How to save a chassis

[taylormj4]

Whilst replacing the fuel lines this week, I noted that the chassis has taken a turn for the worst since I was last under there. Around a half of the paint has now flaked off leaving a reasonable surface rust where exposed.

The outrigger areas have previously been rubbed down and covered with "heavy grease" on the recommendation of the local garage that carried out the work. It was their trusted old school technique.

I had previously tried paint but this didn't last at all well.

As a short term measure, I have removed all of the flaking paint that I could by scraping with a screwdriver until firmly attached paint found and then covered all exposed areas with a liberal coating of waxoil.

The worst areas were the triangular body mount sections at the ends of the chassis pole that crosses through the centre of the car. The ends of the poles, where they go over the triangular plates have heavy surface corrosion and metal visibly came away with the flaked paint. Still solid underneath but thickness must have been reduced. These were waxoiled as best I could get at them but it's not looking good there.

The TVR is a daily driver and I don't have a garage so a body off / body lift full chassis refurb over the winter is out of the question really.

Any ideas on how I can save my chassis chaps ?
I've been looking at Dinitrol's rust killer and waxes, which are seemingly leagues ahead of waxoil and more penetrating but I suspect it may be too late for some of these now and difficult to get them into the crevices over those triangular sections effectively ?

[spongy]

for mine bud i am going to sand all the loose stuff off,after cleaning all the wax oil off with thinners.once i am happy all the bad stuff has gone i am going to treat all the bare areas with por 15 rust paint.the next step will be to tie coat all the rest,gently sand down till smooth and then apply top coat of hard nose white.I am going to dimantle the rear end and rebuild the suspension and por 15 all this ,while rebushing whats needed.Will also drop the rear diff etc and put on new bushes while she's apart.This will be my winter project.....wish me luck

[SILICONEKID340HP]

I used Rust Buster two pack ,brush paint or spray ,dries rock hard .

A.C.T and Fleabay sell the product Epoxy Mastic.

This stops any debris, stones etc getting caught up ,three years on and it`s like new..
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RUSTBUSTER-EPOXY-MASTIC-...

[blitzracing]

Waxoyle is a good bet is you blast enough around the area with a compressor and spray gun- the grit basting guns work really well, as the waxoyle does not need thinning this way. It sticks to the rust well, but is of little use on top of flaking paint as it leaves a water trap below the paint. You could use a good pressure washer on the chassis first to remove as much paint as you can, but its late in the year and the chassis wont dry out as well as it does in the summer, and it does force water into all the crevices so it needs to be dry before you apply the waxoyle. Black waxolye covers a multitude of sins, and mixes well with the waxoyle black under seal. Its all really messy stuff but will do the job if you dont want to mess around with paint. If you are worried about waxoyle's creeping ability, then thin it down with with white spirit and use a paraffin spray gun first to soak everything before you put it on at full thickness.

Edited by blitzracing on Wednesday 5th October 18:58

[spongy]

i had an idea to do this but in alloy,that does the job though

[spongy]

get it painted man,its done then and will last a lot longer,you are only putting the job off.Mine has been cleaned a waxoiled all its life,the main chassis is in brilliant condition.The near side outrigger is shot,and i would guess the drivers side will be the same once removed.Im doing mine in stages so she aint off the road for twenty years

[taylormj4]

spongy said:

for mine bud i am going to sand all the loose stuff off,after cleaning all the wax oil off with thinners.once i am happy all the bad stuff has gone i am going to treat all the bare areas with por 15 rust paint.the next step will be to tie coat all the rest,gently sand down till smooth and then apply top coat of hard nose white.I am going to dimantle the rear end and rebuild the suspension and por 15 all this ,while rebushing whats needed.Will also drop the rear diff etc and put on new bushes while she's apart.This will be my winter project.....wish me luck

Hi Spongy,
I have mixed feelings about POR15 after my experience with it on my Range Rover. I painted it direct onto a really well wire-brushed chassis leg and painted it on direct (as the tin says you can) but found it cissed a lot, leaving lots of little eye holes.

