Anyone undercoating with bar and chain oil? Advice?

[Traveling Writer]

I've got a good solid underbody (ha ha), and want to keep it that way. I live in Hungary, and I'm sure they put all sorts of bad things on the road in the winter, plus I camp by the beach a lot too... I've been reading a lot of stuff on bar oil by Vermont drivers. It sounds messy as hell, and you have to reapply it twice a year, but it also sounds cheap, easy, non-permanent, not as much need to scrape everything (old undercoating, etc) down to bare metal, easy to get into door crevices etc....

Anyone a believer in bar and chain oil? Any tips? Drill out doors? Inside frame? Photos? Can I do it with a pesticide garden sprayer? Prepwork needed? Can I throw it over light surface rust? As a temporary fix till I get it sandblasted next year? Whatever ya got, throw it at me! Oh, the Search came up dry...

Thanks in advance!
_________________
Cheers,
Davi

1977 2.0 FI Westy
2011 1200cc Yamaha Super Tenere
1976 Feet (they work surprisingly well)

[Bleyseng]

interesting idea as it should help to seal the metal against rust..My experience with bar oil is using it on chainsaws...its fairly sticky oil so it sticks to the chain to lube it. Heck, try it thinning it so you can spray it on..

No one over there that does undercoating?
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70 Ghia Black convert-9/69 build date-stock w/133k 1600 SP-barn find now with a rebuilt tranny and engine
77 Westy 2.0L w/Ljet, Camper Special engine-95hp and with LSD!(sold)
76 Porsche 914 2.1L L20c, 120hp Djet (sold)
87 Syncro Westy Titan Red 2.1L 2 knob 100k miles

[Traveling Writer]

It's crazy...Hungarian is my first language, and even I can't find anyone to do anything car related! One guy will sandblast, another will prime but not paint, someone will undercoat once it has been blasted (with 3M-type stuff)... and I can't find an actual phone book! Putting together anything is like working a jigsaw puzzle, one that is rusting by the minute (such as after sandblasting!)... Ah well, that's why I'll do it myself...just need a bit of feedback from the bigger brains!
_________________
Cheers,
Davi

1977 2.0 FI Westy
2011 1200cc Yamaha Super Tenere
1976 Feet (they work surprisingly well)

[Wildthings]

Spraying the insides of the rockers and the bottoms of the doors with some oily substance if probably not a bad idea. Using a spray can that has one of those little plastic hoses to stick up into the drain holes will help get the oil where you want it. Rustoelum and others sell products just to do this, you might also consider motorcycle chain oil, or a spray grease.

[Opossum]

I used this stuff:
http://www.roversnorth.com/waxoyl/waxoyl-corrosion-prevention.html
I read here (The Samba) that it is the same stuff VW originally used. It goes on very easy and remains flexible.
_________________
"You can lead an aircooled to water, but you can't make it drink"
"Live and learn or crash and burn"
"It's only Cool, If it's Air-Cooled"
Virginia Whiteface (Opossum) the first VW
Camper Special Club Member
1973 Orange Westfalia Hard top, Original owner

[Mark]

I'm looking at drilling access holes that were covered up after some bodywork welding was done and doing something similar to what you propose.
I haven't decided on which product to use, and heard a lot of positive feedback on Wax-Oyl.
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www.zwerks.ca

[danfromsyr]

you can make your own Waxoyl too

[SGKent]

marine supplies - CRC Heavy Duty Corrosion Inhibitor
It is Cosmoline (TM) in a spray bottle and is about what VW used new.

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"Most people don't know what they're doing, and a lot of them are really good at it." - George Carlin

[Jalabert]

I rustproofed an old citroen with a mixture of waxoyl and old engine oil - if you stand it in a bath of hot water for a while, it sprays reasonably - waxoyl on its own is too thick to spray without a compressor (and even with one, I've ended up wearing it more than once)

[Traveling Writer]

So especially if I'm just extending my time before having to do the complete sandblast restoration thing, spraying this kind of oil will act to stop the progress of the (very mild, only in a few places) surface rust already present?
_________________
Cheers,
Davi

1977 2.0 FI Westy
2011 1200cc Yamaha Super Tenere
1976 Feet (they work surprisingly well)

[kafer113]

When I rebuilt the heater channels in my beetle I sprayed hot gear oil in the tubes. It was several years later that I finally finished the full restoration of the car. For at least two years the stuff would ooze from the bottom of the tubes. I don't recommend it if your actually going to use the heater channels for heat cause it stinks for a long time like onions but my tubes are sealed shut. I also used cold galvanizing spray on the pan after I sandblasted. Then I painted it and layered hard truck bed spray and paint a few times to get a good gravel barrier on the bottom.

[Dead 1]

[danfromsyr]

I had responded with the DIY Waxoyl recipies 1st because the OP is non-USA and already has enough trouble locatiing products & resources.

but here are the products I use regularly on the vehicles I maintain..


For temporary oiling & sealing of materials I like to use either

FLUID FILM
We have used it on a freshly ground & Welded frame section with no other treatment and driven thru a Upstate NY Salty winter wash, with still shiney metal in the spring (under a layer of film)
economical & available by the gallon, it is recommended to use a Wagner power painter to apply, it's a pressure pump not a air spray pump

or

NAPA CABLE & CHAIN LUBE

[vwwestyman]

I've never done it, but a bus friend once recommended bar oil. I believe he drilled or utilized existing holes in the body work. Put some oil in the holes. He said that it would actually leave a layer on the outside that you'd have to wipe off once or twice, but it worked well to prevent rust.

