whipped the rear wheel off the Acad during the week & started cleaning 28 years of mud from the wheel arch & surrounding areas... Touch wood all seems to be in good condition. It's clearly had no other protection than that applied at the factory - we all know how Acads love to rust & if they were used the rust proofer as sparingly on other vans as they did on this one i'm surprised that any have survived - i've never a vehicle with so many rust traps built-in!

I've brushed of all the loose mud & dust & with it came some of the 'underseal' stuff. Investigating further reveals that it's very dry & in some places quite flakey. I've started scraping it off & now i don't know whether to carry on with what will prove to be a massively time consuming job, or just concentrate on the loose bits? Underneath the underseal is the factory black. The chassis is also coated very lightly in the stuff - underneath appears to be a red oxide primer. The fuel tank also needs some kind of paint & rust proofer. The swing arm was mostly bare metal! I'm using Dynax wax for all the crevices & box sections.

so what i'd like to know is - what's the best way to approach it with longevity in mind. I know some people would say stop fannying around & use it! I just think it's stupid letting something which is pretty sound & has vitually no protection & leaving it to rot. It's got to be better to look after something than to ignore it & be faced with a big bill for welding work a few years down the line - prevention's better than cure! What should i use on the arms? I was thinking chassis black paint? What about the bits that are no bare metal around the bump stops? If i paint that should i stone chip over the top to give it more protection or is that just going to mask any problems? What about the chassis? just dynax over the top? obviously i'll be pumping it in internally.Any ideas gratefully received!

it's a mission how far do you go???

i think on mine as i have the body of the chassis and replaced most of the bottom of the car i'm cleaning and sealing every join and seam with a heavy mastik then i'll spray shotzz under body sealer paint all underneath

on the axles and running gear (after shotblasting) i just put hamerite black on it ya need at least 3 coats tho 2 coats is not enough

How about using POR 15 ?? Heard it has good rust protection properties.

You have done well for 28 years so put the mud back on and you'll be right for the next 28 years

Don't. I have seen POR 15 for some years now. It looks very good but it is to stiff and will flake off in small bits. Once the POR 15 is broken water is finding its way in underneath rusting the metal
Nothing beats oil. Look underneath the chassis on old cars with leaking engines. Chassis all the way down to the spring pots has no rust at all.

Yes, i've heard mix reviews about POR 15; some rave about it & others say it's overrated.

What i want to know is what the best plan of attack for protecting the chassis, as it stands there's virtually no protection.

Shall i continue scraping the underseal off from under the rear arches? If so what shall i treat the surface rust with? Then what shall i use to give it a durable, protective rust proof coating?

With the suspension arms - would 'chassis black' paint suffice & then waxoyl or similar over the top? I know Harry mentioned he used Hammerite on his, but i've never really got on with it.

cheers

this stuff is good

http://www.morrislubricantsonline.co.uk ... sp?sku=WAX

Do you use it on your hair Graham?

Did you get the message about the bench seat?

P

Now if I used it on my hair it wouldn't be rusty would it

yes I got the message ta