by "benjrblant" (benjblant)
Published 12/11/2017 at 12:26
by "benjrblant" (benjblant)
Published 12/11/2017 at 12:26
Tags: rustproofing
; rust
STARS: 1
Face it, when it comes to cars, rust“proofing” is a lie. It’s more like rustdelaying, or rustprolonging. Given that everything will eventually succumb to decay, how do you protect your ride?
Winter beater? Excessive underside washes?
A friend sent this article a while ago, I’ve been re-reading it a few times lately.
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
Link if Kinja .
In summation, a Canadian couple that does an annual coating of their compact car. More interesting than most is the level of detail which is given to accessing as much steel as possible.
More photos in the blog post but Kevin pulls quite a few body panels and components to access seams, joints, and drain plugs. At the time their post was written, their car had endured 11 or 12 salty Ontario winters and still looks this clean.
I waxed the LX this weekend and sprayed most of the underside with Fluid Film. Even though CO doesn’t get much salt, the DOT has been stepping up application of mag chloride which isn’t great for metals either. We do a moderate amount of highway traveling and salt/mag content is generally higher there. Better $20 of spray safe than sorry?
"gettingoldercarguy" (gettingoldercarguy)
12/11/2017 at 12:46, STARS: 1
For most chassis parts, https://boeshield.com get the gallon size and a special sprayer. Inside rain drains, use this https://www.amsoil.com/shop/by-product/other-products/cleaners-and-protectants/engine-fogging-oil/
"DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time" (dc3ls-)
12/11/2017 at 12:50, STARS: 3
I just live in Texas. By far the easiest method.
"benjrblant" (benjblant)
12/11/2017 at 12:54, STARS: 1
Texans get lumped into the same group as vegans/vegetarians and people that do crossfit.
"Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer" (smallbear94)
12/11/2017 at 12:54, STARS: 1
Good intentions of oilspray that never gets remembered and subsequent underbody washes to attempt to make up for it
"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
12/11/2017 at 12:55, STARS: 0
Given that everything will eventually succumb to decay, how do you protect your ride?
Two cars just don’t get driven in the winter. The third has galvanized metal under powdercoated paint and I protect the more vulnerable areas with coatings of various things. It used to be just Plasti-Dip, but now it’s a mix of Rust Reformer spray, galvanizing compound, then Plasti-dip on top. Despite the miles my blue smart has and how infrequent my car washes are (even in the winter), the underbody looks almost factory-fresh.
My Curt hitch (notorious for becoming a pile of rust after 1-2 years on a smart) still has shining paint, despite being on my car for 4 years. Why? I covered it in several mm thick Plasti-Dip. I even coat the receiver hole. I end up having to re-coat the hole after towing something but that isn’t a big deal to me.
"DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time" (dc3ls-)
12/11/2017 at 12:56, STARS: 0
It’s worth it though, no cold winters, no rusty cars, correct BBQ, beaches; what’s not to love?
"m-b-w loves his SUBAROO" (m-b-w)
12/11/2017 at 12:56, STARS: 1
I can’t beleive someone is putting that much effort into protecting an Aveo..
"benjrblant" (benjblant)
12/11/2017 at 12:57, STARS: 0
I grew up there.
"Duck Duck Grey Duck FTMFW!" (theduckduck)
12/11/2017 at 13:00, STARS: 1
Wow! That’s thorough.
"Urambo Tauro" (urambotauro)
12/11/2017 at 13:09, STARS: 1
I feel that I don’t rust-proof as much as I ought to. And at this point, there’s so much rust on the underbody surfaces, that even though it’s not structurally compromised yet, it’s disheartening to think about how labor-intensive it would be to clean it all up in order to throw a coating on it. I’m torn between “better late than never” and just starting over with another car from another climate that’s already clean & ready to coat.
But I do take some comfort in making repairs that are better-suited against rust than what came from the factory. Like copper-nickel brake lines !
"facw" (facw)
12/11/2017 at 13:17, STARS: 0
Plenty I don’t like about TX. I will grant that my 11 year old car (which has lived almost all of its life here) is completely rust free as far as I can tell, while my previous car (which lived mostly in upstate NY) had plenty of surface rust underneath, and a little bubbling on the body where paint had been damaged.
"benjrblant" (benjblant)
12/11/2017 at 13:20, STARS: 1
Rust in CO isn’t too bad if you don’t neglect your vehicle. If I were to purchase a new car I’d go through this level of rustproofing initially before becoming lazy and just spraying the underside without removing anything. You’ve got an entirely different battle to fight over there!
