What’s the deal with all the orange chassis paint?

[Uffddd]

It could well be red lead primer. I don't remember it being quite so dayglow but I'd still be very wary of ingesting any that comes loose.

[Worf]

I used to paint everything with zinc chromate primer. Excellent stuff when it was still available, but the colour was more yellow than orange.

[autorover1]

We still had lead loading for joints and contours in steel car bodies when I started work (1964) and the people working using  lead were issued with  milk allowance  as part of the mitigation measures as it is believed the calcium inhibits lead absorption  . I gather the efficacy has been somewhat questioned now.

[Smokey 11a]

Back in the early 1970's we painted a Lambretta TV 175 with Anti foul paint as used on the oil rigs "acquired" 5 gallons by my friends dad, who was a rigger on the rigs in the North sea at the time. Bright orange and flowed out as if it had been sprayed.

[Betsy1969]

When I bought my S2a the previous owner said it had been "Ziebarted " I remember that was the thing to do back in the day , my uncle had his cavalier done with it. My chassis is covered in that orange stuff so I wonder if that's the Ziebart ?

[Alan Drover]

Ziebart was black. My MGB GT was done before I bought it.

[Wittsend]

"Ziebart" was a bespoke underseal treatment carried out by one of a chain of places that applied the treatment. I'm not sure that the substance was sold direct to the public.
They had your car for a day to apply it. It was a "thing"m in the '70s.

It was black.

I had a new car so treated, but unfortunately the car was wiped out in an accident and I never got to test how good at keeping then rust at bay it was 

[Alan Drover]

I wasn't over impressed with it. My MGB was second hand and I noticed rust patches appeared although a good few years later. I think it had to be inspected annually to keep the guarantee. It just delayed the onslaught of rust.

[Rock Star Eddie]

Whatever it is, it's on there solid, which is surprising considering how difficult it must be to keep any kind of chassis paint sticking to a Land Rover chassis at the best of times.

[GHOBHW]

I've found the secret to getting paint to stick forever is not caring.

you try your hardest and clean everything and the paint will last a few years.

meanwhile you use a sweeping brush to put any old crap on over mud, grease and rust and it sticks forever and won't come off

[Betsy1969]

So it looks like this orange stuff is some type of red lead then !
Well whatever it might be it's really solid and so is my chassis , it rings when you hit it. I know the rear crossmember isn't original because it doesn't have the hole for a PTO and the front dumb irons have been replaced at some time. Other than that I assume it's the original chassis