Rust proofing box sections and voids - any advice on tools to use to gain access?

[iRS]

I'm seeking advice on any equipment recommended for getting into chassis sections, sills and the many other voids in the XJ-S. My car is pretty badly corroded and clearly I need to get rust converter and then primer, paint and wax oil into all the various cavities.

Any suggestions from anyone?

My latest discovery is rust inside the windscreen pillars and plenty more of it in the void below the front scuttle. You can access some of this area through the space where the air intake grille (for the cabin air) sits, but there is a flange that prevents access to the outer most area - I'll post some photos later - I'd like to get some rust treatment into this whole area.

I also want to try and do the same inside the front sub frame - particularly the turrets.

[PPV]

Hi, with my Mk2 I sprayed Jenolite into areas which had rust and when fully dried then sprayed with a well known cavity wax (Dinitrol). That was 15 or so years ago and when I look inside the cavities it still looks the same. Some good deals on the internet. I think I used 3 spray cans in total.

[davidr]

Hi Roger - I use a wax spray kit (a big like the Sealey one) with various nozzle and probes. I use waxoil and the trick of it I find is to make sure the waxoil is warm and runny and then whack the air pressure right up so it comes out practically atomised and then it mists about all over the place. You'll find that clouds of it in vapour form start to appear from places that you didn't even know we're connected to where you put the nozzle but you'll know that the mist is moving all around and doing its job.

[iRS]

David
Thanks for your reply. Are you able to point me in the right direction to demonstrate what you are talking about eg a model number or web address?
Thanks, Roger

[davidr]

Roger - if you google "Sealey wax injector kit" you will see what I mean
Cheers
David

[poprivet]

If you have a compressor one of these is good and it comes with a nylon tube to feed into cavities. Buy one of the underbody canisters and use it with Waxoyl/Dinitrol etc.



https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/clarke- ... -seal-gun/

If you don't have a compressor its best to get someone else to do the job as you will never achieve the atomisation to do the job properly.

[Orkney]

Firstly, I’m sorry to hear about the corrosion on your XJ-S but these are notorious places to find it. You use the expression ‘pretty badly corroded’ which is always a worry. Is the metal perforated anywhere in those regions you mention (or looking likely) or is it surface rust? If you go ahead and treat the areas with any kind of cavity wax and then find any parts which require remedial work needing pieces welded in it will be the Devils own job.
Sorry to sound down beat but can you post any pictures to show the extent of the problem. If it really is just surface corrosion then I would avoid using paint (unless it’s exterior bodywork of course) as that only applies a cosmetic cover up. I would always go for a rust converter such as Jenolite or Deox Gel from Bilt Hamber (good informative web site) and follow that with a zinc rich primer and then your wax treatment, repeated whenever possible.
When I built my XJ-S Cabriolet from a new bodyshell back in the early 90’s I was horrified to see lots of bare metal on a brand new shell and the damaged car I stripped as a donor had the sandwich mounts for the rear cage bolted directly onto bare steel. Needless to I spent a great deal of time wax injecting and undersealing it before assembly - no comfort to you now I know.

Regards,
Ian

[poprivet]

I've been following Rogers pages on the restoration of the bodywork with great interest, he seems to be tackling the corrosion very well so I would assume the wax injection is to follow these repairs not to cover up any existing rust?

[iRS]

Ian / Pop

Thanks both for the input. I was rather hoping, in posting this, to encourage a number of different ideas and views on rustproofing hard to get to areas so this is all good input. Hopefully, we'll get some more thoughts too.

Ian - as Pop says, this question is posed as part of a major on going restoration - detailed in other posts on this forum - though I'm sure is relevant to many other owners with cars in seemingly good condition. All the cars are getting very old these days. I have been surprised quite how deep the corrosion lies and am convinced that most owner's car will have rust in areas they have no idea about. By the way, I see you're not so far away from me. Orkney is closer than a good deal of England!

One such area I am concerned about is the subframe. It took me my third attempt to find a decent one, but I am well aware that I need to protect it inside. See this picture of the first one I had to scrap and note the amount of internal corrosion.

and the amount of rust that fell out of it:

Another good example is the front scuttle. I have cut out a rusty bit here, but you can see the area inside that is lightly corroded.

This is actually after applying rust convertor.

Thanks all for the input so far.
Roger