 22, 2018

K14 said:
To do a proper paint job on a chassis would take forever, which is fine if you have the time. The good thing with waxoyl is you can give the chassis a clean, mask up brake discs etc, then spray it everywhere

It doesn't take that long if you are good at it. All sort of things get painted, boats, Oil rigs, steel bridges.
They never use waxoyl to do this.
I sometimes use Dinitrol inside a chassis, or other box sections.
But I never use it outside, the sticky mess when you are working on the vehicle later is horrible, gets in your hair, and all over your boiler suit.

dag019 · Mar 22, 2018

K14 said:
To do a proper paint job on a chassis would take forever, which is fine if you have the time. The good thing with waxoyl is you can give the chassis a clean, mask up brake discs etc, then spray it everywhere

And then you cover yourself and all of your tools in it every time you need to do any work on the underside, which with a land rover is often. Also if you want an unpleasant job try welding through waxoil.

Turboman · Mar 22, 2018

dag019 said:
And then you cover yourself and all of your tools in it every time you need to do any work on the underside, which with a land rover is often. Also if you want an unpleasant job try welding through waxoil.

Also, to get decent application of Waxoyl requires the same amount of prep as paint.

Attention to prep is everything, applying the actual coating is the easy bit.

dag019 · Mar 22, 2018

Turboman said:
Also, to get decent application of Waxoyl requires the same amount of prep as paint.
Attention to prep is everything, applying the actual coating is the easy bit.

I would second this, what ever you use, paint, wax, old engine oil etc it is the cleaning, washing, drying, de-greasing and removal/treatment of existing rust that will determine the effectiveness of of the treatment far more than the final coating.
I would also say that Wax is not as durable as paint, especially if the right paint is chosen. In constant spray and mud spatter the wax will soon wear thin.

Turboman · Mar 22, 2018

dag019 said:
I would second this, what ever you use, paint, wax, old engine oil etc it is the cleaning, washing, drying, de-greasing and removal/treatment of existing rust that will determine the effectiveness of of the treatment far more than the final coating.
I would also say that Wax is not as durable as paint, especially if the right paint is chosen. In constant spray and mud spatter the wax will soon wear thin.

I don't think it is either. And it isn't cheap. Quality paint is not too bad bought in bulk.
Would cost a lot to do a whole boat with Waxoyl, and it would come off all over the place.

dag019 · Mar 22, 2018

When compared to the cost of a replacement chassis you have to buy some very expensive paint for it to be too expensive.

Jimsky Korsokov · Mar 22, 2018

My main concern was the inside of the chassis and knowing what to use there. The rear cross member of mine rotted from the inside out - looked beautiful and perfect from the outside until the day it all fell away. I was confused by the Dinitrol products, what to use where and when, but finally reconciled that after a very thorough clean you should use Dinitrol RC900 rust converter first (don't try to spray in RC800 - its latex based - great for bush on but spraying just leads to a big mess and no doubt very poor coverage inside). After rust conversion then drop in some good cavity wax such as Dinitrol ML or if a cheapskate like me with a compressor and underseal gun - load it out with Waxoyl. The outside is easy - what you do is what you get - Dinitrol have some lovely stuff for that too which is not sticky.

Turboman · Mar 22, 2018

Jimsky Korsokov said:
My main concern was the inside of the chassis and knowing what to use there. The rear cross member of mine rotted from the inside out - looked beautiful and perfect from the outside until the day it all fell away. I was confused by the Dinitrol products, what to use where and when, but finally reconciled that after a very thorough clean you should use Dinitrol RC900 rust converter first (don't try to spray in RC800 - its latex based - great for bush on but spraying just leads to a big mess and no doubt very poor coverage inside). After rust conversion then drop in some good cavity wax such as Dinitrol ML or if a cheapskate like me with a compressor and underseal gun - load it out with Waxoyl. The outside is easy - what you do is what you get - Dinitrol have some lovely stuff for that too which is not sticky.

I just sprayed in loads of cavity wax, think it was ML3185, not just into the chassis, into the door pillars, after removing the doors, and into the open insides of the outriggers, everywhere.
Then I stripped down the outside with a wire wheel, washed it off thoroughly, and painted it with Corroless and black topcoat.
Seems to have worked well, chassis has required no welding in 7 years.

The main thing to remember is that there are no miracle cures. If the rust has really got into the chassis, to the point of substantial metal loss, no amount of coatings can bring the metal back. Surface rust can be treated with coatings, structural rust will need replacement, either of parts, like outriggers or chassis legs, or of the whole chassis.

Broke Again · Mar 22, 2018

Have a look at bilt hamber products very very good and reasonable price

K14 · Mar 24, 2018

dag019 said:
And then you cover yourself and all of your tools in it every time you need to do any work on the underside, which with a land rover is often. Also if you want an unpleasant job try welding through waxoil.

why would I weld through waxoyl when it is easily removed with a good scraper

Tips on Preserving a Chassis

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