How to clean / prevent rust on underside of van?

Swift66

Hello,

I own a Ford Transit '01 swb 260td. I haven't regularly washed / waxed or taking care of this van for the 7 years I have owned it and have recently had to fill about 6 holes in the body and treat a lot of rust. In doing so I've decided I wanted to keep the van fop the long term if possible so want to know how to stop further rust creep especially on the underneath of the van.

The underneath is caked with muck / some rust. Should I be regularly washing underneath the van ? If so whats the best way to do this? Do any car washes or valet services do this? Will they be able to clean the undercarriage of a van that hasn't been cleaned in 7-8 years?

Have become very fond of this van and want to keep it for the long term. Any tips appreciated. Cheers

CJhaughey

You could get the chassis Waxoyled and then spray the underbody with Underseal.
Its a messy job and you need the right spraygun to blow that stuff on.
Its not expensive though, only about 15 for a can, two cans would easily do a SWB transit.
Its possible to get brush on underseal but having used the stuff, spraying is definitely a better and less messy job.

Swift66

Cheers CJ,

What is 'Waxoyle' and where could I get this done? Do you know anywhere in dublin that could clean the underside/ chassis for me - being careful of rust patches. I could spray on the sealant stuff you mention but not sure how to go about cleaning all the grime / dirt off myself.

Cheers

jozi

You need to treat all/any rust thats there first of all, either cut it out of use something like Bilt hamber deox gel to treat it. then get it painted and sealed up and finally get it undersealed - you need to be 100% sure any rust is gone though cause it will keep rotting under the underseal and eventually when it'sa big hole you will find out about it when its to late!

Waxoil is a generic term (I hope it is cause the actual waxoil is horrid stuff) for a cavity wax. There's loads of different cavity waxes available they all do much the same job. One thing to watch out for it to use one which wont harden out and eventually crack, the crack can trap moisture and start rotting.

I settled on another bilthamber product for my E30 resto, I'm using one called dynax s50, it doesn't go hard but will need topping up over the years which I'm ok with.

I doubt 2x cans of underseal will do a transit, I have 9L of it for the E30 and I fully expect to use it all. Just make sure the underseal isn't bitumen based (messy) and that it's not one that hardens out over time, you want to to stay flexible and not crack!

Swift66

Cheers for all the info Jozi, not sure my back could take all the shimmying around under my van, which brushes and cans of selant! are there specialist commercial vehicle valeting services in Dublin which would do this properly ?

Cheers