There has been some discussion on this list recently about the most
effective way to prevent the floorpans on our cars from turning to swiss
cheese from rust. One way is to do as I have done, and train everyone at
the office to tell you when it's raining, so they can watch you run out
to the parking lot like a madman to put your top up.
At the risk of being tarred and feathered, I have found that the most
effective treatment for floorpans and other rust-prone parts is - boy,
is this embarrasing - roofing cement -tar. It works. I bought my
current TR6 about 7 years ago and it had floorpans that were 92% okay,
but there were a few pinholes up to about 1/8th of an inch in diameter.
Not enough to warrant replacing the floorpans, but I wanted to do
something to seal the holes and prevent further rust. A friend who had
been keeping a thoroughly oxidized Volvo Amazon going on a shoestring
budget gave me his gallon can of roofing cement and I went to work.
Here's the really humiliating part: over the holes I used pieces of
paper towel that were thoroughly soaked in the tar. The only redeeming
virtues are that (a) I used a really high quality paper towel and (b) it
worked great. I am currently replacing the carpet, and the rust that was
there seven years ago has proceeded no further and there is absolutely no
new rust anywhere that I painted the goop.
Here's the best part - you don't have to remove old paint or oil film.
It likes oily surfaces and it bonds with the existing paint. Afer
painting the stuff on, I put the jute underlayment right into the wet
tar. Over a couple of days, it dries to the point that you can touch it
without it coming off on you fingers. With Corroless and POR you have to
strip down to bare metal - but not with this stuff. Just get the surface
clean - no loose, flakey rust or globs of dirt and grease.
Purists and people prepping cars for concourse won't like this approach
much, but for daily drivers like mine that are parked outside year
round, there's one less thing you have to worry about.
Mark Anderton
1972 Triumph TR6 (daily driver)
1984 Jaguar XJ6 (2 ea - some people never learn)
1966 Morris Minor (everything a car should be)
1971 Land Rover
1967 Daimler V8 Saloon
1958 Velocette MSS (500cc single)
|