Stock antenna protection...

[Blitzen72]

So a question to the bronco brotherhood. I'm trying to restore my '72 Explorer Sport in a "state of arrested decay", while making a few mods that are easily reversible, like the Huntington retro-radio that fits in the three stock radio holes in the dash instead of hogging out the dash for a 1 or 2 din modern radio.

I picked up a replacement stock antenna from WH to replace my original, where the bottom 6"-8" of the tube it cradles down in inside the fender was badly rusted and fell off in my hand while I was replacing the 50 year old front suspension. I also picked up the stainless steel fender guards that fill in between the inner and outer fenders (also from WH, great folks to work with!) to hopefully keep that part of the bronco from getting worse (and eventually I will also have to deal with the bottom 4" of front door post rot that's in there...)

So my Q is: is there a way to protect the bottom of the new stock radio antenna from rust and rot that folks are using? I was thinking rattlecan paint, or flex seal, or plastidip... something to keep the cancer of rust away for the next 50 years. It looks like the original was sprayed with whatever underbody goop they sprayed the rest of the belly of the beast... that goop doesn't look like it did much to keep the rust at bay.

 

[DirtDonk]

Thanks for the good words!
I would think rattle cam paint would be sufficient. Something good though, like a Rustoleum rust converting primer.
Which I have found to work very well. And even though it’s an epoxy, it handles UV rays pretty good.

But when it comes right down to it, your bronco probably will not live in an environment where the new one will rust out anytime soon.
Perhaps not even in your lifetime!
Same reason I felt that we should have made our viewfinder windshield frame from regular steel and maybe galvanized it, instead of making it out of stainless.
Would’ve been expensive anyway, but stainless just made it even more so.
Your splash shields are going to go a long way towards protecting the antenna, and I doubt whether snow or mud will be given a chance to build up behind it anymore.
Or will you be driving in your area where there might be snow? That could get packed up in there and if it lasts all winter long, you could have the same rust problem in a few years.
Especially if your roads are salted.

 

[Blitzen72]

The Bronco will probably occasionally see  some snow (I live at about the 2,500' mark near I-80), but it shouldn't be more than a day or so before setting in a nice warm garage for a few days to melt the road slop off and dry off.

Youre making me think that I'm probably overthinking the problem (again!)... I've got a few cans of Rustoleum self etching primer and automotive gloss black. Done.



And, although I talk about my truck's rust and rot like it's falling apart... I'm continually amazed at what some of the folks on here have started with, and brought basically a few wheelbarrow's worth of rust back to something that's a work of art. I'm not even in all y'alls league with that kind of devotion.

 

[DirtDonk]

Then you should be more than fine what you got.
The splash shields will go a long way for protecting the sheet metal and antenna.
The sheet metal in that area usually rusts out first.
As an example, my 71 was already rusted through on both sides in the kick panel area, when it was still only four years old!

 

[sprdv1]

Especially if your roads are salted.

a killer for sure

 

[sprdv1]

The Bronco will probably occasionally see  some snow (I live at about the 2,500' mark near I-80), but it shouldn't be more than a day or so before setting in a nice warm garage for a few days to melt the road slop off and dry off.

Youre making me think that I'm probably overthinking the problem (again!)... I've got a few cans of Rustoleum self etching primer and automotive gloss black. Done.



And, although I talk about my truck's rust and rot like it's falling apart... I'm continually amazed at what some of the folks on here have started with, and brought basically a few wheelbarrow's worth of rust back to something that's a work of art. I'm not even in all y'alls league with that kind of devotion.

Just time and effort bud.. Tackle one thing at a time..