TheSamba.com :: View topic - Undercoating alternative you folks might want to think about

Sun Oct 23, 2011 4:05 pm

For years I've been using Fluid film but at $8 a can it get s expensive and an application does not last the winter. I recently heard about an amsoil product and that too is about $8 a can. I may get it for the car as the origional undercoating is just starting to so south and it's a nice supplement.

I then heard about a product popular with the rusty rover crowd called waxoyl. Then in doing a search I found one reference to a homemade concoction that in theory looks like it would work....

Basically buy a can of Mineral spirits, pour some off, add a half a bottle of ATF fluid and a pound of gulf wax. Let it sit for a few weeks to a month shaking occasionally. The wax will eventually liquify in the spirits. Once its done, put in in a sprayer and coat the underside of the vehicle. The spirits will act as a medium for the wax and oil. It will penetrate all the crannies then evaporate leaving a very hard shiny wax coating and the oil. It does seem to be a good outcome and I'm hoping it'll last longer than the fluid film.

The best part is I was able to coat the entire underside and still have 3/4 a can left. At this rate I can probably do 5 years worth of coats. The other best thing...total cost was $8.

One word of caution: Don't start the car for a day following the application. Mineral spirits are highly flammable and can turn the car into a bonfire. Probably best to avoid spraying the exhaust at all as the wax and ATF can be an issue as well. :P

Sun Oct 23, 2011 4:12 pm

sounds cool 8)

Sun Oct 23, 2011 4:22 pm

$8 sounds better than $800! I too have looked on the web at the Waxoyl rattle cans available
to our friends in Europe, wish we had them here in land of salt.

Sun Oct 23, 2011 4:25 pm

The Raven wrote: Basically buy a can of Mineral spirits, pour some off, add a half a bottle of ATF fluid and a pound of gulf wax. Let it sit for a few weeks to a month shaking occasionally. The wax will eventually liquify in the spirits...

Some speed this along by using a cheese grater to break the wax into bits (US calls it paraffin but that means something else to Brits so they say 'wax').

Some heat the mixture to reduce the process to minutes but this must be done with care.

Several variations abound with recipes that include beeswax and even chainsaw oil though the general idea is the same.

Sun Oct 23, 2011 4:26 pm

I've put waxoyl before,it doesn't dry very hard,it still a bit sticky and you don't want to touch it with fingers while working,or you'll remove some.

Perfect I guess for hidden parts.

Sun Oct 23, 2011 4:38 pm

what size can of mineral spirits did you use? what did you spray it on with?

Sun Oct 23, 2011 4:41 pm

I buy spray cans from Mercury Marine called corrosion guard.

Jeff

Sun Oct 23, 2011 4:42 pm

hmmmm,sure sounds alot like a recepie for cosmoline!!!

Sun Oct 23, 2011 4:42 pm

Get wax from your local bee keeper and add it to bar and chain oil.
Heat a little bit until the wax has melted and spray.

Works OK, old farmers secret, used to keep rust at bay.

Sun Oct 23, 2011 5:21 pm

Ziebart sprays what they call Penetr-Oil for $250 here.
Stuff doesn't dry, wicks into cracks & welded seams.
Best thing, I don't have to get all messed up.

Sun Oct 23, 2011 5:59 pm

Terry Kay's Panel wax (just like waxoyl) is the best product I have ever used for this. A 12,000mile trip to AK followed by daily winter driving, followed by another very wet 3000 mile trip and absolutely no seam rust on the drivers side where I applied it (interior) and no breakdown of the produuct even under the fender wells.

Terry got this right, it seals everything up incredibly well. On the side (passenger) that I did not have enough to do at the time. even after seam cleaning, bedliner etc... I have the whispy start of rust. The seams have to be sealed from the inside, it is a must that most ignore.

I am just about to tear out my entire interior and coat crack and seam, I have looked everywhere and I beleive for how our vans were constructed the wax type product is the best suited to stopping the wicking action of water and for cutting off the oxygen needed for rust.
Todd.

Sun Oct 23, 2011 6:01 pm

OP - Thanks for posting this.

Sun Oct 23, 2011 6:27 pm

I would not use bee's wax. Quite expensive, and a waste of good wax IMHO. Gulf wax is cheap and effective, bought at any hardware store or the grocery store. It's used for canning I think.

