Alfred's First Winter Outside

[PhilipW1039]

Hello all, my first winter with Alfred, my Traveller, outside and I'm looking for tips to look after the bodywork and chrome.

He's now watertight and the underneath is well protected. I refurbished the wood in June. But what about caring for the chrome and paintwork? Just polish for the paint and some Vaseline for the chrome, or are there other ways?

As always, any tips gratefully received.

[NETTIE]

Wax wax and more wax Philip i sprayed clear wax behind my bumpers under the valances
any crack and crevice i could find had a few coats and the bodywork had a few coats if a good quality wax .

[svenedin]

I saw your car in another thread. Very nice indeed. Does he absolutely have to live outside? I regard Travellers like my Convertible. Not really long term sustainable outside.

Aslo impressed you bucked the trend and your car is called Alfred. Mine is Xavier and has been since I got him in 1990. I am not as advanced as "gender neutral" though Xavier is definitely a boy car.

[PhilipW1039]

Gender what??!! I hope we don't get any of that nonsense in this forum....

It's funny, because when I first bought it I said to the wife that it should have a boy's name because girls are more trouble, but actually Alfred has caused me more than a few headaches! Partly through keeping him outside so yes, I know you're right, but I don't have a choice. No garage you see, so it was either outside or no classic car.

[PhilipW1039]

Wax wax and more wax Philip i sprayed clear wax behind my bumpers under the valances
any crack and crevice i could find had a few coats and the bodywork had a few coats if a good quality wax .

Cheers Nettie. I'll keep up the Autoglym then but will pay more attention to the area's you mention, thanks very much indeed.

[ManyMinors]

I have always kept my Minors outside. Our convertible hasn't suffered from long-term outdoor living but, when we had a Traveller I don't think the outdoors was an ideal home. The wood frame and dampness were not an ideal combination really
You're doing all you can though. Keep the car clean and well protected as best you can and keep coating the timber frame. The dampness still gets into all the joints and gaps unfortunately but you can slow down the deterioration somewhat.

[PhilipW1039]

Thank you and yes, I agree. Having owned him for a while I wish I'd held out for a 4 door saloon. Though, to be fair, the Cuprinol and Sikkens are doing a cracking job, plus I trimmed all gaps with Sikaflex. But ultimately you're right and nothing really evaporates at this time of year. Thanks for the input.

[James k]

I often wonder how long it used to take brand new Travellers to become a rotten mess. Most of them would have lived outside, I imagine.

[ManyMinors]

I remember seeing some very tatty Travellers with moss growing along the window channels once they were about 6 - 7 years old. My first Traveller was about 10 years old when I bought it and it was considered almost scrap. People at work couldn't understand why I'd bought such an "old banger".

[TDV102]

My 55 two door called Tommy lived outside, including the horrendous winter of 81/82. Still started every time at -20c. Most days it then jump started my Dad's three year old Ford Escort. Weather did no damage - just salty roads.

[James k]

My Traveller had new wood less than a year ago and it's already blackening around the joints despite keeping them filled. I do wonder how long I should expect to get out of it.

[PhilipW1039]

What was the wood treated/coated with James?

[James k]

What was the wood treated/coated with James?

Cuprinol 5-star followed by Burgess Wood Sealer then Burgess Top Gloss. I gave it another couple of coats of top gloss in the summer. The gaps in the wood opened up pretty much immediately and I have been keeping them filled with Captian Tolleys.

[ManyMinors]

I used those Burgess materials on my Traveller many years ago. Aren't they water based? The finish looked really good and I was very pleased with the appearance to begin with but it didn't last very long and I recoated the frame - having rubbed it all down again - with Sikkens Masterstroke, which lasted better. I have also heard of owners using Osmo oil with good results but haven't tried that myself.

[svenedin]

I have never used Osmo on a Traveller but I have used it for years on my garden furniture and it is excellent. My garden furniture is teak, lives outside all year and is over 20 years old. Every Spring I give it a rub down and another coat of Osmo.

[dudload]

big thumbs up for Osmo here. my traveller lives outside (albeit under cover) all year, has done for 8 years and there's only a couple of very small black spots, with none around the joints.

i do re-coat every summer and try and not ever get it directly wet - not so easy, but do-able in London given it doesn't really rain that often!

[PhilipW1039]

It's difficult to compare different finishes with other wood as all woods have different characteristics and, ironically, ash isn't the best for outside use. Let's be honest; we'd probably use oak if we could!

I did mine this year with the old Sikkens HLS undercoat and Sikkens Filter 7 overcoat. Still looks lovely so far, even being outside in the rain. A little colouring here and there adds character I think, as long as it isn't actually damp of course! I also finished all gaps with Sikaflex though to deter standing, hidden water as much as possible.

[Lordwoody]

My traveller, have lived outside for 55yr, wax polish use regularly and keep it clean. He is called Woody, definitely a boy I can tell buy the way he chases lady Moggys and can often be seen in pub car parks.
His wood is getting a little rot in places so for his 55th birthday he will be getting two new window rails and two new rear corner posts.

[myoldjalopy]

55 years - wow, that's good going! I had a traveller kept outdoors back in the 80's, soon had fungi growing on the wood, moss in the window channels and before long the back doors fell off. Then it failed the MOT on multiple rust issues and had to be scrapped I did save the engine though which came in handy later. Of course, in those days I didn't look after it so well as you could always find another Minor for sale locally, which I did (a saloon). Not the case now, unfortunately.......

[philipkearney]

A 1968 car that as lived outside all its life ? Would be great to see some pictures of it. You must have looked after it well.