Uncle Earnie, the local Army Navy store here sells the plastic, marine grade battery boxes very, very cheaply. There is likely a similar store at your location. Getting a battery box installed and providing some ventilation is probably the key for rust prevention. However, if you are addressing how to get rid of the rust, then Herculiner, POR-15, Durobak, Rhinoliner or even powder coating would be some options to consider, depending on what you wanted and how much you wanted to spend.
Huey sez:
"However, if you are addressing how to get rid of the rust, then Herculiner, POR-15, Durobak, Rhinoliner or even powder coating would be some options to consider,"
Though good rust preventatives, these will not get rid of existing rust.
Prepare and treat the rusted areas first before preservative coatings are applied. Otherwise the rust will continue to be a problem and erode the metal under the coating.
Lonnie
Northwest Sidecars
Never use the ugly old time black batteries They SWEAT acid.
I'd go with modern maintenance free bateries.
Rubberstand cushing top down and sides always needed, At least at my driving style.
Sven
At Wal-Mart earlier today I saw they sell marine battery boxes with covers for a little more than $6...
Yes, you are indeed correct in that a metal prep is important to do.
POR-15 has such, as do some others mentioned. POR-15 encapulates rust and some of the others only cover it. Not sure how much current rust he is actually addressing in his rig, but any prep is better than none. Eastwood has such products to consdier as well.
All of these products are simply things to consider, but evaluation of the actual problem area needs to be done and then a good repair is a go from there. If he is using the wrong type of battery or no ventilation is present at all in the trunk, then any of the above methods won't be a full cure after all.
Me, I had really good luck with a POR-15 metal prep, POR-15 application and then a top coat of Rustoleum on my old Model A parts. It was not a single day event in doing all the work though......and, always, always, always follow the directions. Although I did well with POR-15, I'd think the Herculiner product is the most readily available and cheapest to consider for the do-it-at-home person.
RE Battery Capacity vs Bike Output Capacity:
On our GL1800 I use a Deep Cycle Marine AGM type battery that is rated at 33 AH @ 20 Hr rate. That works well with my bike if it isn't discharged too far and the bikes battery is up to charge. If it gets discharged too far I use a portable charger to bring it back up to float to avoid overloading the bikes Alternator quicker than I can using one of my Heater Controllers (PWM) set on low.
It's primary use is for camping to power things like Lights, Radio, small TV and Fan in the trailer or tent rather than as a total loss supply for the sidecar. As a result it may not be as large and heavy as many here use for the Ballest Weight but it is just big enough to do what I want without being too big for the bike to recharge most of the time.
The other day I yealed down a sales guy that all that rust recover liquids they sell suck (most probable nearly all on the market). A little of his sample went between parts and after lunch the surface ground parts were worse eaten up then the rusted outer surface he wanted to show how efective it would be.
The rust makes microscopic holes and the most important issue of chemical rust recover treatment is wash out EVERY little rest of that stuff And seal inmediately afterwards. If not in a year or so the real rust comes.
I for my person prefer not to use these liquids, but brand new glass beeds in a snadblaster, and I like to treat my tanks with the recine you use for fibre glass. And it worked in my 1973 beadle well for the battery under the back seat too....(more stories I better do not mention)
Regards
Sven
If the rust is extensive and the part can be removed, it's always best to use a sandblaster or bead blaster to remove it before doing repairs or refinishing.
If the parts are rusted and can't easily be removed, I use phosphoric acid (70%). It's available from chemical supply warehouses. It's a widely used chamical in rust removers, and, believe it or not, soft drinks and food preparation. It's the principal ingredient in Naval Jelly which is sold commonly in Hardware stores in the U.S.
It's also excellent as a metal preparation prior to painting. It leaves a nice dark gray phospatized coating on the metal. Unfortunately, it only works properly on ordinary steel.
