Stitch in Time

In The Olden Days, when you bought a Proper Car, made by Leyland etc. Your first stop after you collected it was to get it Ziebarted.

They used to drill holes in all the box sections, and squirt Proper Olden Days carcinogenic chemicals in there, with ingredients that read like an ecological disaster, not like these fluffy flowery chemicals that dinitrol & waxoyl use now.

It didn't work any better than waxoyl & dinitrol do nowadays though :ohmy: .

To paraphrase a popular advert nothing works better than waxoyl, so use nothing then, but there is no substitute for washing all the mud & salt off every 5 minutes.

facade wrote: there is no substitute for washing all the mud & salt off every 5 minutes.

That's true and if you don't have a pressure washer get one but I see so many really rusty Jimnys compared to many same age bread and butter motors that it is a little concerning.

facade wrote: They used to drill holes in all the box sections, and squirt Proper Olden Days carcinogenic chemicals in there, with ingredients that read like an ecological disaster, not like these fluffy flowery chemicals that dinitrol & waxoyl use now.

I had an SJ410 that had been Ziebart treated, it was totally rotten, When I stripped it I could see the spray patterns from the gun- it hadn't covered much of an area and as a result it was quite ineffective..

Rhinoman wrote: - it hadn't covered much of an area and as a result it was quite ineffective..

This is the trick isn't it. Coverage.
I've had lots of Vitaras and as soon as the sill covers are off revealing gaping holes it is possible to see the completely untreated steel. :blink:

Im guessing water collects under the plastic panels... do they come off easily, without damaging the metalwork ??

WailingJimny wrote: Im guessing water collects under the plastic panels... do they come off easily, without damaging the metalwork ??

To me, I think the rust comes from other reasons but you can't see it thanks to the covers. When I took off the plastic to see a gaping hole I can then see how raw the inside of the box sections were. Seen it on three Vitaras and always at the rear near the rear wheel. I suppose if you go wading or whatever there is a chance of the sills filling with water but I think the problem is rust forming at the end of the sill (through build up of detritus) and spreading.