[Emeritusx]

A quart of POR goes a heck of a long way.

[Traveling Writer]

Okay, I found this on the Type 2 library... may as well make a comprehensive thread about it for the next guy who searches!

Bar Oil Undercoating
by Don Martin

Here's my Vermont two cents worth on undercoating:

Spray on rubberized coatings tend to cover the rust and do nothing to kill it. Over time it will chip or peel and end up trapping salt and making your bus rust faster than if it had not been undercoated!
The best thing some of us up here have found is quality bar and chain oil. Do not get the cheap stuff. Agway or Husquarvarna seem to both use similar formulas. That is a mixture of phosphoric acid, oil, and paraffin. The phosphoric kills the rust. In fact the rust will turn black within a week. The oil and wax leave behind a sticky residue. This treatment also has the advantage of lubricating all joints, etc...
When looking to buy bar and chain oil, READ THE LABEL. Although it won't give you the ingredients, it should say something like: High adhesiveness, high oiliness, High Film Strength, Anti-Rust.
The best way we have found to apply the bar and chain oil is with a 3M Rocker Schutz gun and an air compressor at about 50-60 PSI. Atomizing the oil helps to make this a quick job as well as makes it possible to spray into doors, rockers, etc.
This stuff will evaporate/dry to some extent and leave a thin film behind.
I do my cars twice a year. In the fall, and also in the spring.
It's a good idea to pressure wash your ride and let it dry before undercoating. Spraying the oil on top of mud won't do much good...
I spray all sheet metal, joints etc underneath, and also spray in the rocker panels, doors, etc.
Would you rather have salt water or oil in them door seams ? Remember you'll be splashing up slush that seems to get inside all seams (this salt mix is not nice !)
Unlike the rubberized stuff that does nothing to kill rust, you get a chemical reaction from the bar oil with the metal which forms a protective oxide.
This treatment is for cars driven daily in the rust belt.
Considering the cost ($5 a gallon) this is economical. If you are judicious in applying this stuff, one gallon is all you need.
CAVEAT:
BE CAREFUL WITH ANY UNDERCOATING YOU APPLY.
DO NOT SPRAY IT ON THE EXHAUST OR ENGINE !
GIVE IT TIME TO "DRIP DRY".
YOU DON'T WANT A BURNIN' BUS.
_________________
Cheers,
Davi

1977 2.0 FI Westy
2011 1200cc Yamaha Super Tenere
1976 Feet (they work surprisingly well)

[kafer113]

I wanted to add that used motor may not be the greatest since it has water and dissolved combustion byproducts in it. Algae begins to form slimmy messes with it being used without cleaning areas first. Also heard of folks using ATF. I've also used the wax seals (for toilets) mixed with kero and painted areas with a big brush. I've used it like putty in places I wanted a real good barrier. Got the idea from my old mazda 323. It has some cosmolean type stuff an inch thick in the rear quarters at the bottom. Our subaru wagon had the stuff 1/4inch thick under it.

[raygreenwood]

The corrosion inhibitor is good....its a waxy substance. Itswaterproof.
Oil is a horrible idea...and promotes rust. This is actually mentioned in teh body care section of several VW manuals. (a)Oil and grease is not 100% waterproof and (b) it collects dirt, dust and sand...which gather water. Some of teh worst rust comes from clumps of oil and grease that have gathered over the years from leaking valve covers and leaking CV boots. It gathers crud...which in itself gathers water.
Sandy oil is porous and holds water even in hot weather.
Steam clean the underside and use a simple spray of phosphoric acid mixture to "kill" rust that is in any cracks of shrinking original undercoating ( common issue). Then spray it with a waxy rust inhibitor. Ray

[Rubber Duck]

Hi there TW...here's what I did to rustproof my bus. I don't even intend driving this when it rains, much less snows, but I did it anyways

As you can see, its not very hard to do, and even a mechanically inept guy like me could do it. I think the most important part of this job (at least in my case) was to get the b*lls to get under the bus whilst it was supported the way it was, and be totally not afraid to get dirty.

In that thread, you can see also how 56Oval bug posted a few shots of how his bus fared after many years of the worst Canadian winters. Now you all know why its called the Great White North right? That's the same stuff I used. If that stuff works here, it will work anywhere
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Rubber Duck
1974 Westfalia

[jcrick]

I recently purchased a 93 eurovan, and have started examining the vehicle body for rust (I have a rocker panel that is showing some punch through, so I suspect there is moe).

I noticed some mildew around the bottom of the drivers door inide panel. When I removed it I was shocked to see almost 3 inches of water standing in the bottom of the door. The water could only drain out the openings for the door panel retainers.

Further investigation (after draining the swamp) revealed there was about an 1/8" of waxy goo on the seam. The stuff was applied thick enough to actually plug the dain holes, hence the pool of water. Some of this stuff has actually lifted and is lose and has dirt and moisture under it..

So, can I assume one of the previous owners installed this waxy stuff outlined in this thread? Or is this actually something that the manufacturer installed?

Is there a commercially available material similar to the waxy concoction listed here?

Wouldn't it be better to clean the wax out and wse an undercoating material? Any advice on how to proceed with repairs?