Rustproofing a rust-prone car to use al year round?

[Jaaack]

Hi guys.

I've recently bought a new daily - it's a 99 Civic Aerodeck VTi-S. It's pretty rare (13 left on the road) so I want to preserve it as best I can while still using it all year round.

I'm going to take advantage of the dry, hot climate we're getting at the minute and do it now to avoid any moisture getting sealed in. I've heard good things about Dinitrol and POR-15 products. Waxoyl I've heard can dry out and crack, letting water in and holding it against the car which will obviously make it rust faster. I should also add that I live on top of the UK's biggest salt mine so our roads are some of the saltiest in the country in winter.

I was also thinking of adding some cavity wax in the sills, chassis legs etc to prevent it rusting from the inside out - can I get an attachment to use with my compressor to inject wax into these sections? I work in the cavity wax facility at Bentley and we use this method on the Mulsannes, sadly I can't sneak the car in so I need to get something I can use at home! Also I'll need some seam sealer to seal back over the grommets that I'll need to pop out to get into the sills etc.

So can anyone recommend a decent underseal, cavity wax and seam sealer? Along with the methods and any tips that'll help. At work we receive the bodies pre-undersealed so I've no experience in that regard, only in cavity waxing with an air/wax lance. I was going to just brush the underseal on, and use an air-powered doohickey for the cavity wax. As for prep, should be pretty simple right? Wire brush the whole underside, get any dirt off, Kurust any surface rust and then brush underseal on? It's pretty mint underneath (needs a little welding around the front jacking points) so I want to do it once and do it right, then I can drive it through several winters without worrying about what the salt's doing to it.

Is underseal the best way or should I just use old used engine oil? Seems to be a pretty popular method in Canada and they have incredibly salty roads compared to here, and it seems to work wonders! Would also be a good cavity wax solution as it's not very viscous so should spray pretty nicely and give a good coating.

Cheers!

[MJK 24]

Bilt Hamber Dynax S50 for inside cavities and box sections.

Bilt Hamber Dynax UB for the floor pan and inside wheel arches etc.

[M3333]

I have the same issue. I bought an old motorhome, 1996 swift. It has never been welded and is solid as new underneath but rust is starting to break out on a few surfaces.

So far i have wire brushes and exposed as much of the surface that shows corrosion and applied a rust convertor from toolstation called rustins. Then i have added a POR15 paint. Then gone over that with a white stonechip in the arches etc. I have got as much of the convertor in cavaties etc and then applied dynax S-50.

It wont be used in the salt but i am hoping it at least stops the rust becoming more serious

[daveenty]

MJK 24 said:

Bilt Hamber Dynax S50 for inside cavities and box sections.

Bilt Hamber Dynax UB for the floor pan and inside wheel arches etc.

I used both these products on my old 190E after doing lots of research and was highly impressed. They have now been on a few months and, whilst not drying out completely, they have cured yet are still soft to the touch and apparently "self heal" so if a stone chip does damage the finish it's supposed to repair itself. I've not however tested this property yet so can't confirm it.

They come in large aerosols with a "wand" which has a 4 way nozzle, so spraying inside the chassis is simple and the stuff goes on very thinly so gets absolutely everywhere.

As for the grommets, I just bought new ones for my chassis access points, so no need for a sealant as the S50 will make sure they stick back.

It ends up looking quite reasonable as well: -

[jagnet]

MJK 24 said:

Bilt Hamber Dynax S50 for inside cavities and box sections.

Bilt Hamber Dynax UB for the floor pan and inside wheel arches etc.

BH products really are the business when it comes to rustproofing.

If I may also add to those two:

Ferrosol: for door hinges, bonnet catches, nuts and bolt heads, brake pipe unions, electrical connections, etc. Plus 1001 other uses.

Hydrate 80: for converting existing rust and leaving a tough protective coating which can be painted or coated with Dynax UB or S50.

I regularly use both of those in day to day maintenance and rust prevention, but also have Deox C / Gel, Electrox, Etchweld and Epoxy paint to hand for when I've taken things apart for other work. The Dynax UC is also handy to have as is the auto-balm wax if your bodywork paint is less than perfect.

[SlimJim16v]

I've been doing this on my RAV4, got some Bilt Hamber 80 stuff. Looking at the paints available, like POR15, most of them need the surface to be properly prepared and/or primered. I'm too lazy for that, found one by Buzzweld that can go straight on rust, bare metal or paint.

[Dabooka]

MJK 24 said:

Bilt Hamber Dynax S50 for inside cavities and box sections.

Bilt Hamber Dynax UB for the floor pan and inside wheel arches etc.

Thanks for the tip.

The aerosols for the S50 are 750ml, any idea of the coverage I could get? Looking at inside the sills in particular

TIA