NAS D110 Rust - Solutions?

[DefenderDreams]

I am finalizing a purchase of a NAS D110 that has rust appearing on the bottom of the doors and a few other places. Short of having it torn down, sanded down and repainted any suggestions for quick but not necessarily beauty perfect fixes? I had thought of just sanding down affected areas, rustoleum applied and then paint code match paint then painted ontop in affected areas (all done in my handy dandy garage). Any thoughts or feed back would be great!

[Nasdiesel]

The problem is deeper that sanding and painting. You are better off replacing the doors/affected panels with new.

[DefenderDreams]

Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately I won't know the full extent until I own it and it is sitting in my driveway. At that point I will pull off the panels and look and see if it is cosmetic or deep down rot.

[J!m]

Many NAS 110 doors were replaced for rot while still in the original warranty period.

Chances are they are rotten.

If you replace them, keep them Waxoyled on the inside, especially where the aluminum meets the steel frame.

[DefenderDreams]

Thanks for the suggestion regarding the "Waxoyled" on the inside. I will do that. Have you heard of a product that helps prevent the rusting in the first place. Some sort of electrical electrode that you attach to the body to keep it slightly charged and therefore helps reduce rust forming? I remember reading about something like that several years back.

[J!m]

The Waxoyl will prevent the rust in the first place. I meant to say, apply it to the brand new doors to prevent it.

As far as applying an electrode to reduce rust, that is difficult.

Since the body is mating panels of aluminum and steel, you essentially have a very weak battery. Ions are stripped from the steel whenever they are in contact. Salt water acts as the catalyst, making the process happen faster.

To make the effect lessen, you need a less noble metal than the steel. I suggest Zinc, since it's cheap.

If you had a large zinc electrode, the potential would strip the zinc ions rather than iron ions. But where do you put it?

The best prevention is to isolate (insulate) the aluminum from the steel. Some restorers use plastic sheets at all the body attachment points. Make sure everything is well protected with paint, and keep the truck free of any salt or other chemicals such as Calcium Chloride or fertilizers.

One thing to avoid is stainless steel. Since it is more noble than both the aluminum and the iron, it will strip mions from both... I have seen quite a few series restorations where the body attachement points were rotting faster than stock because they "improved" things with stainless hardware. Stick to zinc plated hardware, but I suggest nylock nuts and never-sieze on all nuts and bolts.

[DefenderDreams]

Thanks for all the suggestions and solutions, I will keep this on file for when the 110 comes in and I have a chance to really look it over. Sounds like you need to open a restoration shop yourself so the public can take advantage of your knowledge of land rovers!

[J!m]

I had a company for a while called "the Rover Shop" where I specialized in expedition preparation.

No business, so I shut it down.

Everyone wants to look the part, but doesn't actually use their vehicles for expedition. Looking the part is easy; actually being able to survive an expedition is not (and preparation is not cheap either). There is a lot more to it than meets the eye...

I do the occasional repair for friends now, at reasonable shop rates, on my terms.

[jmx]

Regarding J!m's post on the use of zinc instead of stainless steel - is this true of the stainless steel bolt kits that are sold as solutions to rust? I've not seen any zinc bolt kits offered.

[J!m]

zinc COATED bolts (not solid zinc bolts, which are far too soft).

The corrosion is faster when stainless steel (a more noble metal) is in contact with aluminum (a less noble metal) in the presence of electrolyte (salt water is a really good one).

Use standard zinc plated bolts, and change them as needed. Apply a generous helping of copper never-seize compound and fasten them with nylock nuts. If you use standard nuts and washers, the lack of rust will allow them to vibrate loose. The rust actually helps keep them tight normally, but since we don't want rust, we must have nylock nuts to ensure they stay tight...