On a pedal box, I used the full system (Marine clean degreaser, Metal Ready primer and then the POR 15 and it still wouldn't stick). The problem was either due to air in the paint (even though I stirred not shook as instructed) or due to not rinsing off thoroughly enough (even though I dunked all parts in a large bucket of water). When I tried a second time using running water and extremely slow stirring, it went on well and looks really tough. So I would say a good paint but needs very strict application conditions. I think it's very good for parts that you can remove like wishbones but I don't think I could get the underside of the TVR clean enough for the paint to work properly. Hence why I've been looking at Dinitrol's paints and Hydrate 80 and etch primer.

[taylormj4]

SILICONEKID340HP said:

I used Rust Buster two pack ,brush paint or spray ,dries rock hard .

A.C.T and Fleabay sell the product Epoxy Mastic.

This stops any debris, stones etc getting caught up ,three years on and it`s like new..
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RUSTBUSTER-EPOXY-MASTIC-...

I've seen your mudflap before Silicone, good idea. Was actually wondering if I could extend this idea to other areas of the car using small versions hanging down over the cross poles. If they were short enough, you wouldn't be able to see them when standing. Or how about a really long one that goes the full length of the car, kind of like a "sweep over" haircut. Seriously though, good idea.

How long has the mastic been on and have you removed any to check its working underneath?
Does it dry or is it constantly tacky like waxoil underseal ?

[taylormj4]

Incidentally, what needs to be removed / disconnected in order to be able to lift the body a little to get at the outriggers?

Presume:

Seat and seat belt bolts
Chassis to body bolts
Steering UJ
Centre console and gear lever knob

Then presumably a multitude of wiring and brake / clutch pipes etc ?

How high can the body usually be lifted ?

Do any repair / service centres offer this service ?

[Harrytsg]

taylormj4 said:

Incidentally, what needs to be removed / disconnected in order to be able to lift the body a little to get at the outriggers?

Presume:

Seat and seat belt bolts
Chassis to body bolts
Steering UJ
Centre console and gear lever knob

Then presumably a multitude of wiring and brake / clutch pipes etc ?

How high can the body usually be lifted ?

Do any repair / service centres offer this service ?

This may help,

http://www.brookbanks.net/

[m4tti]

taylormj4 said:

Hi Spongy,
I have mixed feelings about POR15 after my experience with it on my Range Rover. I painted it direct onto a really well wire-brushed chassis leg and painted it on direct (as the tin says you can) but found it cissed a lot, leaving lots of little eye holes.

On a pedal box, I used the full system (Marine clean degreaser, Metal Ready primer and then the POR 15 and it still wouldn't stick). The problem was either due to air in the paint (even though I stirred not shook as instructed) or due to not rinsing off thoroughly enough (even though I dunked all parts in a large bucket of water). When I tried a second time using running water and extremely slow stirring, it went on well and looks really tough. So I would say a good paint but needs very strict application conditions. I think it's very good for parts that you can remove like wishbones but I don't think I could get the underside of the TVR clean enough for the paint to work properly. Hence why I've been looking at Dinitrol's paints and Hydrate 80 and etch primer.

Has anyone tried the KBS system. Im contemplating using this over winter on my chassis after reading of some of the issues with POR15 application http://www.therustshop.com/shop/index.php?act=view...

[dickythediver]

Hi, I am right in the middle of doing what you are contemplating. I first got a narrow paint scraper and cleared out all the stones, tarmack and rubish between the outside of the outriggers and body then wire brushed as much as I could get to. Then blasted the whole area with compressed air to finally get rid of any dust and rubbish. I then painted on rust converter FE123 from Rustbusters. Let it set then painted with their two pack paint then finally blasted Dinitrol over everything including me and the bits of floor not covered. If it sticks to metal and paint as well as it sticks to skin and brick it will last a while. Hope this helps, I know I am probably only postponing the inevitable but we will see.

