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Getting Dinitrol off to check extent of rust damage

oneafrikan

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Hey folks,

Wheels for the build are in motion now, not literally - she's parked up outside with a gash in the rear passenger quarter panel which you could fit your hand into... but figuratively - waiting on quote for the spray work.

Yesterday I found this when the wheels came off:
Truckasaurus - an 80 series living in London - [Leaving Land Cruiser Club]

So what was supposed to be a "good dinitrol treatment" when I first got her (the person/entity won't be pointed at now), turns out to be a cover up job which scares the bejesus out of me - if the mechanic hasn't spotted this (when they spotted other welding needing doing in the same area), and the welder who did the seatbelt mounts hasn't spotted this, then who can I trust? What else is lurking under the black stuff?
So I'm going to get underneath the car and document everything so that when we do the welding this time around, we fix EVERYTHING.

BUT, how do I get under the Dinitrol that has been done?
Only solution I can come up with is to have it removed, and then go through the whole underside properly, do the work, then have it re-done... which leads to two questions:

1) how the hell do you remove a whole underbody of Dinitrol to check properly?
2) is Dinitrol really the right stuff to use in 2023? what about Buzzweld? what about Chris at BeforeNAfter (he's in the Land Rover Magazines)?

Anyone attempted this before?

or am I better off chipping away at common rust spots to see what happens, applying this liberally:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Autoglym-Intensive-Tar-Remover/dp/B001I22LY2/ref=asc_df_B001I22LY2/
and then hoping for the best...

My shattered nerves... there I was driving around Spain with a huge bloody gash underneath!
 
Krown underbody treatment is essentially penetrating oil that creeps and doesn't actually dry . 2 years later i was still finding drips running out of bonnet and doors on a warm day .

If theres rust under the Dinitrol I would assume Krown , if it could find a way in would break the bond allowing you to chip the Dinitrol away in sheets .

Annoyed with myself because i have to get the Krown off in order to make things pretty (black) with rust converter before reapplying Krown or Lanolin . Not necessary i don't think but its annoying that the underside of my 80 might be described as in very good condition - especially as it is untreated .
 
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There is always a danger when you buy a car thats been undersealed - you don't know whats lurking underneath.

Theres loads of thread on here regarding rust treatments and prevention.

A lot of us on here have done our own because getting it somewhere near right requires a fair bit of prepatation - and a lot of hours = a lot of £ if someone else is doing it. Plus for something like this, you kind of always do a better job yourself because its your truck....
 
Removing a coating of anything is going to prove much harder than the good and proper preparation that should have been done before it was coated . Thats why i suggest the Krown is like penetrating oil , when a treated brand new chassis gets a stone chip oil fills the hole thus preventing rust .

On an old chassis it creeps causing loose paint and rust flakes to fall off , and so i would assume it would creep under Dinitrol if there is rust beneath the coating .
 
I got mine done 10 years ago by I guy up north who specialised in this sort of thing and who had a 6 month waiting list to prove it. I think he prepared the vehicle by sand blasting if I remember correctly.

If you want his details I can dig them out and you can have a chat???

Either way, what your wanting is not a quick, easy or cheap job, but on these vehicles it is well worth doing.
 
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Agree with Nick, blasting of some sort, whether it is sand, walnut shells, soda, etc whatever.
Any good specialist will tell you the best way to attack it.
 
You can usually tell if an area is rotten or solid by tapping it with a pointy hammer. If it clonks, you're good. If it makes a hole, that's not so good ... it's probably not viable to strip it all off and start again, rather check the usual and most important places e.g. around body mounts and sort those out if needed.
 
Getting it all off is a nightmare to contemplate but is it necessary ?

Areas of low prep will be easily identified because they are always the most difficult bits to get at with power tools .

Perhaps a heatgun would bubble and blister dinitrol allowing you to peel it away in these areas and take it back to clean metal before reapplying dinitrol .
 
The irony is not lost @frank rabbets ;-)

Thanks for tips folks - going to go after obvious places with Autoglym tar remover first then take it from there…

Lots of lessons here…
 
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