Mr Whippy
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| posted on 27/12/19 at 10:16 AM |
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Rust proofing the tin top before it’s rusty…
So I have one of these VW Up’s <-- there it is in the pic, had it over a year now and honestly just delighted with it what great car  . It’s on
finance for 5 years no final payment and just £140 a month so really very cheap  and I intend to keep the car till the end of its life whenever that
will be or we can no longer buy petrol  and then I convert it into an EV
Now it is thoroughly washed weekly, polished…a lot and stored overnight every night in a garage so all that helps but I’ve been itching to rust proof
the underside, suspension etc but as it’s under finance with VW I’m not sure I should do this, they do seem to say not to modify the car (tbh I would
not get finance again through a dealer but my bank instead because of this).
It’s just I do not want to wait 5 years to end up having to sort rust out rather than just preventing it happening by acting now. I do all the
servicing of the car myself as it’s out of warranty so VW should never see the car again. What do you think, is it too risky to underseal the car now
or should I pray and wait till I own the car? So far there is a few spots of rust forming on a few locations on the suspension (bottom of the dampers,
backplates etc and these will be cleaned and painted in the summer. There's no signs of any rust so far on the underside of the bodyshell.
Rather than my usual Waxoyl (I am a bit of an underseal maniac) I had been thinking of using plastikote truck bed liner spray as that seems to have
great reviews and looks nicer...
[Edited on 27/12/19 by Mr Whippy]
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r1_pete
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| posted on 27/12/19 at 10:42 AM |
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Take a look at the Bilt Hamber products, they do cavity wax, hard wax etc.
Getting bed liner to adhere properly may be a challenge, and poor adhesion is worse than no paint at all, as it will draw moisture in and keep it
there.
I prefer the soft waxy water repellents, they need topping up but they do penetrate seams well, and work their way into the areas prone to moisture
retention.
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 27/12/19 at 10:45 AM |
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Cheers, I'll look into them thanks
Still not sure if i should though...
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r1_pete
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| posted on 27/12/19 at 10:56 AM |
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I don’t see why not, you are not modifying it, you are protecting and preserving it.
Sounds like you have no intention of selling, or any other reason the finance company should even consider looking at the car, in the event of an
accident, would the insurer consider rust prevention a mod? I think not... Glue some chavtastic wheel arches, an upturned oil sump bonnet bulge, and a
soil pipe tailpipe and they might have something to say
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cliftyhanger
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| posted on 27/12/19 at 11:14 AM |
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On my spitfire (car!) I used dinitrol products when I built it.
used a very thin MIL wax in cavities and seams etc. It is almost like WD40 but soaks into a rusty surface (inside box sections etc) and seems to
stay there from having had to carry out a recent accident repair.
For the wheel arches and areas likely to get hit by stones etc I used their hard wax. It dries almost as hard as underseal, but unlike underseal it
doesn't lift/split or whatever, and after 5 years and many miles including fast european trips in the pouring rain is still intact. I was
expecting to reapply every year, but not needed yet. Other advantage is it will be much easier to remove than underseal. Be good for vulnerable
suspension components.
Similir to Bilt Hamber and no doubt others. Waxoyl is hopeless in comparison.
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sdh2903
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| posted on 27/12/19 at 01:20 PM |
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I use this stuff. Brilliant to use. I wouldn't even hesitate regarding the finance issue. Especially as your not handing it back.
https://www.u-pol.com/uk/en-uk/product/upol/coatings-uk/specialist-coatings/gravitex-plus-hs-stone-chip-protector#.XgYEnLfLedM
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 27/12/19 at 03:09 PM |
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Cheers for the replies and all the product suggestions, yeah maybe truck bed liner is not the best choice. I might be happier using some coating that
is grey as that is the colour of the underside anyway and the running gear is black so dinitrol may be best for that. Brush on would be preferred to
limit mess and over-spray as I don't want to start pulling it apart.
Ok I'll treat the underside and if VW ever does say anything I'll just tell them it wasn't protected enough in the first place...
Thanks
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snapper
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| posted on 28/12/19 at 06:22 AM |
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The main problem of rust is moisture not draining out of enclosed spaces, cars tend to rust from the inside out.
Yes you’ll get surface rust on the underside but that’s cosmetic, most cars rust at the bottom of doors, wheel arch lips, headlight recess in the
wings, box sections of the chassis etc, so wax oil or equivalent but don’t block any drain holes.
