Hi guys. I am new to the forum and the VW scene and have just acquired an imported, relatively rot free US import Bay. Can anybody give me any advice on how best the prepare the chassis for being waxyoiled for over the forthcoming winter? There is minimal surface rust present on the underside. Would you buff this out before application or just apply over the top given how little rust there is on it? I have also read about applying red oxide....im guessing this would just be applied by spray or brush? Again, would this be painted straight on or should I take out the surface rust then apply. Any help/guides would be much appreciated. Cheers, Chris.
Welcome Chris. Try reading the "Rustbuster" site. Good info on there. I've just waxoiled my bus again at the weekend. Horrible job but worth doing.
Yep horrible job takes ages & is very mingling!! I blacked schultzed mine then waxoyled it, looks nice mind!
What product should I use to prep the metal? Checked out the rustbuster site and they have Fe-123 which converts the rust by chemical reaction. I'm guessing this is less labour intensive than stripping back by power tools?!
If you have the space and can lay your hands on a roll over frame that would be best As you can get into all the nooks and crannies. You need to get as much of the old stuff off. If yours came from a dry state it is likely its original factory underseal which will now be hard and brittle. Painting anything over the top of this will be a waste of time. Use clear wax oil then you can show off the shiny factory paint underneath when done
I shot blasted mine back to bare metal, acid etched it, Schultz stone chipped it then painted it. Gona give it a few coats of lacquer as well but I have to be honest it has come out like new but I had it stripped to a bare shell on a roll over jig and it took months!!! It depends on what you are looking for and what finish you want, if you are happy to have the bottom of the van protected and black which looks just as neat then I would remove as must surface rust as possible with power tools or shot blast, use some rust converter/prohibiter on the bits you cant, shulchz stone chip it and wax oil it. If you keep on top of it it will protect the van great.
When i first got the bus about 6 or 7 years ago from Arizona it had no rust but the factory sealer was dry and cracked. I scraped this off best i could then sprayed 6 x 1ltr. cans of hammerite shultz over the bottom. Then i sprayed 2 x 5ltr. tins of hammerite wax oil in to all the box sections and sills etc. This really was a horrible job. It goes all over you and the workshop and other cars and mates tool box's etc etc.. I've just wax oiled it again but there was no sign of any rust yet and my van lives outside all year.
Here are some pics of my bus without any work started..what do you all think in terms of condition and how much prep will be needed before applying waxyoil? Cheers in advance for everybody's input, really appreciate it.
Looks quite rusty to me specially the floor. I think you need to get as much of that off as you can before you treat it. At least you don't have a week of old underseal chipping to do. Here's mine after a week of underseal chipping.
Some was rustier. This is the worst bit that stayed. I wire brushed, treated and 2-pac'd the lot before fitting the floor. Even with the floor out of the way it was a long job, but because I'd never have such a good chance again (floor up) I went for it. I ought to do the same in the wheel arches. I just left it bare paint so I can spot any trouble in years to come.
Looks solid enough and as zed said at least it's dry with no under seal! just need to remove as much as you can before covering it with anything, these rust convertors are good on very light surface rust but they only penetrate the top layer so if it's thick rust it just sits the underneath.
^^ whs I reckon knotted wire brush on a grinder and then splash fe123, although I expect that some of that rust might run deep