I applied it with a Zymol protectant bottle. If anyone if familiar with the stuff It's like olive oil. About the same consistency of the stuff I made. In the original post I had heard about it, they had mentioned using a household pressure pesticide sprayer.

I used the gallon can of mineral spirits I got at Home depot. I can't stress enough....spray and wait until it all vaporizes.

Yeah you could speed up the process with heat, but if you have time, just make up a batch mid summer and by fall when you want to use it it's ready to go. THe stuff I made was done mid August, after some tests on other metal, I just applied it yesterday. To make it I actually cut the wax up into long pieces just small enough to fit into the mineral spirit pour spout. As an added benefit to using big pieces, if you don't hear them banging inside...the mixture is done.

Less wax, more oil, more oil, less wax, more oil, more wax. I don't know what works best.........but ANYTHING is better than nothing in the salt belt. Especially if it does not hit the wallet to dearly :D

Sun Oct 23, 2011 6:59 pm

my grandfather used to spray the under side of his car with engine oil, after every oil change, the car was as good 28 years after he bought it as it was the day he bought it
i used to spray it for him, i'd run a oil through the bottoms of the doors
there was no rust at all underneath
the car was always sat on boards until the oil had stopped dripping, it only took a couple of days, the car was a weekender, mostly

Mon Oct 24, 2011 3:34 am

Waxoyle isn't all that.
We use Dinitrol, much better.

Mon Oct 24, 2011 5:03 am

I just finished doing the underside, along with a tank fitting project.

I bought 10lb of candle wax of fleebay for ~$15
Heating it up in an old pot with a mixture of 50/50 used engine old
Sprayed it on with a $20 harbor freight paint sprayer

This is just the outside underbelly. The 50/50 mix does appear to 'heal' itself on a warm day and isn't too brittle on a cold day.

I'm sure the Waxoyl stuff has special molecules in it that were formated by rocket surgeons in a lab somewhere. I didn't want to pay the $120 or so for that stuff, even if I could find it here stateside.

Mon Oct 24, 2011 7:03 am

Does anyone know what Krown Koating uses. They did my Westy and they went over it after a steam wash in fine detail because of it being vintage and excellent condition. I'm think of going to the same location for Scooby.

Mon Oct 24, 2011 7:09 am

I buy it by the case for a lot cheaper than this.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mercury-Precision-Corrosio...mp;vxp=mtr

I think this is one piece to the puzzle.

I like the home brew and paint sprayer for the underneath.

Drain oil for the door seams, inside of frame rails and rockers.

Jeff

Mon Oct 24, 2011 7:48 am

The Raven wrote: I would not use bee's wax. Quite expensive, and a waste of good wax IMHO. Gulf wax is cheap and effective, bought at any hardware store or the grocery store. It's used for canning I think.

I applied it with a Zymol protectant bottle. If anyone if familiar with the stuff It's like olive oil. About the same consistency of the stuff I made. In the original post I had heard about it, they had mentioned using a household pressure pesticide sprayer.

I used the gallon can of mineral spirits I got at Home depot. I can't stress enough....spray and wait until it all vaporizes.

Yeah you could speed up the process with heat, but if you have time, just make up a batch mid summer and by fall when you want to use it it's ready to go. THe stuff I made was done mid August, after some tests on other metal, I just applied it yesterday. To make it I actually cut the wax up into long pieces just small enough to fit into the mineral spirit pour spout. As an added benefit to using big pieces, if you don't hear them banging inside...the mixture is done.

Less wax, more oil, more oil, less wax, more oil, more wax. I don't know what works best.........but ANYTHING is better than nothing in the salt belt. Especially if it does not hit the wallet to dearly :D

Expensive bees wax???
My keeper GIVES it too me with a smile :)

Well anyway, I use Wurth products on my restorations and have not found any products that compare to the quality.
The products themselves are on par pricewise with what is out there....the awesome tools to apply the products are very pricey.
I made one large order with Wurth and all the tools and cabinets were included at no charge.

Next in line is Eastwood HD AntiRust.
Eastwood has tools to apply and the containers work with the Wurth applicators too.

The Eastwood 60" fan wand is the bomb :!:

Mon Oct 24, 2011 7:51 am

Man, where do you guys apply this that you can handle cleanup? What an unholy mess to deal with afterward - would be tough to get off a floor, etc.

DougM