Chassis clean up - how?

[Gazzab]

Am thinking about sticking the cerb on axle stands over the winter and get myself underneath and giving the chassis and wishbones a good clean up. Any tips? I dont believe I have any corrosion but might as well be prepared... So assuming its all in relatively good order...
How do I remove waxoyl?
If the paint has flaked I am planning to sand/scrape/brush and then treat with something (probably smoothrite)
Is there a knack to this (for example hard to reach bits)?
Finally should I treat it with anything when all cleaned up - I dont really like waxoyl but I recall there is a professional product that is considered better...?
thanks

[portzi]

I have seen a few cerbera's during a body lift and the worst areas for rot are by the the filter located on the battery side of the chassis, l think this soaks up water like a sponge and with the heat of the manifolds creates a moist area which rots the chassis rails in this area.

Edited by portzi on Friday 23 October 23:55

[Pursyluv]

Did mine a couple of years ago and the wishbones are a right pain, but I used ready diluted TFR with a multitude of scraping tools, eventually found that a Brillo pad with TFR was as good as anything.

I remember buying a kit from somewhere which contained Kurust, Marine Clean and POR 15 (I think).
When clean, I used Kurust to clear surface rust, then POR 15, which I was not that impressed with, so eventually bought black and white Hammerite paint, mixed it to make a grey that was close to the original chassis colour.

It looked okay, but if you search the threads there are some unbelievable jobs done by owners, natben springs to mind

[Supateg]

Gazzab said:

Am thinking about sticking the cerb on axle stands over the winter and get myself underneath and giving the chassis and wishbones a good clean up. Any tips? I dont believe I have any corrosion but might as well be prepared... So assuming its all in relatively good order...
How do I remove waxoyl?
If the paint has flaked I am planning to sand/scrape/brush and then treat with something (probably smoothrite)
Is there a knack to this (for example hard to reach bits)?
Finally should I treat it with anything when all cleaned up - I dont really like waxoyl but I recall there is a professional product that is considered better...?
thanks

Waxoyl is white spirit based in my day.
Dinitrol products are considered better than waxoyl.
They do a nice rust converter and a brown underbody semi hard wax.
I restored a car five years ago an is still good.
Hth Craig

[Gazzab]

Raceproved cleaned up etc the chassis by the manifiolds when the engine was out. So that should still be in good condition.

[billybradshaw]

Gazzab said:

Am thinking about sticking the cerb on axle stands over the winter and get myself underneath and giving the chassis and wishbones a good clean up. Any tips? I dont believe I have any corrosion but might as well be prepared... So assuming its all in relatively good order...
How do I remove waxoyl?
If the paint has flaked I am planning to sand/scrape/brush and then treat with something (probably smoothrite)
Is there a knack to this (for example hard to reach bits)?
Finally should I treat it with anything when all cleaned up - I dont really like waxoyl but I recall there is a professional product that is considered better...?
thanks

You should be able to get rid of waxoyl with white spirit, paraffin, etc. For stubborn marks on good powder coat use magic sponges with all purpose cleaner (G101) they are slightly abrasive so go easy but they work very well. For treating rust then the best way is to get rid of it, twisted brushes in angle grinder are vicious but if you go carefully you'll soon have rust free metal. I'm not a fan of POR15 or Hammerite. I have tried both a number of times when restoring an old Volkswagen and was never satisfied with the outcome. I found Epoxy Mastic and will now never use anything else. You can brush this stuff on or, if you thin it a little you can spray it. I usually brush it on with a half decent brush. If appearance is important then you can quite easily sand away any drips / brush marks before it cures rock hard. That said, it's self levelling properties are pretty good. Then prime and paint in the usual way.

Some folk have suggested to me that a TVR chassis rots from the inside out. I'm not convinced but to be absolutely sure I would be tempted to use Epoxy Mastic on the outer surfaces and then pump waxoyl into the chassis tubes.

HTH

Ian

Edited by billybradshaw on Saturday 24th October 10:44

[BonkersConkers]

I'm exactly in the same boat. Car is on axle stands, I started in each wheel arch wish bones etc.. then onto the main chassis rails.

Mine was completely caked in Waxoil, red underseal then looks like a couple of coats of Hammerite.
I've been using white spirit, various brushes with Brillo pads as mentioned above.

Far play to the previous owner as the chassis powder coat on mine is in very good condition.

