Good evening and Happy Holidays to all. Living in New England, rural Maine specifically has a whole host of positives; our summers are great, boating, fishing, amazing food, autumn is often breathtaking with all its colors, but we are known for 3 other cringeworthy elements too. Misquotes, black flys and RUST!
I’ll take anything over rust. It should be a crime punishable by death using that highly corrosive calcium chloride and liquid salt brine they use on the roads here. I’ve successfully battled it for years by refusing to buy any automobile sold and driven in Maine. I purchase outside the rust belt as a point. I have also thoroughly and fastidiously treated the body panels and chassis of my vehicles using a combination of frame/chassis paint and fluid film throughout the years. Each vehicle having a unique set of nooks and crannies they need addressed. So, my question is this; those of you who’ve treated your L322s for the winter months, what are your tips, tricks, and secrets for these Rovers? Are you pulling wheel liners, tail lights, are there chassis and body plugs I should know about? What about those rear wheel arches? I’d love to hear from those of you with intimate knowledge. Thanks in advance. 08 l322 4.4 HSE Black/Jet.

I had the whole underside coated in Raptor coating, which is from the US.

I understand it is highly regarded over there as it is super hard wearing, long lasting and I think used on GMC trucks? It is not widely used in the UK but I am very happy with the look and after 18 months the underside still looks pristine. The guy who recommended it is one of the most successful 4x4 modification engineers in the UK and knows his stuff.

Others like Dr Rob have a better idea about waxoil and things like that.

Good luck,

Matt 2012 L322 4.4 TDV8 AB low mileage - a peach
1986 V8 Defender 90 County ex-Swiss Army - Red everything....

My preferred Independent: Roy Hardy. R & B AUTOS LTD, 20 Brook Road, Wimborne, Dorset, BH21 2BH 07500 866775‬ (Ex LR Chief Technician)

Thanks Matt, I’m glad to hear you’ve had good luck thus far. I’ll be staying with a low viscosity sprayable like Fluid Film, Woolwax or the like; they migrate and will creep into all the nooks and crannies, especially in places like the tailgates, inner wheel arches, rockers, door bottoms, etc etc. I’ve had fairly extensive experience with applying these and know they perform very well with a recoat each season. I initially use an eastwood chassis black spray to cover untreated metal then once that dries I’ll perform the rust prevention medium.
In this case I was hopeful that I’d draw some of our fellow L322 experts who’ve gone over the chassis with such products and who know the areas of interest and the approach to those.
Fyi, as a word of caution coating a surface with anything that cures hard weather it be raptor liner, some other bed liner, or even paint for example you welcome rust to build and form underneath the surface. This practice is generally frowned upon in the circles of car care I’ve been in. A low viscosity medium
when applied with a variety of application methods will work its way into the surfaces, penetrate, and in general be a much better deterrent for underbody corrosion. 08 l322 4.4 HSE Black/Jet.

I had mine treated with Dinitrol by a Land Rover indie specialist. The process involved removing most of the plastic underbody liners as well as sealing plugs to get access to box section inners. Dinitrol cures to a semi-soft resilient finish that can deal with stone/gravel chips and has chemical agents that act to neutralise any surface rusting that may have already begun.

I’ve also followed some tried and tested “hacks” to upgrade wheel arch protection.

Limited time today; I’ll post some links during tomorrow - bottom line I’m very pleased with the outcome. TDV8 4.4 2012

Nice! Good to know! What are these “hacks”? Would love to hear! 08 l322 4.4 HSE Black/Jet.

I'm about to have my treated with Lanoguard. Rear wheel arches coming out for that. It's lanolin based and getting great reviews over here. It smells like a for a while
I did my sills (covers off) in 2020. I used Dynax S50 out of a large aerosol for the sill inners and plain waxoyl via a brush on outers before refitting plastic covers. Gone to a good home: 2011 4.4 TDV8 Vogue SE Buckingham Blue with Ivory and clear glass = "Rory"
2025MY Defender D350 90 in Silicon Silver on coils
1974 Series 3 Lightweight = "Millie"
Many, many other Landies over the years
My preferred specialist: www.glenrands.co.uk
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I painted the vast majority of the underside with grease and then sprayed all the harder to reach nookes and crannies with new engine oil and then yearly touch it in as required. Must work given that l live next to the sea and there is almost no corrosion on the car.

Weird wrote:

What are these “hacks”? Would love to hear!

Brilliant Fellas, Brilliant! Much appreciate all the advise! Ramblin Man, you get top prize! Great contribution! 08 l322 4.4 HSE Black/Jet.