painting the chassis: under seal or hammerite?

[doddel]

I am trying to get my chassis in a better shape. First I will get all the superficial rust off with a brush on an angle grinder. Then I want to paint the chassis.

Should I use black underseal, or is it better to use paint? If paint, which brand, how many layers, etc?

thanks!

[LandyManLuke]

A wire brush wheel in an angle grinder is great for cleaning the chassis up, it works very well. worth wearing gloves and eye protection though, and a mask if you're in an enclosed space.

I paint the chassis. Red oxide, then a couple of coats of Wickes straight-to-metal paint. its not all-singing all-dancing but it's 7 quid a tin and has lasted well on my 90.

[honitonhobbit]

Smoothrite

[Corrode Finger]

Dont know if its 'best' but i used Chassis Black on my hybrid chassis during its build.

Basically cleaned all the rusty crud off, made sure the atmosphere was dry, before and after painting, to try to minimise the entrapment of moisture under tha paint.

I have heard mixed responses to Hammerite, and i have had a few iffy finishes with it, but good ones too.

Chassis Black is about £35 for 5 litres from a paint factors.

[FridgeFreezer]

I am currently loving Zinc Phosphate primer, auto paint factors sell it. You'll need to thin it otherwise it can go a bit like treacle when you try to paint it on

[dirtydiesel]

I've found hammerite to be a bit brittle, tends to chip off.

I've used crown exterior gloss and found it ok

[mmgemini]

As Luke says. Wicks straight to metal paint.

mike

[LandyManLuke]

You said it originally Mike, i just took your advice

[Les Henson]

Rubberised stone chip paint is incredibly tough. No primer - just grease free metalwork with loose/flaky paint rust removed. No thinners needed either and it can be put on with a shutz gun. I test painted a bit of metal and then walloped it with a hammer once it had dried and it just made a small mark.

Les.

[Gazzar]

I've found hammerite to be a bit brittle, tends to chip off.

I've used crown exterior gloss and found it ok

The thnig to remember is that land rover chassis flex under normal use - so any paint that sets rock hard (like hammerite) will not provide lasting protection. Even worse it will crack, allow water behind it, which causes sheets of rust to form behind the paint. NOT nice.

I recommend that if you can't galvanise the chassis then paint it with a zinc rich primer - Galfroid is my favourate - then top coat with a quailty domestic oil based exterior gloss paint - Dulux or similar. Two coats of each. Follow up with a a waxoil layer painted on the outside, and sprayed heavily on the inside. If the chassis is rusty then add 1/3 new engine oil to the waxoil for the inside - allows the oil to soak into the rust, rather than the wax to sit on the rust.

Horrid job, which I'm doing at the moment, but worth it.

Good luck - what you are doing will prolong the life of the cahssis indefinately.

[doddel]

I recommend that if you can't galvanise the chassis then paint it with a zinc rich primer - Galfroid is my favourate -

I thought you can only apply a zinc primer on bare metal? I am not going to strip the chassis to bare metal

I also bought a can of waxoyl (and a gun) to treat the bulkhead, doors and chassis. Problem is, I live in a flat with chared offroad parking Maybe not a good idea to start playing with waxoyl there... If anybody knows of a place in or around Liverpool where I can do the waxoyl treatment, please let me know

[mmgemini]

You said it originally Mike, i just took your advice

Really...Did I.....

Well the rear military bumperetts that I painted four years ago need repainting.... That was Wicks.......

They can wait until I get home next March.

mike

[02GF74]

I also bought a can of waxoyl (and a gun) to treat the bulkhead, doors and chassis. Problem is, I live in a flat with chared offroad parking Maybe not a good idea to start playing with waxoyl there... If anybody knows of a place in or around Liverpool where I can do the waxoyl treatment, please let me know

HFH is yer man for all waxoyl cat related queries.

[doddel]

HFH is yer man for all waxoyl cat related queries.

and what/who is HFH???

[V8CAMEL]

start an argument mode on

klentex

end start an argument mode

[Lewis]

start an argument mode on

klentex

end start an argument mode

Ermintrude?

[02GF74]

and what/who is HFH???

HFH

you're new here aren't you? someone will direct you to the post in question (warning: make sure you have been to the toilet before you start reading).

[q-rover]

KleenCrap

Hammer****e

Make your own mind up...

Ref using a wire brush on the angle grinder.

Be aware that this tends to polish steel if you get that far so it doesn't make a good

surface for new paint/ protection to stick to.

Make sure you 'roughen' the clean steel surface before you paint.

[Les Henson]

Ermintrude?

Les

[bill van snorkle]

Some of the rustiest vehicles I hae ever worked on have been ex British army lightweights and 101's with that horrible thick, hard black coating all over them. Is that what you folk call Hammerite? or is it underseal ? Whatever its name it seems useless at inhibiting chassis rot.We use a substance called fish oil over here. It smells fishy and all the neighborhood cats hang around the vehicle for months untill the smell wears off, but it is a well proven treatment. After all when was the last time you saw a rusty fish?

Bill.

[q-rover]

I think it is underseal.

It is OK to use on brand new vehicles with a clean chassis, but can accelerate

rusting if improperly applied to an older vehicle that is starting to rust.

I prefer to use oil based rust proofing as it tends not to dry out like waxoil.

It also has a good creeping effect.

But don't use old engine oil as this is too thin and is acidic so again can accellerate rusting.

I use products from Nopava.

[mike4444244]

hi

I went with galvafroid, its really good but expensive unless you can get it free its best to back to clean metal but if you just remove the flaky stuff and give it something to stick to then it should still work.

Mike