"benjrblant" (benjblant)
12/11/2017 at 13:30, STARS: 0
I’ve heard good things about Boeshield. Is this your method or are you just suggesting it?
"AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion)
12/11/2017 at 13:34, STARS: 1
The residents. Zing!
No but really, big spiders. Nope nope nope
"adamftw" (adamftw)
12/11/2017 at 13:39, STARS: 1
It’s always only delaying. And if you don’t start with something brand new or from out west or whatever it’s too late.
My truck is SUPER clean for a truck that lived on Long Island it’s whole life. Then I dropped the fuel tank and found over a foot long piece of the crossmember was just gone... some moisture/snow/salt probably was laying in the indent of the plastic fuel tank and just disintegrated the metal there.
It isn’t a super important piece, but it was pretty disheartening to see that. I cleaned everything up best I could and hit it with the Eastwood rusty chassis paint I have. I still didn’t do the whole frame with it (just the inner frame pieces with the extension nozzle on the spray can), but I’m trying to keep the thing from biting the dust.
"DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time" (dc3ls-)
12/11/2017 at 14:02, STARS: 0
The only big spiders we have are tarantulas, which I don’t think bite and only live in the hill country AFAIK. On the plus side we have daddy long legs, Armadillos, and the horny toads that squirt blood out of their eyes!
"DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time" (dc3ls-)
12/11/2017 at 14:02, STARS: 0
And never had to worry about rust right?
"themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles" (themanwithsauce)
12/11/2017 at 14:03, STARS: 1
On a long enough timeline, everything gets an LS fender rot.
My dad usually buys a spray can of under coating and after a car wash, will spray things like the insides of the fenders and whatnot with it. I really meant to do it for areas like the jack points and mounting areas for the body kit on my car. Seems to work okay. Definitely better than nothing.
"gettingoldercarguy" (gettingoldercarguy)
12/11/2017 at 14:10, STARS: 0
It’s what I do. Still need to do this season. I have a few parts to install and will rust proof it while I do this as a lot of the rust prone areas will be exposed.
"benjrblant" (benjblant)
12/11/2017 at 14:22, STARS: 0
False. Everything unpainted rusted. Houston is so humid that temp swings overnight coated pretty much everything with dew. Coatings like paint certainly lasted a lot longer, but the notion that Texas is exempted from all rust is a fallacy.
"benjrblant" (benjblant)
12/11/2017 at 14:27, STARS: 0
Thinking about it now, I wonder if consumers would opt for a better factory rust resistant coating. Something like galvanizing and powdercoating the frame/subframe and all crossmembers.
"SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media" (silentbutnotreallydeadly)
12/11/2017 at 16:25, STARS: 1
The VW came with some factory goo painted on the underside. 15 years of rocks, gravel and dust have knocked most of it off. Still no rust. Semi-arid part of Australia...
"nermal" (nermal)
12/11/2017 at 16:36, STARS: 0
Just trade it in after 3-5 yrs, before everything starts rusting too badly.
Works great!
"benjrblant" (benjblant)
12/11/2017 at 16:57, STARS: 0
Hard when your vehicle went out of production in ‘97, but on a modern daily/commuter/beater sure!
"Nauraushaun" (nauraushaun12)
12/12/2017 at 05:48, STARS: 0
Move. I live in Australia. We don’t get snow and we don’t get rust. Not like you guys do anyway. I drive a 27 year old Toyota :)
"pip bip - choose Corrour" (hhgttg69)
12/12/2017 at 06:00, STARS: 0
rust-proofing?
easy!
move to a better climate.
"benjrblant" (benjblant)
12/12/2017 at 11:12, STARS: 0
I drive a 21 year old Toyota without a spot of rust. Just trying to keep it that way.
"Nauraushaun" (nauraushaun12)
12/12/2017 at 16:17, STARS: 0
All power to you :)
"Nothing" (nothingatalluseful)
12/12/2017 at 17:44, STARS: 0
I’m annoyed CO has started using salt brine.
I washed my dad’s cars while growing up in northern NY. While I don’t have any pictures to support it, hosing the cars off when there’s a break in the weather sure helps a ton. Body panel wise, we never had perforation.
"benjrblant" (benjblant)
12/12/2017 at 17:59, STARS: 0
Also annoyed. I sprayed the underside of the cruiser with fluid film. Did my best to get inside the fenders, quarters, and frame rails and hopefully it delays the inevitable.