Hey everone,

I love my car. I want to make sure its set for the future by de-rusting and protecting underneith.

It got a wheel alignment two weeks back and the garage commented on the amount of rust.

When I was 17 I bought a 1987 mini and really want to avoid a similar rust experiance.

The problem is I dont have an air gun, so am limited to paint.

Whats the best way to tackle this? I was thinking scrap/remove surface rust, put on hammerite paint but I need to protect with another layer - any suggestions?

 

FLUID FILM. I use it on my plow truck. i spray the frame every year and do all the insides of doors, rockers and where ever else I can find. Clean and paint then spray with this stuff. Will protect it but needs to be done every winter.

 

I don't have/can't have an airgun/compressor...

 

I get the "don't have", I don't get the "can't have".
Is that a licensed item in England ?

 

Oh no not at all.

I live in London so have on-street unallocated parking. 80% of the time I cant get a space outside my home.

I can afford a compressor, and I can have a powersource to use it, on the 20% occasion I get a space outside my home, but I cant use it on the street. Possibly if my street was a quiet one that would be fine, but its an extremely busy and tightly packed road.

To get around this, and so that I can use a lift to do the bits of work off the road that require substantial amount of time under there (no way in hell am I doing under-car work on that road, people will definately drive over me) I found a company that rents out lifts for a reasonable price. But, they dont allow the use of spray guns or air compressors.

In a few years I'll get a house with a garage or drive and I'll definately be getting a compressor then!!!

For now though, I must make do.

 

It comes in spray cans. Thats what I use

 

i clean it off with de rust wheel on drill ,scuff it up,80 grit,clean with alc.then i use a hard truck bed liner 2-3 coats.made by couple different companies with different textures.i also strain out the rocks if they come to rocky.used to do that on jeep wrangler hardtops,like a rhino lining,never chipped once,long as you scuff and clean well.thats the important part.good luck

 

Thanks for the reply all.

If people on here are just using a variant on undercarriage paint I'll see if I can grab some and use that!

Thanks for the tip on the spray can, will see if I can grab that or a type of that in the UK.

 

Whatever you use, make sure all the areas you treat are completely clean of any dirt, rust, debris. All these things (and more) trap moisture and when you 'coat' the undercarriage, you permit corrosion that will remain hidden until a failure at the location. This is why it is best to have any type of coating done at the factory and not at any dealerships. The transportation from the factory to the dealership you buy it at may expose the car to corrosive elements, which usually isn't completely removed upon application of an aftermarket undercoating. Just saying.

 

I heard good things about the por15 and Chassis Saver for undercarriage protection.

 

I'm going to use Carpotech RX5/RX7/RX10.
Got some left from my Alfa-Romeo days. These product were highly praised within the AR-community.
Alfa's are known for their weakness to rust, so if this stuff can keep Alfa's from rusting it sure would be enough on the Crossfire

Basically the RX5 encloses the rust to keep it from getting worse. RX7 is used as a finisher for unexposed panels (inside doors/sills) and remains flexible and protects against moisture. RX10 is used for parts exposed to the outside weather and is a hard&thick protective coating.
I will be using RX5/1010 for the winner wheel arches (collect a lot of dirt) and on the notorious door spots (trap moisture) only..
I won't paint any more surfaces since all other places of the car are fairly easy to clean. Better spot rust when it starts and is easy to repair than to cover it up and discover years later when it's too late.. (been there, done that )

I cleaned the undercarriage last week and it was still almost mint condition, despite the Dutch weather and the car being used on a daily basis. Looks like the crossfire has some decent rust protection in the wheel wells and undercarriage. Only real weak spots I found were the inner front+rear wheel arches (no coating).

I e-mailed my RX-supplier and he said it can be used over paint on non-rusting cars (so far i have no rust except the doors). If you have any exposed pieces of metal due to chipping the RX5/10 combination will seal and treat these. On places without damage the RX5/10 combo will become an extra layer of protection.