Hey guys,

I have started stripping down Wheely (which had been parked for 5 years under the rain of the tropical rains of the Ghana eastern side) - and to my surprise the two areas that I've seen normally deteriorate in Defenders actually look like new - the bulk-head on the engine bay side and the internal part of the doors -


I'd like to keep it that way for some other years to come - what do you recommend me to do?

1- I have read in some threads that people when restoring doors they put some seam sealing between the alu part and the steel part - how do you do that? do you think makes sense even if I am not rebuilding it but keeping as is?
2- I was planning to take off the original paint of the bulkhead with a paint-stripper, sand-it, surface clean it, epoxy prime it (his one from UPOL) and then raptor it - what do you think? since I am not dismantling the engine I won't be able to do the whole bulk-head but mainly the foot-wells

your thoughts are welcome

You don't say what age Wheely is but condition looks very good. If paint on bulkhead is still sound I would leave it alone and only treat any loose patches.Then coat with a waxoil or similar preserver before refitting wings ect. As doors are not being rebuilt do the same for them.

For insulating the steel from the aluminium to prevent electrical rot induction, all you need between the two metals is either some Sikaflex marine sealant or, as I have done, slip s strip of PVC sheet in between the two components before you crimp it all back together again.
Remember that I am a very poor pensioner, ex-pat Yorkshireman, living in the wilds of the Northumberland coastal strip of Tynemouth.

Oldseadog said:

Remember that I am a very poor pensioner, ex-pat Yorkshireman, living in the wilds of the Northumberland coastal strip of Tynemouth.

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Can't be very poor living in Tynemouth. I'm the poor one along the road in North Shields.

I'm with @tottot if it's in good condition then cavity wax it. Dinitrol 3125 is a thin cavity wax that is great for creeping in to very narrow spaces through capillary action. You can buy it in kits of cans with a pipe attachment for going in to things like the door frames and bulkhead pillars and a simple straw attachment to direct it at specific places. Use the straw to spray it along the edge of the aluminium panels where they overlap the dorr frames. Do it on a sunny day with the doors in the sun so they are hot. It will help the dinitrol penetrate in to the seems. There is thicker dinitrol for doing the outside of panels.

Great thanks mates! Wheely is 1996 so with 22 years on the clock most of which not being used (when I bought it from the fireservice it had about 35,000 miles) I was very surprised to see the various parts in these conditions.

There are no loose patches nor on the bulkhead footwells nor on the doors - I would like to keep it that way, so you think leaving the original paint as it is would be sufficient? I can't get Dinitrol around here nor equivalent cavity was unfortunately. Rather than overpainting it with Raptor which is a bedliner/stonechip should I just giving it a brush with the antirust epoxy primer?

neilp1 said:

Can't be very poor living in Tynemouth. I'm the poor one along the road in North Shields.

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NE30 is a very expensive place to live, and full of grockles all year round, as are parts of NE26 and NE29!
None of our totally useless local councillors live here either ... even on their 'expenses'!!