Nick Woods Posted May 25, 2002 Share Posted May 25, 2002 I've spent this afternoon taking a closer look at my bimetallic corrosion (see here) and it all seems to be around the double-skinned area between the cockpit sides and the outer skin. In other words I have one bit just by the pedal box and the other right in front of the rear wheelarch. I have two plans - the easy one is to drill a few moderately sized holes (about 8-10mm) through the inner skin and then spray loads of hot waxoyl diluted with white spirit through in the hope that it will get between all the joins and stop the corrosion. I'm thinking of 2-3 holes per section as there are a couple of vertical tubes that will block the spray. The hard one is to completely de-rivet the inner panel (ie the one on the inside of the cockpit) so I can take a good look at the problem and make a better job of cleaning it up, breaking the contact and then waxoyling the whole area. This seems to me to be the way of getting the best result. My concern is that I might be biting off more than I can chew, I've never deriveted (or riveted for that matter) anything before so I dont really know how hard it is. I'm reasonably handy with mechanical and practical things so I think I can do it, but I'd appreciate it if someone could let me know if this is in fact possible and if so the best way to go about it. I assume its just a case of drilling out the old rivets, removing the panel and then riveting it back in again Nick P8MRA - The green one with red wings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevefoster Posted May 25, 2002 Share Posted May 25, 2002 It's not hard make sure you can get a drill in square. One of those bendy bit drives may help. I just waxoyl that area really thoroughly and have never had any corrosion problems with my sevens. Even Jason who's car I winter waxoyl each year (he drives from East of reading to Heathrow EVERY DAY ALL YEAR ROUND) does not have corrosion here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metal mickey Posted May 25, 2002 Share Posted May 25, 2002 Nick, if you remove the inner panel you may have to remove the impact protection between the inner and outer skin. It's held in with silicone sealer and is aluminium honeycomb between two pieces of ally sheet. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Woods Posted May 26, 2002 Author Share Posted May 26, 2002 Thanks for the info everyone. I doesnt sound too bad apart from the silicone which past experience has taught me can be a nighmare to unstick. Unfortunately if the original owner had waxoyled the car to start with I wouldnt be trying to fix it now sad.gif I have a follow-on question which is probably going to sound really stupid. What are the rivets are made from - if they are aluminium why dont they corrode like the body panels do ? Will any rivets do so long as they are the right size or do I have to order something specific ? Nick P8MRA - The green one with red wings Edited by - Nick Woods on 26 May 2002 19:27:39 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simos Posted May 27, 2002 Share Posted May 27, 2002 Nick, last time I looked at a screwfix catalogue it had silicon sealer remover in (melts the silicon or something) Might be useful for you, was in the adhesive/sealers section. www.screwfix.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeE Posted May 27, 2002 Share Posted May 27, 2002 Another silly question. You say if the previous owner had bothered to waxoil..... Do factory built Caterham have any corrosion inhibit applied or am I likely to start seeing this on a 2 year old 7? What are the first signs of trouble? Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Woods Posted May 27, 2002 Author Share Posted May 27, 2002 I'm the 4th owner, so its less of a caseof the previous one waxoyling it than of the original one. From what I've seen here and learnt myself, Caterham / Arch had a bad patch during the 90's when the powder coating wasnt applied properly. I dont know exactly when they sorted it out but as far as I know its less of a problem now. To be fair though it seems a lot of people have been caught out by the corrosion issues (just do a search in these forums..) so the previous owners may not have realised it was necessary. Although your car may be better than mine in this regard, I'd still be inclined to spray everywhere with waxoyl, especially in the areas where dirt is inclined to collect. At worst you'll add a little bit of weight. The two areas I think are the worst in this respect are :- between the outer edge of the footwell and the outer skin - you'll need a mirror and/or ramps to even see this one, but follow (with your hand)the diagonal tube which runs down from the top tube just behind the suspension mount towards the footwell and you should find it. Also do anywhere underneath the rear of the car and behind the cockpit area that you can get at. Its not expensive - I've just bought a Waxoyl starter kit for about £22 from my local car parts place - it has a pressure sprayer, 2.5L of waxoyl and an extension hose. Dont forget to get a good supply of white spirit for cleaning up and make sure the stuff is hot before you start - they recommend you stand it in a bucket of hot water for 30 mins or so before commencing. Also put a plastic sheet down to catch the drips, wear some old clothing with goggles and a mask - it stings your eyes and tastes horrible. Not a pleasant job but definitely worth it IMHO. Nick P8MRA - The green one with red wings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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