rustproofing

paulg6

Greetings!

I'm the proud new owner of a 1971 Chevy pickup. It's a Tennesee Truck with NO RUST. I'm a Michigan driver and I bought this truck to DRIVE. I want to keep the rust off, which can be a trick in my state. Without doing a frame off, I was wondering what the best do-it-yourself method of rust prvention might be. Should I brush on a preventer? Spray on? Spraying will be tough since I want to do it all in the driveway. Bottom line, what has worked for you guys? Any product info

Mr_Shiftright

Hi Paul,

I'd say stay away from coatings and just keep the truck washed underneath if you are going to be on salted roads. The problem is you can't cover all areas where rust can start anyway. It's simply impossible short of disassembling and dunking the entire truck body. Even then you can't be sure.

So keep it clean underneath, and clean out the drain holes in your doors and truck bed. Also mud flaps might keep water from entering in the seams behind your tire wheel wells.

alanmakca

I too tend to avoid rust sprays (just weekly undercar washes through the winter. However, I would worry that your '71 pickup won't be able to withstand a winter without treatment. They didn't build'em back then like they do now (with the galvinization process and high tech primers). I live in Toronto, where the heavy salt use in the past few years is wreaking havoc on our cars. The situation in Detroit must be similar.

I would suggest having your truck professionally done. The reason being that sprays are definitely better in terms of penetrating the nooks and crannies. Additionally, the professionals will drill the body at appropriate points to get at the insides. The downside is that if the drilling isn't properly done (e.g., at the right places, plugged afterward, or otherwise improperly repaired) the drill holes will be rust spots themselves. Good luck.

I had my car done at "Standard Rustproofing", which was recommended by the dealer.

adc100

mostly. Coupled with that I would try to locate a truck of close to that vintage and see where it is rusting and really keep these areas under tight prentative maintenance and observation. Another thing you can do is spray areas subject to water collection and drainage with WD-30. I would also investigate the professionals. But in all honesty I would head in the opposite direction that the deler recommended. Dealers don't always impress me as brain surgeons.

Al

Mr_Shiftright

I must confess that I think "professional" rustproofing is pretty worthless. Rust works from the inside out, it's probably already in the truck by now, you just can't see it. At best, the goo and gunk they put in there will seal the rust until it breaks out somewhere.

The interesting think about rust is that it actually EXPANDS the metal to many times its own volume...so sealing it in is not going to hold it.

If you don't want the truck to rust, you have to store it over the winter, it's really the only way.

dc_sports_rule

At one time, Ziebart was at the head of its class when it came to rustproofing. Over the years though, they have become very greedy and require you to return once per year for an annual respray I live in the Buffalo, NY area where they use 1 ton of rock salt per person during the winter months. (Kidding). Buffalo probably though uses more rock salt than many northeastern cities due to severe winters. Had my Accord done back in 1995 and it ran me $199.95. Each year I pay $47.01 (includes tax) for the annual respray Figure it out, so far I have spent over near $500.00 total. One thing I will say, there is absolutely no trace of rust to be found on the under carriage, doors, engine compartment or trunk. Even behind the rear wheel wells were moisture can collect on Accords, no rust. Frankly speaking, if you are going to keep the car for at least 10 years, it might be worth it. If you trade in your cars every 4 or 5 years, don't consider it. I plan on keeping my car another 5 years. One thing I will not recommend at Ziebart is their window tinting. Absolutely the worse possible job you can imagine. Go to window tinting and read my story. By the way, the Ziebart location that I had my window tinting problems at went out of business!

Mr_Shiftright

Well, they are franchises, so the quality of service will vary.

Maybe if you rustproofed a brand new car back then...I dunno...might do some good, but modern cars are rustrproofed every which way out of the factory. And it must work, because the factory will warranty against rust for a very long time.

But it was nice to hear you escaped the tin worms. I guess if you have an extra $200 to risk, it might be worth the piece of mind. I was just never convinced of it working, but maybe I'll come across some evidence to change my mind.

My biggest obstacle to recommending it, of course, is that I don't see how it could prevent all the ways a car can rust. If it was so easy, you'd think a factory wouldn't dunk the entire car body, but that's what they have to do in order to warranty against rust perforation these days.

eater_33062

HAVE YOU TRIED A PRODUCT CALLED RUST CHECK OR CROWN RUSTPROOFING? I'VE USED BOTH & FIND THEM VERY GOOD. NOT LIKE OTHER PRODUCTS. YOU HAVE TO DO IT EVERY YEAR TO KEEP YOUR WARRANTY. IT IS LIKE AN OIL MIST SPRAY THAT CREAPS IN TO ALL NOOKS & CRANNYS OF THE VEHICLE. SEEN TRUKS 10 YRS OLD WIT NO RUST ,DRIVEN IN OUR SALT LOADED WINTERS. ONLY DRAW BACK IS DO YOU WANT TO PAY 99.00 EACH YEAR,& HOW LONG WILL YOU KEEP THE RIG? ARE YOU KEEPING IT IN GREAT SHAPE FOR SOMEONE ELSE AT YOUR EXPENSE? LOOKS LIKE I AM !!!!! LH PS SOMETHING LIKE A BATH IN WD40 EACH YEAR I GUESS

zeke707

A mixture of kerosene and water (I don't remember the ratio) sprayed on the undercarriage of a vehicle will help control rust. I've read and heard about this practice years ago and it's supposed to work.

