2019 Jimny Rust Prevention

STEP 4: Buzzweld CIO

Update on the progress made yesterday. I let the vehicle dry thoroughly, I blew the chassis and running gear down with a blower to expel any trapped moisture. Now because this Jimny is only a year old and the rust is pretty superficial (as you can see in step 3) I didn't feel any dedicated rust treatment was required, other than a little bit of manual preparation.

I've carried out similar work to an old sports car and the removal of loose flaky rust is probably the single most important part of any rust prevention job - so if your vehicle is badly rusted, take your time doing this. Follow that up by using a rust converter/isolator of your choice - my personal favourite is "BILT HAMBER HYDRATE 80".

On my 2019 Jimny I gently brushed the rusted areas with a brass bristle brush to expose clean steel. (This didn't require much effort - this is the beauty of protecting a new vehicle).

I followed this by using a gentle degreaser (methylated spirits) in a spray bottle and wiping the area down with a clean rag.

Finally I applied two generous coats of BUZZWELD CIO to all of the black running gear components. Focusing on the areas that take a real beating, Axle housings, Suspension to body mountings, steering knuckles etc. I chose BUZZWELD CIO on the recommendation of the forum, It's a delight to work with. The spray nozzle is really controllable, it can be dialled in for a really precise spray pattern with minimal overspray. The paint itself dried in about 5 minutes if not quicker and stuck like s**t to a blanket (my clothes and skin will testify. The CIO claims to be an etch primer/encapsulator and chassis coat all in one (hence the name) time will tell how it holds up.

Here's a few photos of the end result:

Looks a good finish!

It's pretty ridiculous to see rust appearing so early on a new vehicle.

Yep you're right! sad times. An observation is the rest of the car still seems immaculate i.e the body work and chassis, not a spot of rust after 12 months.

But the black running gear seems to have been blasted by salt and debris - most of my commuting is up and down the motorway to work. (Worst kind of road for salt exposure in the winter!!)

Hence why I'm going to town on it. More to follow tomorrow morning

Cracking job, looks amazing.

I'll have to give buzzweld a go as there are a lot of people raving about it.

STEP 5:

Rust preventative WAX!

There any many brands and different flavours of rust preventative wax, I don't want to get into a debate over which brand is best etc. It's really down to personal preference, the key thing is application and preparation.

I allowed the CIO to dry over night, I probably could have over coated it sooner as it seemed to dry so fast :woohoo: But it's better to be safe than sorry.

I used BILT HAMBER DYNAX UB - purely just because I have experience using it before on my old BMW, I knew what to expect. Bilt Hamber make two flavours of underbody wax, one is a dark brown engine oil colour (UB) and the other is an almost clear very light translucent brown (UC). For this job I bought one 750ml Can of UB. Dynax UB is fantastic because it dries to a hard flexible film (if applied correctly) which doesn't chip peel or wash off. Some cheaper forms of underseal can remain sticky and messy long term which is horrible when carrying out any routine maintenance.

The trick with his stuff is to be patient and apply it sparingly, the cans are superb and can be sprayed upside down no issues with a neat and uniform spray pattern. I dusted several coats on until I'd used the entire contents of the can. Again focusing on the rust prone areas. It's important that you wait a few hours between coats, because this stuff is solvent based. If you rush the coats on without letting them thoroughly dry, you'll end up with a thick sticky mess.

The areas that I coated:

- Axle Housings, Body mounting points, steering knuckles, suspension and track rod components & sills!

Unfortunately I didn't buy enough to treat the entire floor pan and chassis, so that will have to be a job for later on in the summer. This sort of job is a long term love affair, I've spent three mornings underneath the JIM this weekend. Thats enough for me until the next time. Here's a look at the results so far:



I'm really pleased with the finish. The Dynax UB has dried to a hard waxy film - over the next few days it'll cure completely. We had a little bit of rain in the south west yesterday water globules could be seen 'beading' off the coating, It's extremely hydrophobic. The plan at the end of the summer will be to inspect this coating, top up the remainder of the chassis rails and apply BILT HAMBER DYNAX S50 (Cavity wax) to the internals of the box section.

*Top tip* if you find any overspray or get any of this Wax on a sensitive substrate - it'll clean off within 48 hours using a rag & WD40

Thanks for reading! To be continued in a few months....