Outrigger treatment

[Danblez]

I have recently treated my outriggers which were in surprisingly good condition with most of the original silver powder coat present. What I found more than a bit surprising was the amount of debris which collects particularly on the front section behind the front wheel and the section behind the rear wheel which I imagine are always the first places to go.

I firmly believe that a decent chassis service yearly, which wouldn't cost a massive amount, including cleaning out of the traps and treating with your preferred coating would mean that the outriggers would probably last for many many more years than they have in a lot of cases. I also believe even if they had been galvanized that if the salty damp debris was left between the outriggers and the body for years this would have been breached also.

I am hopeful that if I keep on top of the yearly clean and treat that I have many years before the original outriggers will need replacement.

So not to worry everyone too much but get out there, get your car jacked up and get some poking and cleaning done.

Here are my preferred weapons of choice

Cleaning
These are really useful for getting in to all the nooks and crannies.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6pc-Extra-Long-Hook-And-...



If you have a compressor then you need one of these. Amazing how much more rubbish is blown out!
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/171221181403?_trksid=p20...

Wire brushes of your choice, to get what ever you can with your drill or angle grinder. Also a decent stiff hand wire brush.

A quick rinse with water and leave to dry and then get out your preferred rust treatments.

Personally I am a massive fan of Bilt Hamber stuff so first off is a couple of coats of Hydrate 80. Its like Kurust only much much better.

http://www.bilthamber.com/hydrate-80

Now you can't get to all the nooks and crannies with this so I have been experimenting with Dintrol RC900. It is weird stuff, quite thin and is epoxy based, only time will tell how good it is. Make sure you get the extension lance with it and you can easily get at the seat belt mounts etc.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/321235530972?_trksid=p20...

Next a top coat, it has to be POR-15 for me. I went with chassis black as the normal stuff is UV sensitive and so would need an additional top coat.
http://www.por15.com/

Finally a decent wax, loads to choose and for me a very close call between Dinitrol and Dynax but the Dynax UB eventually won out.

http://www.bilthamber.com/cavity-waxes

All of this isn't cheap but if your chassis is in decent condition I am sure it will save money in the long run!

Edited by Danblez on Friday 27th March 14:59

Edited by Danblez on Friday 27th March 15:01

[MSamps]

I have just bought my first Chimaera and the chassis is solid, just a small bit of surface rust on the bottom rails which can be dealt with soon.

Some good stuff you listed with the poducts. I agree with the regular cleaning and treating, the chassis shouldn't really be a problem if kept on top of.

I have found an older thread which may be of use to others as well
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?f=8&a...

[Mark_S_24]

I'm sure there was a thread on here about making "Mudguards" to cover these gaps so there should be no need to clean them out every year.

If I had gone to the effort off refurbishing the chassis that's what I'd be doing.

Mark

[67Fox]

Danblez

Nice write up.
I have also just bought my first TVR!! So this could be a worth while investment.
Thanks for sharing.