Car wash- undercarriage - Metropolis.

Evening all!

I'm concerned about rust, currently the ladder frame on my disco 2 is in very good nick with minimal corrosion, and i'd like to keep it that way long enough to save up for a Dinitrol treatment. This car will be kept minimum 20 years.

Yes I should really be getting underneath and doing this myself, but life does have a habit of getting in the way!

So does anybody know of any automatic car washes that clean the undercarriage?

I know Shell garages in my area (near Bristol) don't, not sure about the supermarkets. Tried googling but it's dominated by american sites.

Thanks in advance

Car wash- undercarriage - RT

If you have a pressure washer, an accessory is available which slides under the car and sprays upwards.

Car wash- undercarriage - Metropolis.

Those look ideal, tempted to get a pressure washer just for this purpose

Car wash- undercarriage - Manatee

Here's a silly question that somebody might be able to answer.

Car washes frequently recycle water. Presumably the final rinse uses clean water, but recycled water can be used for the foaming, pressure wash, intermediate rinses.

In the winter, lots of vehicles must come in covered in dried salt. Does the vehicle then get blasted with salty water? And if you have a chassis wash, does that get a clean water rinse?

If not, the chassis wash in winter might be doing more harm than good?

Car wash- undercarriage - gordonbennet

I have an L shaped lance for my pressure washer, ideal for these underbody blasts, but high quality pressure washers are in a completly different league (and cost) to the usual accessory shop items, mine is a Kranzle.

Also make use of a long Ford, the old road in the nearest village which passes parallel to the bridge and at about 20 yards acrossand about a foot deep is ideal to drive through, so after a few wet mild days when the salt has had a chance to drain away from the roads and the underbody salting softened, i make a detour on the way home and go through the Ford a few times at a suitable speed to give the underside a really good rinse down.

Rustproof my own vehicles and use Bilt Hamber's finest to do the job, my Landcruiser being a similar size to your Disco cost a bit over £200 in product to do a thorough job, but if you have a compressor and shutz type gun you could probably knock £80 off that cost by buying their bulk packs.

I do a thorough job, i've had one vehicle professionally rustproofed @ £400 (would cost more now) but i believe i did a better job myself, and since using better materials in the form of BH instead of Waxoyl, the job is easier better quality and infinitely less messy, and these new better materials dry faster without the months long stench that you have after Waxoyling.

Like you and the trusty Disco 2, i have every intention of this LC lasting for many long years.

If you want a good underbody steam cleaning prior to rustproofing, or as a deep clean after the winter salt has gone, try a commercial vehicle workshops, they usually have a ramp that lorries can be driven up onto giving access to the underbody for steam cleaning, your Disco will straddle the ramp easily, and these chaps know what they are about, doing the job without damage, you can always wrap any modules or electronic units that might suffer in cable tied polythene wrap.

Edited by gordonbennet on 05/02/2018 at 19:36

Car wash- undercarriage - Metropolis.

Found a couple of local car washes that do the undercarriage. Not sure how effective they are, may well end up buying a Karcher with chassis spray accessory. Ford sounds like a great idea, will make use of that suggestion! There is a group called 'Flatdog' that offer a Dinitrol coating for £400.00 but they are up Doncaster way. I'm not familiar with the commercial workshops but I have found a few ramp-hire places nearby.

Any particular reason you chose Bilt Hamber? I've been under the (perhaps incorrect) impression Dinitrol is the way forward, looking at these sorts of kits www.rejel.com/rust-proofing/rust-proofing-products...c

Thanks

Car wash- undercarriage - gordonbennet

The reasons i like Bilt Hamber?

I used to use waxoyl before, but the stink (months) and the mess was unbelievable, having to warm the stuff up on the cooker hotplate just to try and help it flow, soon as it cooled your spray pipe and nozzles would be blocked up in seconds, their applicator was genuinely a nail pushed into a thin pipe.

Can't remember where i first heard about Bilt Hamber but i gave it a try, what a revelation.

You can buy their large aerosols, the cavity wax of which come with a long probe which has a proper diffuser fitment on the end, i've yet to have a blockage but obviously don't try and apply in cold weather.

Compared with Waxoyl its very expensive, however the wastage and ease of use and cleaner work IMHO balance out as being a similarly priced job, and the smell is gone in days, the products are IMHO very good, probably on a par with Dinitrol, i have also bought their wheel cleaner (spooky how it works) and their car wash TFR meant for pressure washers, it goes on snowfoam like and brings the paint up a treat, i'm a big fan of BH's products as you can tell though i have no affiliation other than as a satisfied customer, i get no discounts either :-)

The cavity wax applicators are brilliant for inside the ladder chassis, as you pull the probe along you can hear and see the spray approaching through the various drain holes in the chassis (so many people forget inside the chassis, think of Navaras with broken backs), similarly you'll see misting appear in door drain holes and if you have any access holes for the sills/arches etc you can really go to town on them, its a very satisfying job, then coat the chassis outside and the exposed body underbelly in the the wax designed for heavy wear, this goes on well.

Luckily with us having vehicles high off the ground with good approach angles i bought two higher than normal ramps (wider than standard too) and together with the ramps i had previously i drive the vehicle forwards up onto all 4 ramps at the same time (my second set of ramps fit just nicely under the sills in front of the rear wheels, if you are on air suspension then you can go higher still), then a large polythene sheet on the ground, and a large old rug or carpet is ideal just bin it when finished) and you're ready for a weekends preparation (thats what takes the time) followed by rustproofing.

Obviously this proves useful for normal maintenance as the vehicle is far safer up on 4 ramps than on any number of axle stands and nothing in the way when sliding around on my creeper.

