Undercarriage Maintenance/Rust management

[phlite]

@bemerrit: mine is not quite to that extent, but it's on the way. Let me know what you do with yours, and how it turns out please!

It's crazy, I've been all up in the bottom of my 2006 van, knew where the rust was. I had some rust on the leaf springs and what not, nothing major. But just recently I was under it again just recently while spray washing the bottom and things have changed unfortunately fairly quickly (since last fall). I have a situation now that needs to be nipped in the bud. Our town unfortunately salts the roads and I did take the van out a handful of times this winter to ski, and to go camping.

I'm planning on sanding the areas, and then rattle can with rustoleum. But after reading about the fluid film, maybe I should consider that instead of the rustoleum. After the rust is all taken care of, I wonder if it's worth getting an undercoat sprayed on too? A friend of mine says to leave the bit of minor rust and just undercoat it. I think this is not the right way to go though.

@Bbasso: so the fluid film is an undercarriage protectant? Would you advise, sand, rattle can rustoleum, then something like fluidfilm?

Also will need to address the propane tank soon. Whats the best route for this? Sand and spray with some white rustoleum, or paint?

Also, whats the best plan for the muffler? It is starting to get some a worrisome amount of rust on it.

One other thing is my shelter for the van is on the side of the house on top of a concrete pad. It's enclosed nicely so no sun, rain, snow. But one thing i've just realized is my gutter from back of my house runs water down the concrete pad. So when it snows and rains, there is a steady stream of water run off for a bit after the rain, and a week or so after a snow. I wonder if it's possible the water evaporation from water running under the van is feeding the rust? Thoughts on this?

Oh man i know what I'll be doing when it warms up more around here. I'm not even a perfectionist but this seems like the right thing to do to keep my van running smooth and it's value as much as possible!

Chris

[BrianW]

Although I live in the NE (Pennsylvania), I never drive my van in the winter, so it has just normal, very light what I would call oxidation (sounds better than rust, right?). I always get a laugh out of what you California folks consider rust and get all worked up about :-)

Some of the fastest-forming rust I've seen is at my sister-in-law's house in Carmel, California, right off Hwy 1 and about 1/2 mile at most from the ocean. Seems like there is often a blanket of salt-air fog handing over her place. Doesn't do nice things for the outdoor metal objects (grille, patio furniture, etc.).

I like the lawn sprinkler under the van idea. Never thought of that!

[bemerritt]

Thanks for all of the advice. Ill post a pic once I am done treating the bottom with one of the above mentioned products.

[Bbasso]

I ment by sanding the rust.... remove it completely. If it's trapped under paint it will grow like cancer and spread rapidly.

[arctictraveller]

While it's true that sanding to bare metal, priming and painting will hold the rust at bay for the longest period of time, I don't think you could adequately sand more than about 10% of the undercarrage without spending half a life time. To get it all, you almost need to sandblast, but that's not good for things like wiring, hoses, bearings etc. A wire wheel will get into a lot of places sandpaper won't, but it's still labor intensive. I prefer to put most of my effort in those areas that show the worst rust and are the thinest, like the pinch welds, fenders etc. Rather than sanding, removal of any loose rust, chemical conversion with Ospho, or Coroseal followed by some paint will keep the rust at bay for several seasons with a lot less work. Minor surface rust won't hurt anything and on areas like diff's, springs etc that are so thick, the rust is only cosmetic.

[FVShootingStar]

Originally Posted by arctictraveller

While it's true that sanding to bare metal, priming and painting will hold the rust at bay for the longest period of time, I don't think you could adequately sand more than about 10% of the undercarrage without spending half a life time. To get it all, you almost need to sandblast, but that's not good for things like wiring, hoses, bearings etc. A wire wheel will get into a lot of places sandpaper won't, but it's still labor intensive. I prefer to put most of my effort in those areas that show the worst rust and are the thinest, like the pinch welds, fenders etc. Rather than sanding, removal of any loose rust, chemical conversion with Ospho, or Coroseal followed by some paint will keep the rust at bay for several seasons with a lot less work. Minor surface rust won't hurt anything and on areas like diff's, springs etc that are so thick, the rust is only cosmetic.

In my experience Coroseal is 10 times as effective as Ospho.

[phlite]

I wonder how corroseal compares to por 15? Corroseal looks pretty awesome.

[FVShootingStar]

It's just an opinion, I know people swear by POR 15, I've tried it and for the amount of hassel to use it, the results didn't justify the effort, clean the surface (pressure wash) wire brush anything loose or flaky, and Coroseal throw away brush, and a 4' or 6" foam roller, then paint if you want, don't poor any more than you can use, never pour what you've used back, and your good to go, in 50 yrs. of taking care of boats this is the best I've used so far.

[phlite]

That looks like a great plan. I think I'll go this route! Thanks!

[Carl]

I had my van done with Waxoyl (Red Barn Engineering in Saratoga, NY) and highly recommend it. Every cavity is oiled and bottom done with a hard wax like application. Very big for custom restorations and in Europe.