1978
« on: 28 August 2013, 01:14:09 »
Going off at a slight tangent, but to do with rusty wheelarches.....for those cars with already rusty wheelarches, then this is probably of no use unless you have them repaired with new metal, but for what it's worth, to prevent the common corrosion problem occurring, as long as your arches are predominantly rust free, then I recommend the following.... On a warm day ( warmer the better) remove all the side trim from the boot / tailgate areas, including all electrical parts such as Bose sound equipment, fuel flap solenoid etc. This will give good (reasonable would be a better description!) access to the inner wheelarches /bowl. If there is evidence of surface rust, treat it with a rust converter such as Dinitrol, which is available in aerosol form and has a long shallow angle spray patten which can be directed into the arches and as far as the front edges of the wings by the back doors. You will have to contort yourself at some unusual angles and place your arm into the inner rear wing areas and aim pretty accurately to perform this satisfactorily. Leave this for 16 / 24 hours before doing the same process, but with a good quality wax rust proofing compound such as Bilt Hamber or Dinitrol, which can come with special lances to help access the difficult to reach areas. If your arches are very good with no sign of corrosion, then just apply the wax rustproofing compound. The warm temperature helps the stuff to penetrate / creep into welded seems. I have also used Supertrol which isn't found regularly, and it is quite thin, but is excellent for this task, as it penetrates any seems where rust can take a hold. Normal wax oil just covers seems, and is too thick to penetrate them, but obviously the hotter the day, the better the substance flows.
It's a messy job, and the car smells of it for a week or so, but its well worth while. I started doing it on Cavaliers I owned in the 90's which used to suffer with the same problem of rusty arches, and rust in the arches on cars I treated was never a problem, and my three Omega Elites have since had this treatment. They all live outside, and the wheelarches are all totally rust free.
Of course, the application can be applied to any crevice where rust is normally a problem, but avoid spraying it on any rubber items as it can make them deteriorate prematurely.
This treatment will also help to hold off any corrosion from repaired arches.
This subject may have been covered before, but seeing this topic made me think about sharing this for the benefit of others. After all, Omegas will never be made again, so look after your prized possession!
