Hey guys/gals got a question -

I'm preparing to flush out my coolant here soon and spent too much on what looks like orangeish/pink coolant that the Jaguar dealership sold me..hopefully it's the correct stuff (doing research on that)

But anyway looking underneath my car it looks perfect.. clean no rust. I can see a few wires I think used for the CATS suspension that looks exposed so trying to wrap that up..

I previously owned a Miata NB for 15 years and after 15 years of Utah winters the rust finally caught up and started giving me fits near the rear wheel wells.... and that would crush me if that happens to this car..I don't want the same thing to happen again!

So.... I had the wild idea of painting the underside suspension parts with rustoleum or something to help give it some extra protection against the Utah winters here and maybe just touch up in the wheel wells. With only 25k miles on her I want to protect this car long LONG term.. was also thinking POR-15.. but that stuff is like glue and messy.. but I'm thinking about that..

something like this person did to his truck..





Anyway anyone had any experience doing this? Would it hurt to do it? I've seen it done on other cars and it seems to hold up well.. any other ideas in protecting the car from the winter? (I know I should just buy a beater and drive it in the winter.....$$$$....I'm debating that..)

Thanks

 

Funny, I was just looking at a can of pqr15 I have this afternoon. I'very used it on my xj6, even on a steel wheels barrel.

I have to report that in my experience it does not live up to the claims made by the manufacturer. Rust may have been slowed but certainly was not stopped! BTW, if you read the fine print you will see that the manufacturer will argue that I just didn't prepare the surface properly. In my opinion that's BS.

The task of applying this stuff is extensive. It will stain just about anything it contacts. Oh and as I recall you'll have to purchase Xylene to clean up-nothing else works.

Believe me I wish it worked half as well as they advertise, it did not for me. Sidebar: I've always wondered about their claim that it was used on F16's. Looking back I wonder why that statement is past tense. Why didn't the Navy continue to use it ?

Hope this helps. If you do buy it wear throw away clothes whenever you go near it.

John

 

Thanks Johnken -

well that's a bummer.. I was thinking of just spraying black rustoleum everywhere underneath just as an additional layer of protection - just hate to see rust start up anywhere :S but I still might try it and apply it here and there whenever I get the car up in the air.

Thanks for the advice and yeah.. I've heard that POR stuff stains anything so.. trying to avoid that but might go that route :S

 

I haven't purchased it in over 10 years, maybe it has gotten better. Gosh every little bit helps right, all these layers may work out great for you.

John

 

I just bought some 3m undercoating so I'll give it a shot - like you said it's worth a shot to at least give it some layers. I'll just make sure water/debri doesn't get trapped under it. I'll report on how it goes

 

Be careful when you spray, there is a differential breather you do not want to seal! Also there are grease fittings on the halfshafts, these too need to be clean.

 

Matthew
It doesn't matter the only way to preserve it is keep it off the salt. Buy a beater I have a Ford explorer as a winter car and bicycle hauler. It's worth about $1200 bucks insurance cost about $250.00 a year, and minimal maintenance.(Cheap insurance against potential rust repair) My Cats doesn't get driven much in a year about 4000 miles but the ford helps save the other vehicles from the salt. Unless you get the undercoating inside and it will be hard to cover all inter cavities the salt will eat it up eventually. See many of the posts from the members in Britain about their rust problems. When we owned our collision center I saw plenty of Ziebarted vehicles after eight to ten years developing rust, but to be fair it does help slow the process down. One thing I did not like was the holes they drilled in the door jams, rockers, and other places to get access, then plug them with a yellow Ziebart plug.

 

I restore cars as a hobby and I am a fanatic about originality as someday a Jaguar could be subjected to concourse judging. I wouldn't paint anything that wasn't already painted from the factory, but I'll pass along some restorers tips that I expect could be just as useful to keep your late model Jaguar in tip top shape as it is would be for an old XK-120 that's been freshly restored.

