Advice on first detail of 10k,20yr old car undercarrige

M

Mr Concours

New member
I am going to be detailing the under carrige of a real time warp 20 Year old mini with only 10,000 genuine miles on the clock the car has only had 2 elderly lady owners,has always been looked after IE; Always garaged, serviced twice a Year,never put away wet.The cleaning regime of the owner while not Autopian was better than average,with generic car shampoos and waxes used regularly,so the bodywork is pretty good.



What I have been asked to do is detail the wheel arches,underbody,repaint the steel wheels and chassis.



The underbody just appears dusty rather than dirty but the problem is on this era car the underbody has no stonechip protection just paint (which seems in good shape) what I need to do is clean it in the least aggresive manner possible.



I was planning to:

1,Put the car on axal stands remove the wheels.



2,Use Autoglym degeaser to soak the whole chassis/undercarrige( I have a 25gal can left over from my car trade days)



4,Agitate with a long handled painters rad brush then rinse with a Karcher pressure washer.



5,Spray on Fariy liquid (UK version of Simple Green made by Procter an Gamble) agitate and rinse.



6,Repaint wheels/chassis and any other areas that come to light.



7,Spray undeneath with WD40.



Any thoughs on anything else I could do?different steps?different products?Bear in mind the limited supply of products over here in the UK, but I can always order over the net.

What about using petrol/kerosene?I have no experiance of this.
 
Quote: Advice on first detail of 10k, 20yr old car undercarriage



~One mans opinion / observation~

It’s good to know that the original Mini is still viable (what model is it?)



I don’t see anything wrong with your cleaning plan, my only reservation would be ‘Fairy Liquid’ as it contains sodium that could lodge in the seams and rust.



Good luck (I hope you’re able to post pics when it’s finished)





~Hope this helps~



Experience unshared; is knowledge wasted…/



justadumbarchitect * so i question everything*
 
TOGWT

The Mini in question is only a bog standard 'city' but its such a low milage honest little car,in a really bright yellow called Snapdragon.



Your spot on about Fariy containing salt,but I was hoping if I rinsed it enough it would be ok,With you being able to try Simple Green and Fairy any idea how the compere?I was hoping the WD40 would chase out any remaining moisture,but now I think of it, all the dust might be drawn to it.



Hadnt thought of posting pics so when I get round to doing the work (Spring) I will try.
 
Here’s my take on:

Detergents:

Washing-up liquids should not be used on vehicles bodywork as their concentrated detergent and usually high sodium content will remove polish / wax and dry out the protective oils from the paint film, rubber and vinyl surfaces, Generally avoid the use of household cleaning products for automotive detailing as they are formulated for an entirely different type of cleaning.



My preference is P21S Total Auto Wash as it’s citrus based and bio-degradable (it will clean anything from carpets to exhaust grease without harm)





~Hope this helps~



Experience unshared; is knowledge wasted…/



justadumbarchitect * so i question everything*
 
Mr Concours- Cool project :xyxthumbs



I'm with TOGWT on this, get some TAW or equilvalent, don't use something with all the sodium in it if you can get something else. If you DO use it, rinse rinse rinse and you'll probably be OK. Also, *I* am not a big fan of WD40 (sorta thin, messy too, and as you said-dust attraction), but that's just me. *I* would probably WaxOyl it if I were over there across the pond. It's a different (thicker) approach, but time tested. Or I'd at least get some wax-based stuff and spray that on certain areas.



Other than that, your plan looks great. I just did a similar job on a '75 Jag (same sorta story, 2 elderly female owners, etc. but 70K miles), I even used a Karcher pressure washer, too! I only used Simple Green for the worst, most oily spots (VERY leaky Jag...), generally, the TAW worked great. Maybe your Autoglym stuff will work well enough that you won't even NEED anything else very strong.



Pressure wash with clear water first, so you don't waste your Autoglym degreaser. Check for gravel/sand in out of the way places and flush it out before degreasing. Let the degreaser dwell for a while before agitating wit your brush, and then some more before spraying/rinsing it off. Run HOT water to the Karcher. Maybe hit it with compressed air to aid drying and help force water out of nooks and crannies. Have extra brushes and lots of rags on hand, you might need them more than you'd first expect, won't know until you're in the middle of the job.
 
I did something similar on an XR2 a while back - it was a clean low mileage standard car.



I removed wheels and put on axle stands then power washed undercarriage first to remove all debris with straight water, no detergent. I then wire brushed the entire underbody and arches (worst job ever!) and pressure washed again.



I then used AG engine cleaner to degrease - think I went through about 10 of the consumer sized bottles! Rinsed and left it al to dry in garage for about a week.



I then painted entire underbody in Hammerite silk black and arches in gloss white - not a concours job but it looked stunning IMO.



Miss that little car a lot!
 
Great project, did the same thing last year! I ended up using Simple Green Automotive (dilluted and I believe a slightly different formula) when I cleaned my wheel wells. Something like APC or similar products probably work better and are less harmful for your car but to be honest I didn't notice any problems. I just redid all four wells for this years concours events and it took me 1/4 the effort to clean it again. I will admit that my car has factory undercoating and I'd heed the advice given by others regarding keeping sodium away from your car.



I followed up with Griots Undercarriage Spray when I did mine. I highly recommend this product, it darkens black, leaves a satin finish and makes future cleanup even easier. It also prevents dirt/mud and grime from really sticking to your undercarriage. It's almost like a barrier for your undercarriage. Worth shipping from the states.:up If you plan on painting in there I'd do that before applying the undercarriage spray as it really adheres to the surface and prevents ANYTHING from sticking.
 
I am with the others, Fairy and WD40 will probably cause more problems in the end. If you cannot get hold of the Total Bodywash have a look at Iauto, they seem to have a very similar product. My guess is that the Autoglym will do the trick.
 
Thanks guys, I will take all your wise words on board, I am fast going off the Fairy and WD4O idea,and may repaint the wheel wells and undercarrige in the standard body colour and possibly use Dinitrol on any out of the way rust (if there is any).



Has anyone any idea if the subframe/chassis should have a satin or I shiney black finish?I know you can get chassis black paints but I think I've seen one somewhere with a shiney finish on the chassis parts.I would hate to get that detail wrong.
 
I have no ides on the gloss of matt finish of the subframe bits, i know alot of the concours Peugeot boys aint bits under theres that where never painted!



I meant to post some pics of the cleanup i did on the 306 and will post the 205 before and afters when it finished.
 
~One mans opinion / observation~



Groit’s Undercarriage Spray contains Silicone, and will stain concrete, so if it matters….

I use this product and it does what it says it will.



Autoglym’s Bumper Black is an alternative, it’s an aerosol so application to hard-to-reach places is easier.





~Hope this helps~



Experience unshared; is knowledge wasted…/



justadumbarchitect * so i question everything*
 
What is the real purpose of the undercarrige spary, to protect? I would rather get on my back everyweek and wipe the floor plan with an old autoglym shammie.
 
~One mans opinion / observation~



Both these products are for aesthetics, they provide some protection (as a sacrificial element)







~Hope this helps~





Experience unshared; is knowledge wasted…/



justadumbarchitect * so i question everything*
 
undercarrige.jpg








Quick pic of results by the method i used.
 
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