underbody protection
Turbo Mini Forums

hi everyone,

im after some advice about underbody protection.

i would like something that can be painted over, easy to use/apply, and lasts a long time.



thanks
josh

My build thread..

http://www.turbominis.co.uk/forums/index.php?p=vt&tid=542985

tetraschutz works

The general term is 'stonechip'

Don't use it sparingly. I uses 1 liter per sill, down to the first rib on the floor pan, and another liter per rear wheel arch and front under wing.

Thats 6 liters so far, and is pretty much how it was applied at the factory before the MPi models.

If its just a track car, then a thin apliction wil be ok, but if you want to use the car on the road, consider wax rather than stone chip!

I opted not to use stone chip on the floor pans and boot floor, as I will be using Dinitrol wax system instead, as it is less likely to hold the water ike the stone chip eventually does. There will be 3 litres of cavity wax used and 3 litres of underbody wax. All this to keep the rust at bay for at least another 10 years!

I spent loads of time stripping all the original stuff off to make sure there were no secrets, and then i'm putting it all back on. Zero weight loss in that respect

well i would ideally like to keep the weight off, but don't want to have a rotten mini in a few years time!

i'm building a weekend/trackday toy so it will only see nice days hopefully, but we all get caught out sometimes i supose

is Dinitrol wax over paintable?

thanks
josh

My build thread..

http://www.turbominis.co.uk/forums/index.php?p=vt&tid=542985

No wax is over paintable.

I would suggest then i f you wat to be able to see the paint on the underside of your car when you have put it on its roof you need to apply stone chip, then the paint, and a light covering of clear waxoyle instead of the Dinitrol. This way you get the best of both worlds..

i was thinking to paint over the bits on the sills and the wheel arches where you can see it when its on its wheels lol

your idea sounds like the one for me!

thanks

My build thread..

http://www.turbominis.co.uk/forums/index.php?p=vt&tid=542985

would i put primer on the stonechip before the paint? or just put the paint on top of the stonechip?

thanks

My build thread..

http://www.turbominis.co.uk/forums/index.php?p=vt&tid=542985

I wasn't sure so I asked in a back street body shop, and they didn't know either?!

I applied the stone chip nice and think to get the texture you find on modern vehicle sills, sanded the peaks off, applied primer two pack primer, then two pack top coat. Looks just like what you would find on a new car! The texture varies with different thickness application.

I learned the hard way, the first time round back in 2006, and applied it thinly, which gave a very dusty, rough fininsh that grabs hold of dirt. This time round I was adament I was going to have the smooth ripple effect, I experimented, and that came from just applying the stone chip until you see the effect you want. to achieve that I used a liter per sill, wheel arch, under wing. Allow it a good time to go off. the thickr you apply it the longer it will take. I left it a week.

Floor pans don't need the stone chip, but will need a good coat of wax, from any of the top brands.

Waxoyle do black and cear. The clear is more of a yellowish finish the thicker you apply it.

Dinitrol is a higher specification than the Waxoyle. They do a caxity wax which is quite thin and is designed to creep into gaps. It is recommended to apply this to the under body first (and all the cavities obviously) and let it go off before applying the underbody wax wich is black and a lot thicker.

other than that, I'm not sure what you can do. I personally am leaving the sills and under arches without any wax, just the stonechip and paint coat. Everything else excluding the tunnel will be getting a liberal coat of the wax.

Also worth noting that if you have the underbody areas back to the metal, to apply brushable seam sealer on oll the panel joins before applyig anything, and allow it time to go off and shrink, and believe me, it really does shrink!

Hope thats of use. I am by no means an expert on body prep, but I did spend a good while researching the options.

Have a look on here http://www.rust.co.uk/

thanks sprocket thats a great help.

is the stone chip in a rattle can any good as i have some in the barn.

this stuff....

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...e=STRK:MEWAX:IT

thanks again for all your help. :)

My build thread..

http://www.turbominis.co.uk/forums/index.php?p=vt&tid=542985

Don't waste your time with the rattle cans!!

all you need is a cheap Aldi compressor and the gun from Machine Mart, for the 1 liter cans. Buy the stone chip in the 1 liter cans from your local paint supplier, or online.

Like I said, I have used 6 liters and not done the floors.

nice bit of info there colin....:)

Exactly as Coilin says....

I used this make

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6-x-STONE-CHIP-A...=item56360dfc9e

6 litres, overpaintable and even adding the cost of the gun (~£10) it's cheaper than the rattle cans per litre and remember the rattle cans are mostly solvent to let it out the tiny nozzle.

Schrödinger's cat - so which one am I ???