One of the things I have had to deal with is that many vintage cars had no protective paints or coatings of any kind on many parts under the car. To do a correct restoration, I have to restore the original surface finishes, which often means leaving them unpainted. After hours and hours of bead blasting and parkerizing, I don't want to develop surface rust so there are some tricks restorers use. Many parts were actually dipped in oil at the factory after being etched with acid to help the surface absorb more oil. It was enough to keep the parts looking good for a year or so. Penetrating oils are thus great for many bare metal parts. WD-40 is famous, but better rust protection is something called Gibb's brand. A little goes a LONG way. Another more waxy type of product is called BoShield and it might do better against salt. Of course these don't last very long and need to be reapplied periodically, like every two or three years for a classic car that's not daily driven. Probably more like twice a year for a daily driver would do it. For cast iron that's already got light surface rust, brush on some Ospho rust converter and it turns back to dull grey almost instantly, but wipe it off quickly or it dries white. Then immediately follow it up with penetrating oil which both neutralizes the acid and protects against further rust. Manifolds can be kept a lustrous grey by spraying them with dry graphite spray lube and wiping them down with newsprint, but don't use penetrating oil or they'll smoke.

I haven't worried too much about the undercarriage paint as the cars I've restored aren't being used daily anymore and so should last for decades. For painted surfaces, I would just clean the undercarriage periodically and touch up any chips. Usually undercarriage parts are dip-painted in semi-flat primer only and while car waxes would provide extra protection, might give a too glossy appearance. You might experiment on a hidden area with some of the spray quick-wax products as some are meant for protection only and don't really provide much of a shine.

And only use POR-15 for what its intended for - encapsulating rust. It has its uses in restoration, for instance on thin metals that just cannot be de-rusted by mechanical or chemical means without reducing integrity. But I find that while its great for rusty surfaces, it doesn't adhere well to smooth bare metal. And it has zero UV resistance and I always topcoat with another paint if its going to be visible.

 

I don't know about Ziebart in particular, but I've learned my lesson the hard way to "pass" on any restoration project cars that have aftermarket undercoatings. Its far too much effort to remove it and it often hides more problems than it prevented as you can't see the rust that's behind that thick, blotchy coatings. Plus, its make the problem worse if it does rust because its flammable and very hard to impossible to remove from body cavities so that you can weld safely.

 

Thanks Jamdmyers - Thanks yeah I've heard reading online you should *NOT* paint a propeller shaft/drive shaft because you might unbalance it but yeah good thoughts on the rear diff :/ that would bad.. but good advice I forgot about that breather tube/port up there!

Thanks RCSign my problem is I don't have parking for two but I might cave in and get a storage garage for the winter I guess but I'd love to do that.. just get a cheap something that doesn't leak and drive it back and forth to work and such during the winters.. ugh I hate snow!

Pdupler - thank you! Thanks for the information.. I was thinking even just shooting a clear coat over everything underneath just to protect it but.. I dunno.. I got a couple of cans of 3m that I think i'll use in the wheel wells (there's some chipping there..) but just worried about the winter but yeah I might still give 3m a go. Might give me some added protection in case it does go out in a winter storm or two..

Anyway thanks guys - funny I never really worried about this with a Toyota but with some of the pictures I've seen of other users in the UK I'm worried about rust big time!

 

I painted the undercarriage and wheel wells with POR 15 as soon as I got her, first winter project 2 years ago. It is as bad as they say, wear gloves, long sleeve shirt and cover the floors. If the stuff is as tough on the car as it is on the floor it is like a ceramic coating. It took a chisel to get the drops off the garage floor. I am in Canada so I have a winter beater because in Sourhwestern Ontario our roads are white with salt, and half of the season the cars are as well.
I got a winter beater so the XK8 doesn't have to see the snow, picked up a not bad X-Type for $3000 for the AWD and have given it 2 good coats of POR 15. It gor me through last winter well and still everything seems well protected.

 

So my XJ12's have a factory undercoating that covers all metal. No bare metal showing at all? This is factory. Does your not have this? Just went out and checked the XKR and it has no undercoating what so ever. It is aluminum I know. Why did Jaguar not use the factory undercoating on all their steel body cars. I spect it is there for sound deadening not rust proofing. Just an observation.

 

Yeah I wish I had a place for 2 cars because that would be the perfect plan.. I do have access to the parents car they're not using so I might use that when the bad snow storms hit. We get about maybe 6 days a year where I.. really don't feel like taking this car out. I'm going to 3m the wheel wells and lower control arms.. maybe spray the rear gas tank. I dunno we'll see sucks.. hate snow!