2019 Jimny Rust Prevention

Afternoon All,

So as previously discussed in another one of my threads - I've been planning a bit of preventive maintenance over the lockdown period. I plan on owning my little Jimny long term, so I thought it would be a sound investment (of my time) getting underneath and giving it a thorough going over.

I'll walk through the steps I've taken and the products I've used, with the aim of helping others carry out the same job.

So here Goes!

STEP 1: CLEANING :evil:

So my Jimny only being a year old, there wasn't a great deal of heavy debris or crud. There was a fair amount of salt residue from winter and general grime. The following process can be used for a more heavily soiled Vehicle, you may just have to repeat the process and be more patient!

I began by driving the car up onto ramps, then jacking the front of the vehicle up using my new big boy trolley jack. Two axle stands were then placed underneath the front Radius arms (IAW the Suzuki manual).



Once I was confident the car was secure (I gave the car the confirmation wobble) - I Began cleaning.

I used a product called "BILT HAMBER SURFEX HD" which is a heavy duty alkali based degreaser (more on the alkali malarky later). I used a spray bottle to wet the entire underside of the vehicle, I did this very liberally. I let this dwell for around 20-30 minutes and went and made myself a cup of tea.


STEP 2:

The next step is to agitate the grime and dirt, this is a really important step because no degreaser no matter how fancy it is will remove 100% of the grime. I did this using a small amount of hot water with a dishwasher tab dissolved into it & a cheap dustpan brush. (This is another strong Alkali based degreaser). Theres no easy way to do this chaps, you've just got to take a can of 'man up' and embrace the fact that you're going to get filthy!
My only tip would be to use a damp brush opposed to a soaking wet brush, to avoid the horrible water down the armpit! Objective is to agitate only!



As you can see, even a one year old car is pretty gross.

STEP 2 CONTINUED...

So let's talk about Alkali Based cleaners. **warning - science lesson** An Alkali cleaner is at one far end of the pH spectrum, in layman's terms it's a salt based cleaner, Other common examples of this are fairy liquid. On the other end of the spectrum, you've got Acid/Acidic based cleaners. These aren't very common and have to be used carefully as they can damage certain substrates (plastic/rubber etc).

I Work in the Aerospace industry, typically 'on-wing' and during an engine Overhaul visit one of the most common Aero-engine Cleaners is made by a brand called 'ARDROX' they make a variety of powerful alkali based cleaners that remove all manners of contamination.

So why am I washing the underside of my vehicle using a salt based cleaner? surely the objective is to remove as much salt residue from the UK winter roads?

YES, but there's no getting away from the fact that most powerful degreasers are alkali based, They're just extremely effective.

HOWEVER the Alkali Based degreaser needs to be neutralised before you apply any sort of protective coating. Because the cleaner it self will leave a corrosive residue if left alone.

I did this using a pH neutral 'VALET PRO SNOW FOAM'. This part is great fun, get the power washer out, set up your snow foam lance to a really heavy setting and cover the underside with snow foam. This snow foam sits bang smack half way in the middle of the pH spectrum, meaning it'll neutralise any aggressive Salt based cleaner. Let the snow foam dwell for around 15-20 minutes, go and make yourself another cup of tea! (a pattern is emerging here).



More to follow..

Nice work.
I would be tempted after the clean to lower the vehicle and go for a drive (assuming the weather stays dry) - essential shop for more teabags. It should help disperse any trapped water that would normally take a few days to dry out. Should help avoid trapped water under the (I assume to be applied) wax layer.
Looking forward to the finished item.

STEP 3: Rinsing!

Once the pH neutral foam cleaner had dwelled, I planned my attack with the power washer. I decided that the best tools I had to give me good results were as following.

- A drain cleaner attachment for the pressure washer.
- Standard Karcher floor cleaner (turned upside-down). :silly:
- A standard high pressure lance.



The drain cleaner was a little gem. For those of you that haven't used one before, it's a small tipped jet that fires high-pressure water in a forward and rearword direction. It's powerful enough to propel itself forward through any box section/drain. For the Jimny, it was small enough to fit within the generous drain holes that are present virtually along the entire length of the chassis.

So I proceeded with flushing out the box section, pressure washing the underside with the upside-down floor cleaner and blasting the arches and Axle housings with a standard high pressure lance.

End Result - Gleaming! :woohoo:



Although, there are very early signs of Mr Rust. Not overly impressed with the durability of Suzuki's factory powder-coat finish on the running gear.. See below a close-up of 'one of many' rust spots. (Rear Panhard rod mount bracket)

Great thread, I'm interested to see what you do next. I wish my 2004 looked like that underneath!

Nice work. So glad I had mine Dinatrol'd after the 2000 mile check up now. Glad I didn't wait.

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....