[spongy]

What a foofin can of worms,was all set on por 15will look into these other products as this is not a job i wanna do every year.the rust is very slight on the main chassis,infact the powder coat has just begun to lift in a couple of places.I would like to put a rust converter on all the bare metal first but i think this causes problems with por 15.Aint to sure about just painting over rust?would like to see it nearly gone or treated before paint.Please keep me posted on results and good paint finds
Thanks all

[taylormj4]

spongy said:

What a foofin can of worms,was all set on por 15will look into these other products as this is not a job i wanna do every year.the rust is very slight on the main chassis,infact the powder coat has just begun to lift in a couple of places.I would like to put a rust converter on all the bare metal first but i think this causes problems with por 15.Aint to sure about just painting over rust?would like to see it nearly gone or treated before paint.Please keep me posted on results and good paint finds
Thanks all

Hey Spongy,
I don't want to put you off the stuff, if it works, it's about the hardest looking coating you could imagine - like enamel. Just letting you know my findings. It's possible that the cissing I experienced is due to air getting in the paint as I said. I did only stir it, no shaking shake as instructed. However, it also tells you to decant the paint into a suitable container, not use it from the tin AND you mustn't get any on the tin lip or the can will seal shut and never ever ever open again (big warning on the tin!). So I thought I'd be clever and use a syringe to decant it. I'm wondering if when squirting the paint out of the syringe it got too frothed up in a similar way to shaking. So until I use it next time on its own on rust (no degrease or primer) I'll not be sure. Perhaps try a small tin and see how you get on ? Did I mention you need to keep it in the fridge ! lol.

[spongy]

oh bud do you ever wish you had never started something,this all started with the purchase of some renovation ramps,which in turn has led to my outriggers needing replacement.I was going to rebuild the back end but i can see this getting out off hand now;).think i may go for the kbs paint system as this looks very good,will look into it a bit more but i think this is the route to take,thanks for the imput

[Tyre Tread]

taylormj4 said:

Hey Spongy,
I don't want to put you off the stuff, if it works, it's about the hardest looking coating you could imagine - like enamel. Just letting you know my findings. It's possible that the cissing I experienced is due to air getting in the paint as I said. I did only stir it, no shaking shake as instructed. However, it also tells you to decant the paint into a suitable container, not use it from the tin AND you mustn't get any on the tin lip or the can will seal shut and never ever ever open again (big warning on the tin!). So I thought I'd be clever and use a syringe to decant it. I'm wondering if when squirting the paint out of the syringe it got too frothed up in a similar way to shaking. So until I use it next time on its own on rust (no degrease or primer) I'll not be sure. Perhaps try a small tin and see how you get on ? Did I mention you need to keep it in the fridge ! lol.

More likely that there was some contamination on the surface you were painting.

I have used quite a bit of POR15 and only suffered the fish eye effect when I hadn't fully cleaned off dirt and grease properly.

IMHO of course

[m4tti]

spongy said:

What a foofin can of worms,was all set on por 15will look into these other products as this is not a job i wanna do every year.the rust is very slight on the main chassis,infact the powder coat has just begun to lift in a couple of places.I would like to put a rust converter on all the bare metal first but i think this causes problems with por 15.Aint to sure about just painting over rust?would like to see it nearly gone or treated before paint.Please keep me posted on results and good paint finds
Thanks all

The problem is how far do you go and how much of the powder coat do you remove before painting.

[EGB]

How good is powder coat paint? I am not overly impressed. Where the Griff chassis flexes, and it does, it cracks to start the rusting. Isent a good enamel paint (Humbrol) with some flexibility a better longer lasting paint?

[spongy]

To be fair my powder coat is in very good condition from what i have seen so far,but i realise that when i go deeper more may be revealed.my issue is a few silly places around brackets etc that have bubbled and lifted.the main suspension parts seem to be worse as on these parts the powder coat is coming off in sheets.I intend to treat all the bare areas,then prime all the rest then top coat the whole lot.

[DaveV8s]

I removed loose surface rust and applied Vactan followed by Hammerite.