Weather etc. protection

[rsk289]

I'll ask this on the Ace forum, as you chaps seem to use your cars on the road in a more 'normal' manner than Cobra owners.  I have a Hawk/Kirkham leafspring car which I'm making as accurate as possible, and would dearly like some advice on protection of the underside.  On all my previous sportscars I've sprayed the underside liberally with stone chip (eg Terotex), then covered this with Dinitrol 4941.  My thoughts have always been that it may not look lovely but at least it's preserving what's underneath.  I intend to use this car thoroughly - annual trips abroad, Euroclassics etc. and don't want rot appearing in the rolled wing edges or stone dents appearing upwards in the wings.  Any advice would be very welcome!
   
   Oh, and to make it a little harder to look after, it's black...

[dkp_cobra]

Hi,
   
   the german Kirkham expert used a neoprene matting inside the fender for this purposes.
   
   Peter

[Klassik Metall]

After 20 odd years of building and repairing aluminum bodied cars I now recommend the following underbody protection to my customers.
   
   firstly seal all wire edge seams with a very thin bead of 3M drip chek sealer ( you can use others but most are a pain to remove if the panel ever needs repair or welding).
   
   Apply terotex 2000 to all wheel arch areas with a shutz gun. This coating is not bitumen based and therefore remains slightly elastic, which stops cracking and impact denting. The grade of ali that Kirkham use for their bodies is so hard (way harder than that used on original AC bodies) that unless you are contemplating serious off roading no further protection is needed.
   
   Lastly for the underfloor areas I would use a mist spray of Dinitrol 485. This is a clear protection wax that has a tack free surface. The Dinitrol 4941 that you have used is a heavy black coating that is more suited to modern cars that require heavy salt protection.
   
   All the best with your project.
   Luke

[rsk289]

Thanks Luke - nice to know I'm not a long way off accepted practice!

[B.P.Bird]

Come on chaps - all Aces and Cobras are supposed to have stone chips and the Thames Ditton idea of protection on the chassis was a quick blow over with black cellulose. You'll be asking for air bags next.....
   By the bye the Kirkhams I have seen use a gauge of metal, in body panels, which would not be out of place on HMS Dreadnought.

[Klassik Metall]

Some of the original body framework tubes I've seen didn't even get a quick blow over!
   I haven't seen any Kirkham panels thicker than 16 gauge but they sure are as hard as a battleship.[]

[rsk289]

Well, the framework tube protection is authentic then - a very easily chipped coat of black complete with runs and missed bits!  Fine by me...
   
   So, Barrie - not a fan of clear plastic adhesive stone chip protection, then?  I was thinking of some, at least around the sills.
   
   3M drip check now ordered - thanks again Luke

[AC Ace Bristol]

Roger.
   
   BEX1034 was fitted with Inner Wing Stone Guards,  (I think they were made with a  Stainless steel frame infilled with St/St Mesh, or could have been ALuminiun ) BEX1034 was campainged in such events as   "Carrera Pan America"  and  "London to Istanbul" rallies to name but two. Say no more...[:p]
   
   I believe these underwing Stone Guards were made by Classic Autos, in Kings Langley, Hertfordshire.  WD4 8HB.
   
   Give Aubrey Finburgh a call on  01923 262994.
   
   Keith.[]

[B.P.Bird]

Keith you remind me - I have a sketchy notion that Thames Ditton had a tradition of fitting lightweight aluminium mesh inside wheel arches to protect the wings from 'starburst' stone chips and, it was claimed, reduce spray in wet weather. My Aceca had them and this was probably the last model to use them. I think the 2 litre saloon had them and some PVT cars and I seem to recollect that A.C. had a patent on the idea. Does The Archivist have a date when A.C. introduced the system ?

[BEX308]

Rinsey Mills' book "AC Six-Cylinder Sports Cars in Detail" has a bit of information on the splash guards on page 245 including a photo of the medallions affixed to the mesh identifying the patent number as 413355. The date of the patent would give a good approximation of the time when these guards were first fitted. The application was in January 1933 and the patent issued in 1934.
   Pete

[rsk289]

Sorry to resurrect this somewhat ancient thread, but true to form I've only just got around to this part of the restoration.
   I spent yesterday carefully masking up the nearly-completed car, and shot a can of Terotex 2000HS into each wheelarch, giving a decent thick coat.  Used gray, which looks a bit more like the ally than black.
   Stood back to admire my work, then a horrible thought struck me - I sprayed directly onto the aluminium, considering this as a metal protection surface - but I suppose it's paint!  Should I have primed or etched the bare metal first?  Bit late now...
   
   Any advice?
   Roger

[Klassik Metall]

The Terotex should  stick well enough to bare ali, even better if  degreased and roughened up with scothbrite or similar first. Although personally I would use an epoxy primer (can be applied with a small roller) on the bare metal first.
   
   Regards Luke.

[rsk289]

Thanks Luke.  The stupid thing is that I have aerosol cans of etch primer sitting on the workshop shelf, just didn't use my brain.  Oh well - if it starts to fall off I know what to do!

[Exowner]

Hi all, I'm trying to decide how to protect the underside of my front wings on the Ace and found this thread which answered a lot of my questions.
   If I go down the mesh shield route I can copy the Aceca which has that sort of set up. I have already obtain 10mm closed cell foam and high temperature adhesive. My big concern with going down the foam route is removing the sprayed-on stone chip coating that has been on there for possibly decades and is now rock hard. It appears to be the stuff that many manufactures used to spray along sills. I need to get back to nice roughed up bare aluminium. I'm loathed to use a heat gun for fear of damage to the paintwork, and trying to soften it with a solvent would be messy beyond belief. I tried a test 'scrape' and I fear that I'd do more damage than any stone chip that I'm likely to come across!
   Does anyone have any knowledge of the mesh guards that Keith mentioned above by Classic Autos?
   Thanks for those who posted above for the useful info.
   Any suggestions?
   Glenn

[ctpearce]

Classic Autos made up a set of these stone guards for the front wings of my Aceca BE588 based on the very tired originals.