Tools for de-rusting the sill and outrigger tubes

[eng622]

I'm not lifting or removing the body so I realise access is very difficult. So far I have found a sharp wood chisel and a broken hacksaw blade good for breaking down rust and flaking powder coat but any thoughts on how to get at the top of the sill tubes and where they are welded to the triangular plates, guess the latter is ny on impossible. Thought about gluing a stip of abrasive paper to a strip of nitrile rubber or similar and threading over top of tube and with a laborious up down motion should get rid of the loose stuff, even if I cannot see what the result is. What have other members done?

[AntonyJ]

The main problem is when/if you manage to get on top and remove the heavier rust, how are you then going to get some paint on top?

[Pupp]

Hacksaw, file, tig welder HTH

[Pasco]

Pupp said:

Hacksaw, file, tig welder HTH

Tig welder

[TheGriffalo]

eng622 said:

I'm not lifting or removing the body so I realise access is very difficult. So far I have found a sharp wood chisel and a broken hacksaw blade good for breaking down rust and flaking powder coat but any thoughts on how to get at the top of the sill tubes and where they are welded to the triangular plates, guess the latter is ny on impossible. Thought about gluing a stip of abrasive paper to a strip of nitrile rubber or similar and threading over top of tube and with a laborious up down motion should get rid of the loose stuff, even if I cannot see what the result is. What have other members done?

Raised the body.

It is physically impossible to inspect the main rust traps with the body sitting on the triangular plates.

That said, I would imagine you can feed some Emery Tape over the top rail and use it like a shoe polishing monkey but that still won't get into the pitted areas or allow you access to the main rust traps. Having raised mine I can see exactly why they go where they do every time

Not lifting the body is always going to be a stopgap measure until you end up having to lift it to weld some new tubes in.

All IMO of course.

[griffter]

IMHO a pressure washer and a screwdriver are good for cleaning the chassis if the body stays on. If you're leaving the body on, it's nigh on impossible to guarantee getting a good coat of anything painty on the tops of the outriggers etc. Therefore (so my theory goes) don't disturb any good coating that might still be there (ie with emery paper/scrapers). A pressure washer (particularly if used after a degreaser and hot water wash) should remove dirt/waxoyl and any really loose rust. Any powder coat remaining can be safely left. A screwdriver can be used to clear out the areas where plates meet tubes. You can spray paint up up onto the inaccessible areas, but you'll need a good coat of something that creeps too - like waxoyl or equivalent. Just pump it in til it comes out everywhere.

[V8 GRF]

griffter said:

IMHO a pressure washer and a screwdriver are good for cleaning the chassis if the body stays on. snip

I'm not so sure about the use of a pressure washer, couldn't that force water under any flaking chassis covering in an unaccessable area and so leave create a potential problem for the future?

[Else]

AntonyJ said:

The main problem is when/if you manage to get on top and remove the heavier rust, how are you then going to get some paint on top?

I used a short length of 8mm copper tube and flattened one end slightly for about 2 inches then formed it around another part of the chassis so that it closely followed the diameter of the tube. Connect it to an old oil can filled with your primer and pump the paint along the top of the tube. You should see it running down either side of the tube, then just brush the rest along the parts of the tube that you can get to.
Use the same method with another piece of tube to pump primer onto the top of the triangulation plates.
I used a primer that is zinc based that can be applied directly to rust that will neutralise the rust and stop it getting any worse.
I realise that this is just a temporary measure until i have the time to lift the body but it should stop it getting any worse.

Andy

[griffter]

V8 GRF said:

griffter said:

IMHO a pressure washer and a screwdriver are good for cleaning the chassis if the body stays on. snip

I'm not so sure about the use of a pressure washer, couldn't that force water under any flaking chassis covering in an unaccessable area and so leave create a potential problem for the future?

Yes, but not significantly more so than driving through puddles I don't think. It's essential to ensure the chassis is dry before treating of course. You'd be amazed at how much dirt/gravel etc a pressure will shift from otherwise totally inaccessible places.

[Uncle Fester]

You can now buy cheap air compressors for home workshop use. Add to that cheap sand blasting attachment tools.

Make up shielding to protect the glassfibre and anything else you don't want to blast.

Should save a lot of elbow grease.

[Carquake]

I think you need a compressor with a high FAD (free air delivery) rating to run air tools such as shot blasting equipment and wrenches. Not sure a cheapie compressor would be up to it so it's worth checking the air requirements of the shot blaster before you go this route.

[eng622]

I do have a compressor and grit gun which will work for short bursts. I don't think it is a way forward however as the sand particles get everywhere, protecting the fibreglass would be very difficult and could not blast the top of the rails in any case. I'm doing it dry as it would never dry out this time of year water jetting even trying to dry with compressed air. I've almost completed one side, chassis and suspension except for the top of the tubes, for which I'm going to try grit paper glued to a rubber strip