Cleaning underside of van

OnTheRoadAgain

OnTheRoadAgain

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So I'm trying to clean / seal / protect the underside of the van... Sorry for the list of dumb newbie questions...
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First pic by side bottom panel. Some mud came off easily and with brushed. Elsewhere looks firmly on... . Should I leave the hard mud stuff or try scraping that off too...

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Second pic looking back towards rear axle. Welcome to surface oxide central... . Again do I need to get every last scrap off...

Now what next... Paint with rust sealant... What brand...

And what do I paint over. Everywhere including the hard stuff if I don't get it off... Or just the red oxidised areas...

Clues for the newbie please...
 
When I did the underneath of my van I used dinitrol, I must say It covered really well. Without looking I'm pretty sure it says redo at every five years. Get yourself a wire brush and give everything some good attention, make sure you have got something to protect your face and hands. After that spray away;), I found it easier to do it all in sections.
 
Looks very good, just surface rust. Most of it looks like it will come off without to much trouble so I would strip it off with a wire brush and treat the surfaces with Aquasteel rust converter then, once it's dried, a good coat of chassis black. It's my personal preference but Dynotrol is supposed to be very good but you still need to get the muck of first
 
I tried taking off rear wheels as part of the clean today. I had used rear axle jacks and so the suspension didn't drop. Therefore I couldn't get the wheel under the rim of the van.

Is there a way to do it... I was hesitant to use the Jack stand that came with the van in case I scratched the paint... But is that the only way...

Today I scraped. Tomorrow I jet wash and scrub!
 
The jack is fine doing one side at a time just make sure the jack is pushed right into the jacking point and there is about an inch between the top of the jack and the body work. Once the wheel is off then you can put the axle stand under the axle and lower off so it can take the weight, I leave the jack in as well for a bit of added support.
 
This has been something bothering me. I gotta tackle all 3 of mine before they rust away :( I found a few places who specialise in undersealing but maybe only one I would completely trust and they were about 200 miles away. They log the process and give you a photo record. First steam clean, then infra red heat and dry, then remove all old coatings, treat rust/weld, paint and inject. But it's a relatively cheap service if you consider how difficult it is to do.

In my mind unless you do it totally correctly you may as well leave it alone, as you are only sealing in the 'bad'. Which is why I've built a ramp and intend to get really very grubby this summer.

Tom
 
with the under-sealing? not delved in yet, mud's down to about 5 inches in mid Wales, few more weeks yet till humidity allows!
 
My seven hours painting under the van just finished. Shame it's only aquasteel. I have the chassis paint to put on as well now.
 

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Need to spend evenings this making him look smarter underneath now. And filling the broken front valance. And touch up spray paint I guess. And... And...

... And looking forward to a fabby...

holi-commer-day...
 
Just spent the weekend at Martins with Bernie and Heidi, it was quite warm at times:)
 
Wondered why the radio silence! Hope you had a wonderful time. And that you didn't try to influence Martin to flog you carpet and disc brakes before they come out on "general release..."
 
I decided not to take a photo of what chassis black did to the bath tub (I was too busy cleaning it before the management saw it... and photographic evidence - though amusing - would not be wise...)

Let's hope I lose the black hands in a a day or so!

But underside painted! . Hooray.
 
Underside of van, hands elbows, head, down your ears, up your nose...................................;)
 
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