TR2/3/3A Rustproofing

[crew43]

Need advice on rustproofing sills on my 3A . Has anyone used Dinitrol & if so , where can you buy it in the states ?

 

[number6]

Believe it or not, try Ebay. I looked for a supplier for evostick adhesive all over the US, to install new top. Found it on ebay quickly.
Haven't used Dinitrol, have used Waxoyl, which works very well, but is tough to apply, Almost too hard to use unless it's 90 in the shade, and you heat it in hot water. I would be interested to know how you make out if you use it.

 

[luke44]

Shoot this through the drain holes....I used it - really liked the results. Keep it off paint, it's very tough to remove...

https://www.eastwood.com/internal-frame-coating-w-spray-nozzle.html?reltype=2&parent_id=25961

 

[charleyf]

Are you referring to the inside of the sill and rockers or the outside?
On the TR3 that I am presently working on I used POR 15 on the outside of the sills and the inside of the rocker panels before they were put on the car. The sills that I have removed from original cars had rusted from the outside in and not from the inside out. However the rockers are much more likely to rust from the inside out.
Charley

 

[TomMull]

Are you referring to the inside of the sill and rockers or the outside?
On the TR3 that I am presently working on I used POR 15 on the outside of the sills and the inside of the rocker panels before they were put on the car. The sills that I have removed from original cars had rusted from the outside in and not from the inside out. However the rockers are much more likely to rust from the inside out.
Charley

I found the same rust patterns with the sills on my car.
I assume you use rust-thru primer on the weld surfaces of the outer sills. As a rust preventer, that stuff is slightly better than nothing but there is no alternative I know of other than shooting something in after welding.
Tom

 

[charleyf]

Tom,
I try to paint over any welded areas before I cover them up. Not always possible, but I figure that these cars from this point on are not going to be subjected to the harsh weather that they saw the first 50 years of their existence. So the need to be near the 100% rust proof is likely an over reach. Of course I say that living in California where today it will be clear skies and 60 degrees. I don't envy you folks that are getting blasted with early snow and really cold temperatures.
Charley

 

[Scot1966]

As Charley said, I too paint over the welded areas if I can reach them. If I can't get to them, I coat the insides of the panel I am welding with POR15, and a couple coats of Wurth high build undercoating. I then scrape off the POR and Wurth only where I am going to weld. My theory ( and hope) is the Wurth will liquefy with the heat, run over the back of the weld, and somewhat seal the area. Wishful thinking .....but agreeing with Charlie again....many of these cars will never see rough weather again.

 

[crew43]

Are you referring to the inside of the sill and rockers or the outside?
On the TR3 that I am presently working on I used POR 15 on the outside of the sills and the inside of the rocker panels before they were put on the car. The sills that I have removed from original cars had rusted from the outside in and not from the inside out. However the rockers are much more likely to rust from the inside out.
Charley

Thanks to all for the input . I'm referring to the inside of the sill . There was a hole rusted in the wheel tub that allowed water , dirt , salt & what ever to enter the right sill . It rusted out a large portion of the bottom of the sill . I didn't see a need to do major surgery , so sliced the bottom out & had pieces made to box it in . With the bottom open , I cleaned it out & painted it with SEM rust seal , sprayed all bare metal pieces with weld though primer & welded them in place . Just wanted to coat the inside to cover what was burnt off where the welds are , the whole ounce of prevention deal HA ! The car definetly won't get the abuse I gave it in high school , but still want it to make it well into the future .

 

[TomMull]

Thanks to all for the input . I'm referring to the inside of the sill . There was a hole rusted in the wheel tub that allowed water , dirt , salt & what ever to enter the right sill . It rusted out a large portion of the bottom of the sill . I didn't see a need to do major surgery , so sliced the bottom out & had pieces made to box it in . With the bottom open , I cleaned it out & painted it with SEM rust seal , sprayed all bare metal pieces with weld though primer & welded them in place . Just wanted to coat the inside to cover what was burnt off where the welds are , the whole ounce of prevention deal HA ! The car definetly won't get the abuse I gave it in high school , but still want it to make it well into the future .

Good approach in my opinion. Too many of us, myself included, got into the "replace everything that's not perfect" or "replace it now while it's all apart " mode when a patch might have made more sense. With ill fitting sills (apparently now much better), cutting the bottom of the dogleg for access, and re-alignment issues, the patch approach deserves more consideration. Perhaps at some point you could post a picture.
By the way, the insides of my original sills had no evidence of ever have been painted, primed or coated (hard to tell for sure of course, after 50+ years) and yet were in much better shape inside than the outside.
Tom

 

[charleyf]

The rear of the sill is pretty much the only place for water to enter the sill. I have tried to make sure that the sill end at the rear wheel arch is closed water tight when I am replacing the sill or in one case replacing the rusted out metal in the wheel arch.
My opinion I that the new sills that TRF is manufacturing ( they do offer two different sills, theirs and another one they carried previously) worked out well. I had a problem with the earlier sills as they were not correct for floor height. I thought these new ones worked out very nicely. My fitment problems were not the new(TRF) floors, sills or rocker panels but rather that the body had been rolled previously. Getting two panels to fit is not a problem but getting three to fit together is a real chore. I took this car on as a major project and sure enough it is a REAL PROJECT. But it is a whole lot of fun as well.
Charley

 

[crew43]

Good approach in my opinion. Too many of us, myself included, got into the "replace everything that's not perfect" or "replace it now while it's all apart " mode when a patch might have made more sense. With ill fitting sills (apparently now much better), cutting the bottom of the dogleg for access, and re-alignment issues, the patch approach deserves more consideration. Perhaps at some point you could post a picture.
By the way, the insides of my original sills had no evidence of ever have been painted, primed or coated (hard to tell for sure of course, after 50+ years) and yet were in much better shape inside than the outside.
Tom

I didn't want to disturb the integrity of the door openings any more than necessary , since everything gets built from there out . I mocked everything up in heavy poster board first to get my dimensions right . Also my sheet metal guy loves it when he has a visual aid . I try to retain as much of the original pieces as possible because of questionable aftermarket parts ( stone guards come to mind ) . I will post some pictures as soon as I clean up some of my welds :highly_amused: .

 

[crew43]

Shoot this through the drain holes....I used it - really liked the results. Keep it off paint, it's very tough to remove...

https://www.eastwood.com/internal-frame-coating-w-spray-nozzle.html?reltype=2&parent_id=25961

How did you clean inside before applying or is it that critical ? Some places you can do little more than blow them out .

 

[tdskip]

How did you clean inside before applying or is it that critical ? Some places you can do little more than blow them out .

You want it as clean as possible but hard to get good access there. This product is pretty thin, it will run everywhere so expect that and it does make a mess if you are unprepared, but that also mean sit should coat everything except where there is baked on thicker dirt. Short of getting a pressure washer in there not sure what you about that. Shouldn't be the case if the sill has been sealed but I never cease to wonder what comes out of any car I need to open up.

Curious what others have done here...

 

[luke44]

How did you clean inside before applying or is it that critical ? Some places you can do little more than blow them out .

I just put on the extension hose and squirted it, according to the Eastwood description it " penetrates, converts and encapsulates the rust on the internal surface". Sounded good to me and the user comments were pretty positive. I liked it and would use again.

 

[crew43]

I guess that's what I'll do when I get to that point . I wanted to stabilize the sill before I pull the tub & have it blasted . thanks to all for the replies .