Suzuki Grand Vitara 1998, Service Manual

Page: 654 / 801

YH4
GRAND
VITARA
9-36 BODY SERVICE
Sealer is applied to the specific joints of a vehicle dur-
ing production. The sealer is intended to prevent dust
from entering the vehicle and serves also as an anti-
corrosion barrier. The sealer is applied to the door and
hood hem areas and between panels. Correct and re-
seal the originally sealed joints if damaged. Reseal
the attaching joints of a new replacement panel and
reseal the hem area of a replacement door or hood.
Use a quality sealer to seal the flanged joints, overlap
joints and seams. The sealer must have flexible char-
acteristics and paintability after it’s applied to repair
areas.
For the sealer to fill open joints, use caulking material.
Select a sealer in conformance with the place and
purpose of a specific use. Observe the manufactur-
er’s label-stand instructions when using the sealer.
In many cases, repaired places require color painting.
When this is required, follow the ordinary techniques
specified for the finish preparation, color painting and
undercoating build-up.
Rust proof wax, a penetrative compound, is applied
to the metal-to-metal surfaces (door and side sill in-
sides) where it is difficult to use ordinary undercoating
material for coating. Therefore, when selecting the
rust proof wax, it may be the penetrative type.
During the undercoating (vinyl coating) application,
care should be taken that sealer is not applied to the
engine-related parts and shock absorber mounting or
rotating parts. Following the under coating, make
sure that body drain holes are kept open.
he sequence of the application steps of the anti-corro-
sion materials are as follows:
1) Clean and prepare the metal surface.
2) Apply primer.
3) Apply sealer (all joints sealed originally).
4) Apply color in areas where color is required such
as hem flanges, exposed joints and under body
components.
5) Apply anticorrosion compound (penetrative wax).
6) Apply undercoating (rust proof material).
PAINT AND COATINGS
ANTI-CORROSION TREATMENT
WARNING:
Standard shop practices, particularly eye
protection, should be followed during the per-
formance of the below-itemized operations to
avoid personal injury.
As rust proof treatment, steel sheets are given corro-
sion resistance on the interior and / or exterior.
These corrosion resistance steel sheet materials are
called one of two-side galvanized steel sheets.
It is for the sake of rust protection that these materials
are selected and given a variety of treatments as de-
scribed blow.
1) Steel sheets are treated with cathodic electroprim-
er which is excellent in corrosion resistance.
2) Rust proof wax coatings are applied to door and
side sill insides where moisture is liable to stay.
3) Vinyl coating is applied to body underside and
wheel housing inside.
4) Sealer is applied to door hem, engine compart-
ment steel sheet-to-steel sheet joint, and the like
portions to prevent water penetration and resulting
in rust occurrence.
In panel replacement or collision damage repair, leav-
ing the relevant area untreated as it is in any operation
which does disturb the above-mentioned rust proof
treatment will cause corrosion to that area. Therefore,
it is the essential function of any repair operation to
correctly recoat the related surfaces of the relevant
area.
All the metal panels are coated with metal condition-
ers and primer coating during vehicle production. Fol-
lowing the repair and / or replacement parts installa-
tion, every accessible bare metal surface should be
cleaned and coated with rust proof primer. Perform
this operation prior to the application of sealer and
rust proof wax coating.