Rust proofing.
Discussion
Hello,
My MOT is due next month and whilst the chassis looks to be of sound metal, it is a little bit rusty.
Last year, I painted the rear trailing arms in Hammerite, it looks black and did the job (reasonably) at little cost and tidied the area up quickly.
But I am now at the front of the car (used weekly during summer), but want to do a better job.
Therefore, I am looking for suggestions (like Por15?), looking at ways to protect the chassis and tidy it up for the MOT so it looks like the well looked after car it is.....at some point the chassis will have to come apart, but I hope this is not this year !!
Help and advice welcome please on what to use on the chassis.
Regards,
Chris
My MOT is due next month and whilst the chassis looks to be of sound metal, it is a little bit rusty.
Last year, I painted the rear trailing arms in Hammerite, it looks black and did the job (reasonably) at little cost and tidied the area up quickly.
But I am now at the front of the car (used weekly during summer), but want to do a better job.
Therefore, I am looking for suggestions (like Por15?), looking at ways to protect the chassis and tidy it up for the MOT so it looks like the well looked after car it is.....at some point the chassis will have to come apart, but I hope this is not this year !!
Help and advice welcome please on what to use on the chassis.
Regards,
Chris
I was a fan of Hammerite - but not any more.
It's fine where you don't expect impact damage, but on car chassis, suspension etc it chips far too easily, in my view.
When I repaired my outriggers two years ago, I used POR15 - 2 coats of the paint, and then two of red topcoat. 2 years on, some of the topcoat has been chipped away by stones and gravel from the front wheels, but the base POR15 coats are completely undamaged - not a flake missing.
Earlier this year, I noticed that the front suspension wishbones (especially the bottom ones) had hardly any Hammerite left on them, they were almost completely bare. I suppose that's taken 4 years since I last repainted them, but still... So these are also now all painted in POR15, and we'll see how that goes.
It's fine where you don't expect impact damage, but on car chassis, suspension etc it chips far too easily, in my view.
When I repaired my outriggers two years ago, I used POR15 - 2 coats of the paint, and then two of red topcoat. 2 years on, some of the topcoat has been chipped away by stones and gravel from the front wheels, but the base POR15 coats are completely undamaged - not a flake missing.
Earlier this year, I noticed that the front suspension wishbones (especially the bottom ones) had hardly any Hammerite left on them, they were almost completely bare. I suppose that's taken 4 years since I last repainted them, but still... So these are also now all painted in POR15, and we'll see how that goes.
Unfortunately rust is the scurge of TVR owbership or is that electrics 
. Anyway, it's not the rust you can see that you need to worry about. Most wax oil/scultz type probucts will do a good enough job if applied regularly over solid paint. However your outriggers are gonna get ya. The best solution I found before replacing them, was to buy a spray can of wax oil with one of those straw adapters like wd40. You can then give it a good blast up around the top of the tube where fingers cant reach. Make sure you give them a good clean out with a brush first and if you can get some rust stop up there better still.
. Anyway, it's not the rust you can see that you need to worry about. Most wax oil/scultz type probucts will do a good enough job if applied regularly over solid paint. However your outriggers are gonna get ya. The best solution I found before replacing them, was to buy a spray can of wax oil with one of those straw adapters like wd40. You can then give it a good blast up around the top of the tube where fingers cant reach. Make sure you give them a good clean out with a brush first and if you can get some rust stop up there better still.I used Epoxy Mastic 121 on bits of my rear suspension. It's a 2 pack paint but is hard as nails when it's set. If you want serious protection POR15 or Mastic 121 are the way to go.
If the parts are removable then I would suggest zinc and powder coating. I had this done to my trailing arms and it should keep them protected for a good few years.
Oh and I covered everything with Dynax UB which turns rubbery and should help a lot with deflecting stones.
If the parts are removable then I would suggest zinc and powder coating. I had this done to my trailing arms and it should keep them protected for a good few years.
Oh and I covered everything with Dynax UB which turns rubbery and should help a lot with deflecting stones.
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