Hi everyone.

I was having a look underneath my car the other day, just checking to make sure there was nothing obviously wrong before setting off on a 450 mile round trip. I noticed that the rear subfarame appears to have quite a bit of corrosion as seen in the attached photo. I think it could be related to the fact that I have spent the last year on the South Coast and the salt in the air is accelerating the corrosion. I was wondering, could this become an issue as I plan to keep the car for another 3 or 4 years?

 

TBH, that looks like fairly normal surface rust. You'd only need to panic if there were lumps falling out.

• Location: england
• Model: skoda fabia mk2

did you mean to post in the superb 2 section?

Oops, my apologies, I thought I had posted it in the superb 2 section.

My recommendation on surface rust like that is Owatrol Oil :-

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0038LWMFY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Magic stuff

 

Thanks for the advice, is owatrol like a rust converter which you can paint over? 

In the summer when I have some free time I'll remove/convert the rust, give it a coat of paint and spray some cavity wax inside, this may be a little over the top but it'll give me peace of mind that the subframe will remain solid.

 

I use Jenolite waxoyl spray great coverage and makes it look like new afterwards

23 hours ago, fabia88 said:

Thanks for the advice, is owatrol like a rust converter which you can paint over? 

 

 

 

Owatrol is a fantastic rust inhibitor that kind of looks like engine oil (be it in cans or aerosol)  and sets to a kind of resin. I've used on suspension components including spring cups etc, inside wings (inner/outer), on steel sumps, body seams that are just starting to pick up rust. It is possible to paint over, it's also possible to add it to paint!

 

I've used Waxoyl in the past but I've found if on external surfaces it washes off. Internally within sections I also had issues as it didn't really soak in to rust but kind of sat on top - angle ground out some sections cut out to repair with evidence of blobs of Waxoyl plopped on top of laminated rust. I had much more success mixing it with clean engine  oil - and spraying into sections - saw a car recently that I'd restored in about 1988. Rust proofing still performing well.  These days as well as Owatrol I'm a fan of Dinitrol within chassis/sections/sills/ door/boot/bonnet bottoms etc. 

 

Two Owatrol examples - photo's just taken!

 

1. I painted Owatrol on Mrs BJ's 2006 Panda sump that was steel and starting to badly rust about 5 years ago - It's held it ever since.  ok.
2. I rescued a present Mrs BJ had got from a friend many moons ago (possibly a decade) that had awful surface rust after it's first night outside. A clean and literally a wipe over with Owatrol has preserved it (more or less) since

Edited 3 May, 20224 yr by bigjohn

+1 For Owatrol.

@bigjohn

Owatrol seems to have many different products. Which one have you used on that sump?

Is it this one? Or a different one?

 

I would like to stop the rust on the subframe of my S2 as well, and this product seems to be just what I need.

2 hours ago, andrehj said:

@bigjohn

Owatrol seems to have many different products. Which one have you used on that sump?

Is it this one? Or a different one?

 

I would like to stop the rust on the subframe of my S2 as well, and this product seems to be just what I need.

 

I think your picture is the same stuff in a different language

 

https://www.owatroldirect.co.uk/product/owatrol-oil/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwyMiTBhDKARIsAAJ-9Vuq-Coq4XoMWBdSAK_aUhQyim6RGX576iWFZskexSD_wIMXfao_t6oaAiChEALw_wcB

 

I used Owatrol on the sump from the 0.5l cans brushed on after being poured into a jam jar. I've since used the spray cans on suspension parts and hard to get to places. Try a can of each to start with.

 

Hi everyone and thanks again for all the advice and information. in the end I used some bilt hamber rust converter, then anti corrosion wax which I had around which should halt the corrosion. I would also like to warn people with a mk2 superb about a potential  corrosion issue, on the floor pan around the spare wheel well and where the rear springs are, there was quite a bit of rust. This may not be an issue at this stage but could become one in the future if left untreated. I treated this rust in the same way as I did the subframe.