Do any of my fellow P38 owners undercoat their 'erm...... P38?

I was thinking of doing mine, as she has 0 rust, i'd like to keep it that way.

I have Waxoyl black..

H

I paid a guy to do it on the Defender (10+ years ago) and the RR (a year ago). (Nigel Trickett. Dorset). Waxoyl wd be a waste of time IMHO it's not hard wearing/ thick enough, trouble is I'm not sure what he DID use. I use Dinitrol cavity wax in the door frames, so would probably go for their underbody wax if i was DIYing. I out-source nothing on my cars, but under-sealing is a really filthy job, even if you have a lift for the car. There's a "Before'n'After" guy who advertises in the LR magazines - fixed price

We use Dinitrol on the airplanes I work on. It works really well. Some of our airplanes are well over 60 years old and still fly most every day. I've never done a whole undercarriage on my cars, but when I have things apart I usually give them a brush (my S2A is 57 years old and still on original frame and body paint).

i do a lot off beach work and i use under car body paint ( basically its tar) on my beach vehicles . on the rover i use nothing and i don't pressure clean the frame either or use hot water under the car as these wash of the wax coating the vehicles come with

Our roads do see some salt in the winter, but nothing like beach salt/sea spray! Good luck keeping the corrosion at Bay.

When I properly repair my inner sill, I'm going to clean the underside up and spray bed liner on as an undercoating. Americans seem to love it - and if you look at what it can stand up against... its easy to see why.

The "bed liner" you mention is fairly similar to the 3M 08861 coating I have used mainly as a 'stoneguard' on sills
(If unfamilar it is a thick textured black coating: Very viscous. and so applied with special gun/compressor)

-It takes a while to cure/harden but can also be overpainted if needed after some weeks (in warm temperatures); Have also sprayed it into sill voids...
most notably the types where the manufacturers deiberately terminated the sunroof (A-pillar) drain tubes within....

Not used it on a P38 (yet) though....

Could well be - I've got a case of the Raptor branded stuff that I have yet to use, and a gun suitable for it. I think it will do a good job.

I have tried numerous different rustproofing methods on a variety of cars over the years including waxoil.

Dave's method now is:-

pressure wash the car underneath
leave it to dry out
lie underneath and wire brush/scrape the chassis and any panels ........ but only the places that are showing signs of rust or the paint is broken
pressure wash again underneath
leave it to dry out again
paint the affected areas with a phosphoric acid based rust proofer .... I currently use Kurust (made by hammerite).
reapply second coat of rustproofing as necessary (some rustproofers require washing again at this stage)
paint with black Hammerite paint .... though next time round I will probably use Rustoleum instead of Hammerite because it mixes with white spirit.

I have not done anything to the inside of the chassis, although I have on other cars. I injected Waxoil inside the chassis on an old RR classic using a lance. It was more trouble than it was worth and a lot of hassle. I am not a big fan of Waxoil. Neutralising the rust before painting is the secret.

It is a sping/summer job and should be done every year. It has kept the underneath in very good condition and the car is now 20 years old.
I have got Arnott Gen III's, so it goes up really high allowing me space to work underneath.

Dave, be careful of being under the car with the Gen 3's. I've had 2 fail now with the car idling in the driveway. It slams down pretty quickly. At least put something like jack stands under the frame rails.

Thanks Harv. I know you mean well.

I never go under the car without using axle stands if there is a wheel off, but I must admit I do go under the car when the suspension is on high.
I have confidence in the suspension and never had a problem. Maybe my confidence is misplaced though.

With all four wheels on it would drop onto the bump stops, maybe squash my fat belly first. I also never work on the air system without axle stands.

Sorry Dave, I know you're experienced on these vehicles. I've had the Arnott's fail twice now and it instantly slams down to the bump stop. Just one corner at a time though.

Personally I don't like the look of the gap between the side steps and the ground when the suspension is on the bump stops. Gilbert might get away with it* but I'm sure I wouldn't!

*the slim slip of a lad :)

a little bit of history on my rovers , i purchased a 83 classic in 1991 and had it on the west coast beaches within 24hrs . i then drove this rover until about 4 yrs ago ( i still have it )1.2 million kms later it still goes today . this vehicle has done possibly 100 000 kms on beaches and it has never been pressure washed under the car whilst in my possession. i only ever used the garden hose and a good flood of water to remove the sand and mud . the reason for this is the wax dip it received on assembly , hot water and pressure blast it off and they go rusty . i know of others that pressure cleaned theirs and they went rusty on the outer sides of the frame where it was pressure washed? the reason i removed the car from the road was because the tail gate almost fell off, hinges rusted off, passenger door has all but fell off and the drivers side window has feel out off the frame etc etc but underbody is still today rust free
the p38 is the same no pressure or hot water under the car and all is as it was when i purchased it .

Re side steps in Morat's post... does anyone actually use them? I bumped into an P38 owner once who had taken them off... rust trap he said (fair comment) have most people left their's on?

my rover has side steps (after market type) and i use mine to get in . i also have springs and 50mm lift from standard
PS i have also nearly ripped them both off on rocks , they have scares . i have also wondered if the original side steps with all the plastic molding hold dirt and go rusty?

mad-as: " i have also wondered if the original side steps with all the plastic molding hold dirt and go rusty?"

Yes to both, but easy enough to repair with some 32mm steel square section; Rubber lifts off so you can replace rusted sections and weld it up....
Bolts to chassis with captive nuts though (seized solid - of course - bad design - so best to drill out and use a single bolt right through)

Unfortunately the step spoils the looks of the truck but kids etc find it useful getting in/out....
Also acts as a 'bump guard' in car parks (although I am well past caring about that now !)

The OEM side steps rust out the box section framework underneath badly. I had a quick look at a set a while ago and replacing the metalwork didn't seem like that much of a ballache.

I have some aftermarket L322-esque steps on mine, and they're encapsulated steel... so unfortunately when they start to go they'll be like the mudflaps - not worth repairing. They're mostly there for aesthetics, but I like them.

My 8yo and his friends use them quite a lot. Also the guys/girls down at the local hand car wash need them to get to the roof!
They do need regular hosing off.

Morat wrote:

My 8yo and his friends use them quite a lot. Also the guys/girls down at the local hand car wash need them to get to the roof!
They do need regular hosing off.

The guys down my car wash used to do the same until the day one of the fat lumps stood on a runner and the effing thing broke off!!! I gave them the £300 bill it cost for a new pair. They have a set of small steps now that they use for everybody's car.