Rust buckets.

BGBrit wrote: Hello all,,, back in my younger days most cars were prone to rust (UK) very quickly, many a time I've checked for soundness only for the screwdriver to disappear through to the inside of the car or through a chassis indicating an mot failure or lots of welding work to be undertaken...

I've just recently bought a 2009 Suzuki Jinmy and although my choice was for practical purposes (I live in Bulgaria) I have found by joining this site the days of rust buckets are back!My second question, What do you all think about these methods of rust protection?

Tony (BGBrit)

Funnily enough at the Jimny's last MoT he said that he doesn't see that many rust buckets these days as the manufacturers are doing a better job of producing cars that don't rust with one exception, he named the Ford Ka as becoming notable for rust. Now here's the thing, when I was looking for my Jimny I saw many that were in a sorry state and when I got mine it was in reasonably good condition but I realised that it needed treatment immediately to stop potential problems. In fact the jack storage area was well on the way. I have come to think that the Ford Ka is not the only up and coming contender for the number one rust bucket position.

Most of the poorer ones were lady owner ones! Go figure.

Anyhoo, as a matter of course I always Waxoyl the box sections, door and all like that down to the bonnet. I do this because most rot works from the inside out and often when you see it appear, the tin worm has done a lot more damage behind. Electric wire brushing, then some rust treatment as needed followed by Waxoyl underseal is what I use on external underside areas. I gave up using Hammerite on the undersides years ago though I use it on areas like interior floor surfaces and things like the spare wheel carrier.

One thing the MoT chap suggested was to spray oil on the underside or even the oily Waxoyl.

On the other hand my Rav and my Pajero which spent their first ten years in Japan are in sparkling good condition underneath.

Hi all,

After some research it seems...Most "rust converters" are a phosphoric acid preparation, and make the rust turn black into an insoluble phosphate. My guess is, any and all of these products will do a good job... I think I'll proceed this way!

Brush away loose rust particles,,, prime with Hammerite grey 3-1 rust converter, top-coat the grey with the hammerite and finish the whole underside with hammerite underseal which is waxoyl in a 2 mm thick layer.

The areas of rust as far as I can see are only small areas, the Jimny shows no signs of full perforation anywhere, hopefully this will do the job and give it many years of extra life,,, Only one problem now, to get stuck into it...

One other thing I will as a last job, spray the insides of any box-sections I see with old engine oil, because it will be thin enough to spray unlike the waxoyl,,, being careful of over-spray/spillage etc..

Thanks for all the advice

BGBrit wrote: it will be thin enough to spray unlike the waxoyl,,, being careful of over-spray/spillage etc..

Thanks for all the advice

Waxoyl sometimes needs warming to make it runnier and it will spray well; if you need to you can thin it.
Old engine oil contains acids. I recommend you use Waxoyl TBH.

Warmed up waxoyl it shall be, Helijohn, Good point about the acids, its cool here at the moment about 8 degrees I think it will be warmer by end of Feb, I'm on the same latitude as Rome almost, so gets warm very soon,,, at the moment getting as much advice as I can before I get moving and supping a few brandies too (to oil my joints) while I wait for better weather. I'll let all know how I get on... Thanks to all for the input, much appreciated!

Tony (BGBrit)...

helijohn wrote: Funnily enough at the Jimny's last MoT he said that he doesn't see that many rust buckets these days as the manufacturers are doing a better job of producing cars that don't rust with one exception, he named the Ford Ka as becoming notable for rust.

He hasn't seen a Hyundai i10 yet then :laugh:

helijohn wrote: On the other hand my Rav and my Pajero which spent their first ten years in Japan are in sparkling good condition underneath.

My 17 year old Rav is rust free too, it is Toyota's inability to make a transmission and the poor mpg which will see it in the scrappers.

I was watching some old videos on youtube by Jaguar and Triumph, and both used to dip the bodyshell in phosphoric acid then electro prime it, which is pretty much what they do nowadays, yet they were as rotten as pears within about 3 years.

facade wrote:
My 17 year old Rav is rust free too, it is Toyota's inability to make a transmission and the poor mpg which will see it in the scrappers.

Yes and you would think that with Toyota having such a good reputation that the mechanicals would be as good as the rest. MPG wise, nothing in four wheel drive does sparklingly well.