eater_33062

you are rite i've heard of it also. there is another old one that works but your techs wont want 2 wrk on your rig,& that is graprite & grease mixture sprayed on & all interior pannels removed for better application lh

anselmo1

When I was a kid, I use to see a lot of cars with the rocker panels painted with a yellowish substance. Found out that they were steel workers from Bethleham Steel that used cosmolene on their cars. It was a liquid that they used at the steel plant to prevent rust on processed steel. In the spring, they would use a kerosene mixture to take it off. Never saw any rust on the rocker panels on those old Plymouths, Fords and Chevys. My dad use to buy new Chryslers in the 1950's and they always seemed to rust out beginning in the third year of ownership. At year four, he would trade his rusted up Chrysler in for a new model. Dad just didn't take care of his cars!

xfiles

First, there is nothing wrong with adding rust proofing to a new car. Second, adding rustproofing to an old car already rusted will not stop anything. Rustproofing is just a coating, it's not a rust inhibitor...and works by simply keeping moisture and salt off the surfaces (which accelerate rust).

Try hydraulic oil. It is great over old rusty areas and will convert it to black like rust after a while. It also works over rustproofed vehciles because rust proofing is oil based, and so hydraulic oil will work it;'s way right through the old rustprooging to the metal below...actually softening it, and getting between cracks that may have appeared in the old proofing.

Hydraulic oils is the standard (and there are others) spray used over new metal by machine shops, and metal supermarkets who want to keep their metal from rusting out. It has rust inhibitors, and believe me this stuff works (it has too on expensive bulldozers wherever there are exposed hydraulic arms). I have a 83 Tercel with NO RUST on the insides of any doors, and the only rust on the vehicle are stone chips I ignored touching up with the oil. Too many car washes with soap eventually washes it off the surface of the vehicle.

It needs to be sprayed on twice per year (once is absolutely not enough). It will get into all the nooks and crannies (especially if using a 90PSI spray wand)...you wll see it steaming out all the exit holes and other areas of a fender or rear hatch, etc. If you don't have a compressor (oil wand gun is $15 at Wall-Mart) you can use a fruit tree srpaying bottle. Because the pressure is less you may need to add a 50/50 ratio of hydraulic oil with Wd-40 to thin it out. Then spray the surface of the vehicle, underside, wheel wells, then remove the rust proofing plugs and spray into those areas. Also remove any plastic vent grilles on the inside of the doors, and rubber plugs anywhere else you see them, even unscrew some items if you need to in order to get deep into the front and rear quarters of your vehicle. There really is no space that cannot be sprayed with a misty oil....PERIOD!

The average vehicle will need about 1 gallon to do the job. If your on a gravel driveway drive over a polyethelyne vapor barrier sheet from Home DEPOT. If you have nice concrete/etc.... do it elsewhere (like in the woods out of site). You will find that with a fruit sprayer bottle pumping it up twice is usually enough to do the entire vehicle because it is pressure feed (no air is mixed with the oil). When your using a compressor with the Oiling wand attachment from Wallmart you will be using an awful lot of air (suction feed).

If your using WD-40 keep it off the rubber areas...it tends to absorb into it since WD-40 has penetrating qualities and varsol in it. Hydraulic oil by itself normally is safe on rubber, bit wipe it off.

After all this, stick to washing the vehicle with water only (soap removes it quite quickly). However soap will not remove whats inside the door panels and other areas and so the protection remains. Figure on taking about 45 mins per vehicle. My friends are always wanting to get on the oil spray list...now there are about 6 I do twice yearly......it CAN get out of hand. Some may not believe, but the proof is 10 years down the road....look at your vehicle and look at theirs!

By the way, it is okay to leave the Ziebart rust plugs removed becaue a few months later you will be respraying through those holes again. The oil does not allow this hole to accelerate into any problem (but if you wish, buy new plugs each time). I also will drill out 1/4 inch holes to get the tip into areas I feel I cannot get to any other way. Another tip is to open your hood, then look for access to the front wheel wells (and use the same access holes to rinse out the salt accumulated over the years within the wheel wells). Remember the plastic liner in your front wheel wells does not stop all salt from accessing the fenders above, so rinse it out with a high pressure wash by opening your hood. I have even drilled out a hole so that I can stick a high pressure wash nozzle right through into the wheel wells guranteeing no salt in the area. (then oiled later).

P.S. Hydraulic oil will not affect your paint finish. In fact it loves it and you end up with water beading on it more then any wax ever could do.

By the way....some dealers have argued that it is a fire hazard. WEll, oil drips right on the engine block and there is NO FIRE. Second, rust proofing is also an oil based product and is considered not a fire hazard. I think dealers want you to buy more vehicles. However, just look at metal fabricators and what they use to protect their metal>>>> hydraulic oil or equivalent. Also, regular oil DOES NOT WORK...it is just a lubricant with no rust inhibitors at all.I coated my table saw top with it and a drop of water on it the next day left a rust spot. Learned my lesson well.

I wouldn't use kerosene because it is a fuel and the flash point is much much lower then hydraulic oil. It also has a much stronger odor. Shees, why not spray your car in gasoline. My kerosene heater has a warning regarding flash point... 155 Deg F. Kerosene definately is not safe.
Good luck.

eater_33062

rust check, & crown, are both rust inhibitors. they both work the same way, but crown has no solvents in it where rust check does. so crown is better for the environment. lh