Take your time, plenty of cups of tea and patience needed

[portzi]

Gazzab said:

Raceproved cleaned up etc the chassis by the manifiolds when the engine was out. So that should still be in good condition.

That's great news yours is done as l have seen a couple of early cerbs around the 1996-2000 with rot in that area and it can't be seen unless you have a body lift or engine out?

[RobertoBlanco]

For us its mostly brake cleaner, old rags, sponges, brushes and brillo pads (and lots of elbow grease). Be careful not to apply too much force on the brillo pads as they tend to also scratch the powder coating.
Especially removing waxoyl is a PITA. Not very fond of smearing cavity preservation products on a chassis. This may work for some people, but clearly a mess and you cannot see if rust progresses under the layer of mike sanders' or waxoyl, which it will if it started already....

If paint locally flaked off, grind back a pit and use a good paint. We use Brantho Korrux 3 in 1 or Prosol Rostux 3-in-1 (also available as aerosol spray). Very good products also used in marine application.

[Mags]

billybradshaw said:

You should be able to get rid of waxoyl with white spirit, paraffin, etc. For stubborn marks on good powder coat use magic sponges with all purpose cleaner (G101) they are slightly abrasive so go easy but they work very well. For treating rust then the best way is to get rid of it, twisted brushes in angle grinder are vicious but if you go carefully you'll soon have rust free metal. I'm not a fan of POR15 or Hammerite. I have tried both a number of times when restoring an old Volkswagen and was never satisfied with the outcome. I found Epoxy Mastic and will now never use anything else. You can brush this stuff on or, if you thin it a little you can spray it. I usually brush it on with a half decent brush. If appearance is important then you can quite easily sand away any drips / brush marks before it cures rock hard. That said, it's self levelling properties are pretty good. Then prime and paint in the usual way.

Some folk have suggested to me that a TVR chassis rots from the inside out. I'm not convinced but to be absolutely sure I would be tempted to use Epoxy Mastic on the outer surfaces and then pump waxoyl into the chassis tubes.

HTH

Ian

Edited by billybradshaw on Saturday 24th October 10:44

WHS

I've spent 5 years restoring my VW camper and removed the majority of wax oil with a hot air gun and lots of cloth, once warmed up it wipes off my really easy and then you can remove the residue with white spirit.
I don't believe wire cups in drills are recommend as a finished surface before painting but I'm not sure where I read that.
I coated the entire underside with epoxy paint then painted stonechip, top coat and then took it to rust.co.uk for a full under seal and cavity wax. I bought the epoxy paint from the same place too. They use Dinitrol stuff.
I Have used por15 on lots of the running gear because it's much easier to spray and epoxy paint is flipping expensive!

Edited by Mags on Saturday 24th October 12:58

[a1rak]

A quick easy way to clean your chassis and get very good results is to use a quality pressure washer. Attach it to the HOT tap (turn up the stat on the hot water tank in the house to 70deg)"Hey presto" you got yourself a pretty good steam/hot water washer,add a detergent onto the pressure washer if you wish. It removes masses of waxoil, mud, oil, grease, loose paint almost instantly....Just make sure you wear a wetsuit mask and snorkel.

Disconnect the battery and don't go to near to any electrical boxes. I have done this each year for the last 4 years. It keeps all the chassis and underbody looking good. Never had a problem after doing it either. You need to let it dry in a warm garage before inspecting and touching up any damaged areas. Also re-grease or lubricate any areas that should have oil on them.

Saves hours and hours of work. Leaves no horrible smells and residues, just a very clean underbelly.

[ESDavey]

I'm sure you've seen this Wheeler Dealers Cerbra episode : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=infpfBuf_kE

[m4tti]

Don't mess about. Use this stuff. Wipe on wipe off sparkling clean. No pissing around.

[Gazzab]

Need a couple more axle stands. I have a few Land Rover wheels that I'll shove underneath for extra protection! Thanks for the advice. Just need someone to do it for me now :-)

[portzi]

And to show us PH'eders care can I recommend you wear some PPE, using powder free nitrile golves and safety googles if your using a non enviromentally freindly cleaning product, and of course some overalls . It will be nice to see some pictures on your progression and how your powdercoat has survived underneath the wax oil.

[Gazzab]

I tend to do these things naked. Normally smeared in goose fat. Suspect the degreaser might eat through the goose fat. So maybe a plan b is required.