Diy rustproofing "waxoil" & "hamerite".

[HERBIEMERCMAN]

hi everyone, i bought an e300. td. 7 seat. est. in 1997. at the 5 yr old point i waxoiled all the doors, tailgate, inner wings, bonnet cavities, fuel tank, cills and chassis. you mix 50% waxoil, 25% cheap engine oil and 25% white spirit. you drill 10mm holes at appropriate points and you buy some plastic plugs from your car bar to cap the injection holes. you need a decent oil gun and a compressor capable of misting the mixture such that the oily mist can be seen at the outlets on the section you are injecting. this completes the inner cavities which are not seen. now the hard part is the painted bodywork, you have to remove all the door seals, top and bottom suffer the most as they are wet even in summer months due to the sponge rubber. after drying and removing any loose rust you apply rust neautraliser fluid, it looks like milk, after 5 mins it turns black, the fe02 is now nuaeted. the black area is now coated with hermetite epoxy paint, this seals the affected area. inner edges of the wheel arches are done the same, it's only the outer visible edges as the inside of the wings, above the plastic mud shields are coated in the waxoil mixture. i accept this is a messy operation but it works, i do not have any rust. when i move my car or open a door etc. the water just runs off, just like the ducks back. it is very sad that mercs are in need of this treatment unlike the bmw's, but i have a merc and rust has to be a non starter, like many things on the merc's list of woes you have to sort things yourself unless you can afford a post 2004 model with the galv. treated panels. i am quite happy with my waxoil mix, my father introduced me to it in 1960 on an austin sixteen which he wanted to stop rusting. herbiemercman.

 

[Mercedes 190E]

I agree with you about Waxoyl, but to be fair my 1990 W124 TE only has a fist sized rust patch on one front wing and nothing else. Not bad for 19 years old and 8 owners......
(New wing and Waxoyl coming soon!)

 

[Juddian]

I hadn't heard of mixing engine oil before and i'd be a bit worried about the oil perishing rubber bushes over time, but i've been a waxoyl fiend for many years now and providing you keep the salt at bay by regular rinsing off and inspect and touch up exposed points that get really bad salt battering, it does a good job.

We bought our pick up new, and i had the ladder chassis sprayed straight away with a thick coat of Waxoyle's undercoat, Shutz i think...its a thicker black coat of waxoyl....and repeated the following year, unlike most of the ladder chassis of the same year, 2 winters, showing bad rust staining at weld seams ours is completely clear.
Had to paint the exhaust in heatproof paint too, that was rusting terribly first winter, very poor show.

Keep hearing on various forums that its all a waste of time because modern cars don't rust any more, and they don't break down or go wrong either apparently. Different to what i see when i poke my head under many.

This type of treatmant does work but most owners of newer cars don't bother (most don't even hose out the crud and salt from wheelarches or brake calipers for goodness sake) because they don't intend to keep their vehicles long term.

keep it up Herbie....

 

[teddycatkin]

John -- another tip for the W124 front wings after removing and cleaning all dirt and rust from the cavatiy in front lower wheel arch (which collects water)and after the waxoil we use a big handful of grease --spread it nice and thick inside and replace the trim and cover--the last one treated never showed any further signs of rust for 7 years!
Teddy

 

[cleverdicky]

Well I may not be a vet merc owner, but I have had and worked on / restored many cars over the years, inc many old Fords back in the day. And if ever there was good rust to be had it was on some of the old Capri's and cortinas esp if they had a sunroof and internal drains down to the sills.
My twopenneth worth and this come from experience, is to scrape away all or as much as you can of any the horrible loose jointing mastic, esp off any edges, clean all drain holes and then where cosmetics allows, paint liberally all joints edges etc with black bitumen roofing paint. Generally costs about £2.50 a big tin. You can paint over when its dry, though paint can glaze so dont use where it shows, but believe me there is NOTHING better for doing places like the inner wheel archs, lip or sill edges and anywhere the damp gets. It can be a horrible messy job, make sure its all really clean first, but you shouldnt ever have to worry about rust there again. I once did the whole of my Isuzu 4x4 chassis with the stuff .

And just one other thing, despite all I've heard and read regarding anti corrosion and special nano particle paints on mercs. Since doing up a broken '04' c180 w203, I have had a good opportunity to see first hand the considerable care and attention to rust prevention on the metal work, joints and sills, and believe me, aside from a few extra drain plugs there isnt much difference to those early fords.

So expect a run on black bitumen roof paint any time soon.

 

[turbopete]

problem is if the joints etc rent completely dry, the bitumen seals in the moisture. schuts is better, but can let moisture through after time as it can crack as it hardens up. the engine oil in the waxoyl trick works well as waxoyl never sets and the engine oil thins it to get into all the little nooks and crannies. ideally though its best applied undiluted, just warmed up and warm panels if possible! a really sunny day for the panels and heated waxoyl is perfect in my experience! plus no oil mixed in it keeps the tree huggers happy! LOL

 

[television]

As you say turbopete waxoil on its own and first class when heated up, it will also melt any hard under seal and seal it.

I too cannot see the reason for mixing it with oil (used oil is suicide) items coated in oil will rust if exposed to the weather

 

[turbopete]

the only reason i can see for mixing it, Malcolm, is to dilute it as you would use thinners in paint, so it gets into smaller places. but thinner means a thinner coating and less protection. given the corrosion problems that some cars seem to have id say that you need as much protection as possible!

 

[television]

When heated to 20c I use an old spray gun, and give several coats, and yes any thinners is only a means of getting a product onto a surface

 

[5907]

I treat all the arches and the underbody on my car with Hammerite Unberbody Seal, using a brush. Not had it long enoguh to see how well it works yet, but it seems good.

 

[HERBIEMERCMAN]

hi malcolm / turbopete, i apply waxoil neat with a brush, suspension, brake pipes fuel tank, etc. it sets hard and cannot soil your clothing. i add good engine oil at 25%, just for high pressure spraying, this makes it more serching and is ideal for cavaties, the oil assists attomisation and plumes into every corner. "waxoil" is wax emulsified into oil, adding a little more good new oil is ok, and the 25% white spirit is just a volatile transporting ageant which evaporates. i have 40 yrs experience, current three cars are 13 yrs old.no rust no problems. old engine oil smells, is acidic and part solvent to some rubbers, mainly nitrile phenolics, silicone blended rubbers and ptfe's are inert. herbiemercman.

 

[LYNALL]

Did the underneath of mine the other day still got the doors etc to do.


Lynall

 

[turbopete]

well mines getting the waxoyl works. if i ever get the running sorted. then i can attack the rust. incidentally, has anyone tried that por15 stuff and painted it with any joy? i read on a wesite that it cant be painted with cellulose, but does that include mtallics that most mercs are painted with as the hardener is only applied with the clearcoat (laquer) and not the colour?

 

[gorselands]

Great fan of Waxoil but talking to a bodyshop they weren't so keen on using it behind bodywork rust repairs. Because it provides an airtight seal, any remaining rust, damp, they say, is forced through the repair.

Gorselands