I have no idea which is best, BH or Dinitrol, both high quality IMO, i found BH's products very easy to apply and work with, good website too for the home dabbler like me...maybe Dinitrol is aimed more at the professional with high pressure airlines and guns doing the job full time, but that's just my impression and quite possibly i'm out of touch as things change.

That place at Doncaster (they work on classics a lot if its the same place) i had considered myself, but it was going to be a heck of a long day and/or you have the expense of an overnight stay plus travelling costs.

If you're going to get a pressure washer do some reading up, headline pressures quoted really means very little, its the water flow in litres/min you are looking for, i was lucky in that i asked the chap who maintains our steam cleaner at work for advice before purchasing the wrong thing, as i have done before.

Edited by gordonbennet on 06/02/2018 at 20:37

Car wash- undercarriage - bathtub tom

I reckon the problem with pressure washing the underside of your car is it can remove any protection applied.

Pressure washers are known to force water past oil seals and for that reason I won't use one on my cars, other than the fifty quid jobby I used for off road competition and then not up close.

I just use a hose and mains pressure to rinse the underside of my cars.

Car wash- undercarriage - gordonbennet

I reckon the problem with pressure washing the underside of your car is it can remove any protection applied.

Pressure washers are known to force water past oil seals and for that reason I won't use one on my cars, other than the fifty quid jobby I used for off road competition and then not up close.

I just use a hose and mains pressure to rinse the underside of my cars.

Thats fair comment BT, and one of the reasons i spoke about pressure washer specifications.

You need a decent water volume, with that comes a better standard of gun and nozzle, so you can have a wide spread and turn the pressure down and get the ideal balance pressure/spread which is miles better than pure mains pressure but not enough to cause damage.

Thats where the domestic pressure washers can fall down, they don't put enough water through so you end up relying on pressure with a smaller jet pattern hence where damage which you speak of happens.

Where these underbody lances really come into their own is cleaning things up prior to underbody treatments.

Car wash- undercarriage - Christopher Parkinson

Hi,

DO NOT use a hotplate to heat waxoyl. This is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS! You could end up with sever burn injuries and probably burn your house down into the bargain.

If you are going to use waxoyl on a diy basis simply empty a couple of kettle fulls of boiling water into a bucket and let the can sit in that for about 20 minutes. Then take it out and give it a really good shake. You could also empty it out into a suitable receptacle and add some white spirit to it.

Cheers Chris Parkinson

www.before-n-after.co.uk

Car wash- undercarriage - FoxyJukebox

When using the hand car washes-I always ask the guys to specifically squirt their jets as much under my vehicle as they can-plus of course a good going over ( or under!) all 4 wheel arches. Being an Audi A3 this seems a totally acceptable approach. They willingly comply!

Car washw- undercarriage - andyp

I put a rotary lawn sprinkler under mine after the winter. Not enough pressure to damage the underseal but going by the colour of the water running down the drive it gets a lot of salt and dirt off the underside.

Edited by andyp on 07/02/2018 at 21:14

Car washw- undercarriage - Manatee

I put a rotary lawn sprinkler under mine after the winter. Not enough pressure to damage the underseal but going by the colour of the water running down the drive it gets a lot of salt and dirt off the underside.

What a brilliant idea.

Car washw- undercarriage - focussed

I would stick to Karchers, widely available, small ones, bigger ones etc

A huge range of accessories including a 45 degree long lance like this which works well develops a fierce jet so that you really have to hang on to the lance.

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Kaercher-Extra-Long-Angled-Spra...2

I paid about half that price by searching around.

Having gone through one or two electric pressure washers I now have a Karcher G4 - 10M petrol pressure washer 120 bar pressure mainly because I got a belt (shock) off of the last electric one due to the earthing arrangements here in france, which can be a bit hit or miss.

Don't forget to flush the detergent line through if you've been using it, the detergent will rot the casing, and purge/drain the water out of the pump on your pressure washer, protects against corrosion and freezing.

Car wash- undercarriage - Komo12k

Have you thoght about taking it to a detailer? If not try Puregreen24 after you've cleaned it with some WD40. It worked on my old beemer.

Car wash- undercarriage - John F

I have never used a pressure washer. In winter I just rinse with a watering can full of rainwater and a soft brush. No wiping. Driving in spring rain storms removes salt. If keeping a car indefinitely, aluminium ones are best.

Car wash- undercarriage - Komo12k

God! No brush, never!

Car wash- undercarriage - bathtub tom

God! No brush, never!

Why not? I always wash my car with a brush on the end of a hose. It's a car, not a valuable old master. It's going to be driven with stones, grit and all other sorts of rubbish thrown at it that'll do far more damage than a brush.

Car wash- undercarriage - John F

God! No brush, never!

Why not? I always wash my car with a brush on the end of a hose. It's a car, not a valuable old master.

Brushes are used to clean valuable old masters (not that anyone can often tell the difference between VOMs and fakes......)

Car wash- undercarriage - paul 1963

God! No brush, never!

Totally agree!! and old masters are not cleaned with them either, they use cotton wool but that's drifting off topic

I never use a car wash, hateful things but I do use the local jet wash to wash the underside.

Paintwork etc is washed using a noddle mitt using the 2 bucket method but I'm rather anal about such things .......

Car wash- undercarriage - speccynerd

Pressure washers are a menace. I have had hgv vehicles damaged 4 times by the annual pre mot pressure wash. Damaged wheel bearing, steering joint seals blown, brake caliper seals blown, grease blown out of control linkages. They will also damage paintwork and underseal. I use low pressures jets. The lawn sprinkler under the car idea is great, I will try that myself.