underside protection

[2-DOOR]

Hi everyone, i have almost finished the welding to the underside of my minor. The old gunge/bodyseal etc has all been removed from underneath the arches and the the underside, i have not taken her to the bare metal, except for the places i needed to weld. For protection i had intended to sray her with several coats of red oxide followed by a few coats of black coach paint then finish off with waxoyl. Do you think this would be good enough or should i sray a few coats of stonechip on in the process?. Also, has anyone an opinion as to how good rust eater is?Thank you in anticipation. Sam.

[NZJLY]

Hi Sam, I tend not to use a rust eater - (if I did, I wouldn't have any car left ) but rather I use a rust converter (Tergo Blackguard - don’t know if it is available over there), I have used it for a few years and it seems to do the trick. It is also nontoxic which is a bonus, as I would be in trouble if I killed off the kids or the dogs
You will probably find lots of ideas, as we are all slightly different ;), but your approach sounds fine. Basically get the your metal prep and bottom coat right and you can put what you want onto it and it will be fine. Me - I am considering trying the cold galvanized paint when I get to paint the underside, you just need an underside to paint

[chickenjohn]

-snip-. For protection i had intended to sray her with several coats of red oxide followed by a few coats of black coach paint then finish off with waxoyl. Do you think this would be good enough? --snip-.

Hi Sam, looks pretty good to me!

The only thing I would suggest to add to that is after applying the red oxide primer, I would go over all the seams in the body, welds, joints etc with seam sealer (apply with gun, then brush in to the cracks). This will prevent ingress of moisture between panels. Then coach paint (or Chassis black) and waxoyl as you suggest.

I would also reccomend at least annual inspection to enable any touch up of the underside coating from stone damage and annual re-application of the waxoyl. Use a thinner waxoyl /dinitrol etc to apply inside box sections, sills chassis rails etc.

[rayofleamington]

Well done on getting your welding done

waxoyl. Use a thinner waxoyl /dinitrol etc to apply inside box sections, sills chassis rails etc.

Also make sure the box sections and sills have drain holes - most cars rot from the inside not the outside - especially Minors!

Most important areas to worry about are the window seals, and then also the door seals.

I've seen some 'done up' Minors that have a new floor put in and it gets well painted etc... Then it turns into a small lake as the water fills up. If the leaks are fixed in the first place and drain holes present and regularly cleared out, a lot of the welding can be avoided.

[chickenjohn]

Good point, Ray, I forgot that one (although I did drill some holes in the Travellers new sills for drainage).

[2-DOOR]

Hi everyone,thanks for all the help and advice.I thought i only had a little welding to do but the more parts i removed and the more rubber seal i took off the worse things got until it turned out to be a major job. hopefully when i follow the advice you have given me she will remain rot free for a good number of years.Once again many thanks. Sam.