I eat to survive
I drink to forget
I breath to pi55 my ex wife off (and now my ex partner)
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 30/12/19 at 09:43 AM |
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Unfortunately VW group seem to like plugging up all the traditional open holes on the underside, on my little car there are no less that 62 rubber
plugs down there! I can see no open sill drain holes at all...
The artical below is a good summary of the issue and sills full of water is a very common problem, I have put holes in the centre of some of the
easier reached ones with a soldering iron
Linky
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Charlie_Zetec
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| posted on 30/12/19 at 04:32 PM |
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In "Land Rover world" Buzzweld products seems to be a big hit. Not had any personal dealings with the other than speaking to Craig (the
guy who owns the company), but found him incredibly knowledgeable. Plenty of products to choose from, all with different properties/characteristics.
Worth a look, as i know he responds pretty sharpish on his Facebook page....
Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity!
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ken555
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| posted on 30/12/19 at 07:07 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy I have put holes in the centre of some of the easier reached ones with a soldering iron
Look for some "witches hat grommet" the right size. Normally used for wiring, but great for this.
They are like funnels lets the water out, but not in.
Can be milked like a cow if they block.
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steve m
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| posted on 30/12/19 at 10:29 PM |
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Do you really think that your Vw is going to rust away ?
Its more likely to show more to the gallon than your actually getting
Modern cars do not rust like the ones we had in the early 60's, 70's-80's, they would rust just leaving them outside in summer
steve
Thats was probably spelt wrong, or had some grammer, that the "grammer police have to have a moan at
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StrikerChris
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| posted on 31/12/19 at 02:50 PM |
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I doused my 1985 maestro in rocal Z30, got afew gallon I brushed on, and about a dozen tins I sprayed into every hole, panel gap etc I could find (of
which there are many!) still solid as it probably was 10 years on.
Not that I'd like to have to pay for the stuff, was a perk of the job I was in at the time.
Chris
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Benzine
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| posted on 31/12/19 at 10:07 PM |
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I love how often I get stuck behind a VW Up. It's an underpowered granny shopper. In an era where non exotic/special edition IC cars will be
worthless in no time, it holds no chance of being worth more than a packet of Werther's Originals in 10 years. Any investment in it will be cash
down the drain. Have you considered driving it straight to the scrapyard?
[Edited on 31-12-2019 by Benzine]
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 31/12/19 at 10:52 PM |
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lol someones grumpy...cheer up its almost the new year
I look at a cars purpose more than anything, I have a 35 mile daily round trip to work and about the same over the weekend with the kid taxi run,
which is mostly in the city so the up is ideal. Yeah I can't claim its powerful it has only 60bhp but I do get amazing fuel economy and
that's what matters to me. As for future value, that's irrelevant as I ain't selling it and keeping it going just means I
don't have to replace it, which would cost me lots of money...I want at least 20 years use out this thing!
Whilst I agree cars don't rust as bad as they did before they certainly still rust for sure, my volvo's seem to be holding up well but the
family toyota's have been a complete disaster, four of them in a row taken to the scrappers due to rusted out undersides (Rav4, Almera Corolla
& Avensis). The Fiesta needed a lot of work but it's sorted now but just hides in the garage.
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joneh
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| posted on 1/1/20 at 12:13 AM |
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I'd save your money. I've a 2004 polo with no sign of rust (other than exhaust back box). I live right on the coast. I don't think
you've got anything to worry about on it.
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Benzine
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| posted on 1/1/20 at 12:43 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy
lol someones grumpy...cheer up its almost the new year
As for future value, that's irrelevant as I ain't selling it and keeping it going just means I don't have to replace it, which would
cost me lots of money...I want at least 20 years use out this thing!
Can't argue with the grumpy bit
So why didn't you buy something second hand and save a tonne of cash? You said you weren't selling loads of previous cars! If
you're still driving a VW Up 20 years from now I'll eat my trousers (which happen to be made of pasta)
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 1/1/20 at 02:20 AM |
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oh it was, 3 years old at 16k miles one owner bought through the Aberdeen VW dealer which they'd originally sold it and had done all the
servicing. I decided to start with a clean slate and look after it rather than the usual fixing other peoples messes with an older car... My last VW
was built in 1974 but it did need some welding however its still going
[Edited on 1/1/20 by Mr Whippy]
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