So many double entendres in that the two Ronnies would have been proud of it. Nice to know you poked your long nozzle in, like Adam did. Seriously though nice job and what a superb rear end you have when it's bared like that. Anyway keep squirting that nozzle in those cavities.
Today I decided to look in my driver's side door cavity. No deep nozzle penetration and spraying was required. I found behind the panel it had a covering of sound deadening material with the pretty foil covering. None was on the outer skin of the door though and thats where it needs it because that panel being large, flat and thin is liable to echo sound waves. If I can find mine I will add some. See if that stops the vibration sound at higher speaker volumes. Well I thought I'd include an inside photo as there was some horrible rust. Thought it would warn you others as mine is a young car so older ones could be a lot worse. The rust was at the front half of the door. There was nothing obvious in the latter third. I scraped a majority out, dabbed in some rust converter and sprayed in some high zinc primer. I'll spray in some waxoyl type stuff tomorrow.
Continued with the door rust prevention today. Actually I started yesterday afternoon. I just left it overnight to dry/set before I put the parts back. Was a horrid week with the rain, hence I has not been expedient with the project. Wanted to do it when it was damp so I wasn't trapping any dampness. Well I initially sprayed some cavity wax that was runny to let it soak in between the seam. Then when that was drier I overcoated it with underbody waxy which is more viscous. I didn't coat the entire inside of the door as I didn't think it was strictly necessary. Might help but higher up is less prone to rust. I just did the bottom. I took a few photos. Not of the end result. I'm sure you can imagine brown waxy stuff in there. These 2 show after application of the cavity waxy which you can see formed a nice liquid bead in the seam.
Does a post-2007 Copen need rust-proofing? In this post I do not intend to retrace the excellent ground that was covered by Adam at the start of this thread, which indeed formed a great deal of the advice that I used in dealing with Neville’s situation as I brought those photos in on my smartphone, but simply to ascertain the extent to which Daihatsu did a better job in protecting the post-2007 Copens from the dreaded tin-worm, at any rate the ones destined for the European market. Neville is still within warranty, until the start of September 2014 in any case, so one might expect that his paintwork is still in good condition. Nevertheless, heeding the advice of many Copenistas, I decided that it would be wise to take matters into my own hands rather than trusting to Daihatsu’s suspect rust-proofing. I arranged to do the work with my friend Ian, a bit of a diva with the spanners since he runs and regularly re-builds a hill-climbing 1930s Alvis. Wonderfully his friend John, who builds trials specials, has his own two-post lift in his barn-garage on his farm, meaning I could dispense with the axle stands and wriggling around under the car! With the front assembly removed the front beam and wheel arches were dealt with: To be honest, I was quite surprised at how much untreated silver-painted metal was revealed under the wheel arch liner – it received a liberal coating of Waxoyl, especially inside those much-maligned wheel arches. The various cross members/bracing struts on the underside were also showing signs of corrosion and were dealt with: Then it was time to remove the rear bumper assembly – Adam, you never mentioned what a pain it is trying to pop out those indicator lenses! Once it was off I received a shock :-(( – Neville appears to have been booted up the rear at some point: Of even more concern was the state of the paint – around the dented metal it is flaking away, but just look at those seams! It’s bubbling away alarmingly. As we worked at the flaking paint it became apparent that there is just a single layer of silver paint here – no primer and no undercoat! What is going on? How’s that going to survive the ravages of a British winter, with salt on the roads?? There was further damage to the right as well and just look at what has happened to the paint around one of the bolt holes: So, all that flaking paint, from a car less than 5 years old, was removed and a liberal coating of Waxoyl applied: The wheel arches were also given the treatment, remembering how many owners have had to spend serious money in having the rot cut out, new metal welded in, and the area re-sprayed: So, all that now remained was to follow Adam’s advice in using the drain holes in the doors to apply the Waxoyl to the inside of the two doors and prevent any deterioration. Bumpers, wheel arch liners, wheels back on … Job done! So, what have I learned from this process? Well, I think it seems clear that whilst I have heard that Daihatsu may have applied better rust-proofing to the later models, I haven’t compared what I saw on Neville to an earlier model. Nevertheless, I was surprised and disappointed with the poor protection afforded a car that is just five years old and is thus showing considerable signs of corrosion. My advice to all owners of year-round Copens in damp playgrounds like Europe, where cold winters and salt-treated roads will play havoc with untreated car bodies, is not to chance it but to make the rust-proofing of your plaything a priority; after all, it’ll be autumn in just two short months from now, and who knows what conditions will be thrown at us this winter? For me, removal of those plastic bumper sections revealed some worrying corrosion – I’m confident now that Neville will be able to shrug off anything that the British winter can throw at him. As for Ian and John and their expertise – Neville and I are eternally grateful!
Impressive stuff Jules! My 10 year old MLC certainly had rust issues - bubbling rear wings and holes behind the front wheels in the wheel arches but the back end ( under the bumper) was fine. Admittedly I've still only done 19000 miles but the salt on London roads is gruesome! Maybe the 650s aren't all bad?
wouldnt keeping a copen garaged and only used in dry conditions prevent the rust issues ? say if you didnt rely on using it every day ? like a classic car ownership
Well, Badger, in true Trustafox/DaG style I was delighted to hear that your back end was fine .... So, is MLC a summer-only ride for most of the time? 19000 for an 04 is pretty good - I picked Neville up in November 2013 on 18.5K and he now reads 21K, so we're already ahead of you! Glad his corrosion has been sorted - want him around for years to come.
Yup, I'd agree PauliePaul, and it's clear that quite a few owners SORN their Copen as winter approaches, tucking it away in a warm, dry and cosy garage where it will have a nice sleep over the nasty months. Others of us don't have that option - my garage is full of logs and the usual detritus and, although I'd happily store Neville there if I could, he's going to get used throughout the year as Mrs. Jules often needs the Honda for visiting grandchildren and other wifely past-times while I use Neville for work. To be honest, it was one of the reasons I could justify my little fling!
I've just bought a 2004 Turbo Copen. Very few bumps but rust started to appear mainly under the car. I'll try going with some black paint which applies directly over the rust. I'll might paint a black line all around the car in the bottom.
Hi, I'm the same, my little love bug as been used as an everyday car and bye golly it's been a fantastic 15 n half years of pleasure I've had driving it. I'm sad to be saying goodbye as the rust and head gasket is a cost to much to get done. So time to let go. Pitty the rust has got to many places in my Copen, even the condensation in the boot has caused alot of wet which has rusted the metal under the carpet bit. Arrr,well ☹️
I cavity-waxed my Copen, but I want to suggest that you keep a little of the wax in the can and when you have finished everything, cut the end off the extension tube leaving about 8 inches of the flexi tube intact. Then, inside the boot, push the tube in until you feel it connect with the outer skin at the top, then squirt some of the wax directly onto the outer skin so that it runs directly down the skin and into the very bottom of the seam between outer and inner skin. You might need to move the tube a little to make sure the wax runs in both direction. The idea is to have the wax run and let gravity allow it to move down to the sills at the front and the back of the arch where ii is joined to the cross section of the boot. Do both sides. The side where the petrol tube sits is more difficult to get to. The reason for doing this is that the long flexi tube may not apply enough wax via the spray to get right down into that crucial seam between inner and outer skins. It also sprays at 90 degrees to the tube which means you may not be getting enough of the spray into the wheel arch seam I only know this because I have seen cavity wax applied with a spray and although almost everything was covered, it was clear that very little of the wax had got down to the tiny gap where the seam is, which is where the rust is most likely to start. Also, remember that you can remove the plastic door scuff plates to find more holes to squirt wax through.
