Rustproofing--

[Vantman]

Luckily my BX has minimal rust due to it being previously garaged all its life.
It now unfortunately has to live outside,so i am thinking of getting it cavity wax protected.
Are there any BX specific areas that should be attended to or would a competent rustproofing man know all the areas to be done?

Thanks in advance.

Brian.

[Tim Leech]

Hi Brian

Preperation is key, make sure that any rusty areas are treated before you start waxoiling them. The usual BX rust traps are the places to ensure get coated. A posts, boot floors, underneath the washer bottles (also make sure the drain holes arent blocked), the inner wings (which may mean you need to remove the wheelarch liner) and rear door shuts. Also make sure those areas are clean and any bare metal is covered up. I find a coat of wax polish on the door shuts also helps repel water.

I find waxoyl to be good stuff, you can get stuff you an paint on with a brush for the areas you can get at, and a wax injection kit for those you cant.

Rob Moss at Chevronics does offer a service.

[Dollywobbler]

Get a couple of cans of this. http://www.holden.co.uk/displayProduct. ... de=097.702" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

On the Green Tiger, I pulled out all of the A and B post grommets (where the wiring goes) and gave everything a good covering. It's rotted like crazy in the areas I didn't treat but these are still fine!

There are big grommets in the sill ends where you can do the same thing. Also, remove the washer bottles and clear out the muddy crud beneath them.

[mat_fenwick]

I've previously been of the opinion that the actual wax you use doesn't really matter, so long as you do it. I usually do the job every year before winter using either Waxoyl or used engine oil depending on how flush I am! Tests like this, and a similar one done by a (reliable) member of another forum have made me start to think otherwise though. Either way, I've got some S50 on order so will be able to report back in a few years.

[Defender110]

Remove the front bumper (5 minutes of a job); IIRC 3 srews up top, loosen the outer two accessible through 2 holes in the front grill, remove the grill and the 3rd centre screw then reveals itself. undoe the 3 / 4 screws below and a sharp hard tug each side to remove it from the side bracket stays.
Once the bumper is off then remove each plastic inner wing by pulling out 3 christmas tree type plastic retainers. This will then reveal the front rust traps on the inner wing and give you access to the front sill access grommet. At this point I would also remove both washer bottles. Give the section where the plastic inner wing meets the metal inner wing a good wire brushing which may reveal areas that are starting to rust under the original seam sealer, same with under the washer bottles. The seam sealer hides a lot of developing rust unfortunately.

I would then do the 'A' posts and 'B' posts as previously mentioned paying particular attention to getting the waxoil through the grommets up behind the top front door hinge section (which is the main weak point)

The bottom back edge of the rear door shuts start rusting from below, inside the front part of the rear inner wing section behind the little wing spat and around the rear of the sill and rear subframe mounting gets clogged up solid with road grime. Give all this area a good dig out and clean. (a compressed air blow gun is very usefull here)

I would then also remove the rear bumper and boot carpet to access the rear cross member properly. again removing the rear bumper is only a 5 minute job and removal can give you good access to some possible weak points / rust traps. Yours may be ok if it has been garaged but the sunroof drain tubes can cause a lot of rust on this rear cross member section below the rear lights if the metal crimped water escape drain has got blocked.

Warm your waxoil up before trying to apply on a radiator or a bath of hot water, this way it will flow much better and get into the crevaces much easier. As Tim mentioned a normal car wax applied on the visible paint work of the door shuts is also a good rust preventer especially allowing the wax to build up in the open seam of the rear door shut.

[Defender110]

I like Mat also like the Bilt Hamber products and their car wax is recommended by them as a rust preventer, Dinitrol products are also very highly recommended in the trade and have been used by top classic car experts for many years.

http://www.dinitrol.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Kitch]

The A-pillar box sections are the worst area....pull all the grommets out once you've done it.

Unfortunately most of the rot starts between seams, so putting wax on those doesn't do much (except trap the moisture in) but on flat panels it's probably worth a shot. I've never bothered, other than a couple of coats of stonechip underneath it every now and then. It's the seamed joints that are worst, whether it be inner wings, bottom of dog legs, rear lip of the boot floor etc.

[mat_fenwick]

It's my hope that engine oil will seep between the seams better than a waxy product, and displace moisture. I seems to last for a couple of months wet weather use in wheel arches before the water stops beading up. One problem with the BX is the stone chip coating, which although lasts pretty well, also allows rust to creep underneath unnoticed. I think that with constant flexing of the shell, it eventually cracks at the seams and allows moisture in.

[Dollywobbler]

I soaked some of the sill seams in anti-rot wax on GT. They seem to have kept the rot at bay but the downside was that I got a lot of advisories on the next MOT because the brown wax made it look like all of the seams were rusting!

[mat_fenwick]

Post number 27 in this thread has the start of a 6 week comparison test between Waxoyl and Dynax S50, but in a nutshell here are a few pictures (Waxoyl on the right).









Sorry, we're diverging from the topic of 'where to apply it' to 'which is best?'

[citsncycles]

If you find you're struggling to get coverage all the way down the sills, you can remove the carpets to access some taped up holes along the inner sills.

[mds141]

Luckily my BX has minimal rust due to it being previously garaged all its life.
It now unfortunately has to live outside,so i am thinking of getting it cavity wax protected.
Are there any BX specific areas that should be attended to or would a competent rustproofing man know all the areas to be done?

Thanks in advance.

Brian.

Would it be worth contacting your local council and enquiring about renting a council lock up? I pay £8-45 a week Inc vat.

[Vantman]

Many thanks to everybody for the various tips,methods etc.. Armed with all this information i shall now endeavour to find a suitable company or person to carry out this messy job of rustproofing!

Mark(mds141) Garages in my area are unobtainable at present. Too many people with too many cars!

Thanks again people.

Brian.

[Birotor]

Rob Moss has just done a thorough job on my BX Estate and seems to know where to attack. He is very pro BX and has his own.
As a former Chairman of the MOD (Navy) Ship Husbandry Committee here is a tip for on going maintenance: Re coat the areas that suffer abrasion - arches and underside - by spraying the surfaces with the cavity liquid and after an hour THEN 'repaint' with the thicker stuff. The initial spray gives a key.
I remember at an MOT of the 1972 GS getting a notation saying 'underside coated with under seaL' - my reaction was 'Tuff Tit'.

[mds141]

The valver came with all it's MOT certificates and on some the tester has issued an advisory for "sills covered", well of course they are, the car has a factory fitted and presumably Tuv certified bodykit.