Rustproofing/ Undercoating new vehicle?

like someone else posted ... spray the underside with used oil/atf then go drive on a dirt road

I "undercoated" my mothers vibe when she bought it new, it is an '07 bought late 06. Specifically, what I did was put it up on jack stands, clean everything with degreaser and rags and paint all bare metal. There isn't much bare metal, primarily bolts, bolt heads and brake line hubs. Some suspension and brake pieces are bare metal. After all bare metal pieces were painted, I then used the "rubberized" undercoating spray on the entire underside, being careful not to block the drain holes with it.

After a few winters, I touch up the areas where the undercoating has chipped off from rocks and salt spray.

My theory is although modern vehicles are sealed and galvanized from the factory, the rubberized undercoating that gets chipped off acts like a sacrificial layer.

Her vehicle is driven every winter, rarely washed, and is corrosion free.

I have done this to 2 other vehicles myself or my family has bought new, although they are too new to assess.

Additionally, I have covered access holes and drains I feel are open to the elements or road spray too much. Modern unibody vehicles usually have access holes for engine mounts or suspension mounts in their fake "frame," which catches road spray and lets it sit in the "frame." There are drains to let this stuff out, but I would prefer to prevent the majority of it from entering. Same deal with actual frame vehicles, tape to prevent stuff from getting in at all.

I think anything you do yourself, will be better than something you pay someone to do. Because it is your investment, you care about it. I also think you should be proactive while it is still clean and add some layer of protection (extra paint). Undercoating or paint will stick well to a clean surface, it will be difficult later once a layer of corrosion starts.

I'll prolly go old school and just use an used oil/ atf/ kerosene mix heated and sprayed on every fall after a thorough power wash. The factory frame coating lasts about a year before it starts lifting, then the corrosion starts. I tried wire brushing the loose/ bare coating and then painted or bed linered my '02 Silverado frame.... no more o' dat E36 M3.... I'll get the oil/ kero mix on early n often on this one. Once the '02 frame started rusting it took off w/ a vengeance.

About to turn a whole 600 miles on the 2012 Sierra... just starting to see winter duty.

fasted58 wrote: I'll prolly go old school and just use an used oil/ atf/ kerosene mix heated and sprayed on every fall after a thorough power wash. The factory frame coating lasts about a year before it starts lifting, then the corrosion starts. I tried wire brushing the loose/ bare coating and then painted or bed linered my '02 Silverado frame.... no more o' dat E36 M3.... I'll get the oil/ kero mix on early n often on this one. Once the '02 frame started rusting it took off w/ a vengeance. About to turn a whole 600 miles on the 2012 Sierra... just starting to see winter duty.

I think the oil based anti-corrosion is great, but only because other options won't stick. I think the ONLY chance you will get to have paint/undercoat stick is when new.

I agree oil based is good, but reserve for older vehicles that have buildup. I use oil based on my jeep, but it was rusty when I got it.

Interersting topic. This comment worries me

Bababooey wrote: The rubberized type is garbage. Eventually it will dry out and start flaking off, leaving spaces for moisture and salt to creep into the cracks.....

What would you guys use on a locost? I was considering lining the interior and the underside in rubberized product....maybe truck bed liner, rubberized roof coating for trailers, or even plastidip/rubber dip.

Would you stay away from this stuff and go with an oil-based product? My car is being built out of a lot of odd/mismatched metal types, so preventing rust will be pretty important.

Joey- You're in Florida. Your Locost won't see ice, snow,or salt. WTF? Only rusty cars here have moved here from the snow belt.

I dribble old motor oil and ATF into any opening in the body I can find. First I temporarily plug the drain holes in the rockers, then I remove the door sill covers and fill the rockers with oil. Then remove any thing else (some light switch, striker, anything) and squirt more oil in there. Then I pull the plugs in the drains at let it all run out. Also, filled anywhere I could get to on the yj frame and let that dribble. It's still dripping I think.

Joey

cwh wrote: Joey- You're in Florida. Your Locost won't see ice, snow,or salt. WTF? Only rusty cars here have moved here from the snow belt.

'tis true....I guess I'm just being paranoid. Still open top and fall rains.....

EvanB wrote: See, they install that True Coat at the factory.

Where's my goddamn checkbook? Let's get this over with.

We're well into the rust belt here - oiling/Waxoil WORKS. I've had a few cars where the rubberized coating became a liability somewhere in the cars life once it started to crack - then it holds (salt) water and moisture in, accelerating rust.

I worked on a 20 year old Chevette some time ago that the owner had Rustcheck oil yearly - it was incredibly dirty underneath, but there was zero rust - anywhere.

My 964 seems to have had the same treatment - a layer of oil everywhere (not just the engine bay, like all the other 911's ). I've been taking a few things apart, and underneath the layer of grimey oil is "like new" hardware. It's a joy to work on, compared to the rusty hardware which is more typical here.

Thread resurrection: Just bought an S2000 and sprayed the underbody with Fluid Film since I will be driving it occasionally here in Wisconsin. Also planning to hit our 2012 Mazda3 as these are known to rust prematurely. I suppose we'll see how it goes. Winter is painful enough as is, I really don't want to have to put away the fun car.

I found a recipe for waxoil.

http://ollr.createaforum.com/technical-archive/home-made-waxoil/

Brett_Murphy wrote: I found a recipe for waxoil. http://ollr.createaforum.com/technical-archive/home-made-waxoil/

Damn, that's hard to read.

The '90 Plymouth Voyager turbo that I sold a few years ago had only minor surface rust underneath. I found no evidence of aftermarket rustproofing when I bought it. I suspect it spent most of its life sitting in the original owner's (elderly) non heated garage. I do know it was a life long MN vehicle. Pretty decent considering ChryCo build quality in the late 80s/early 90s.

I have since regretted selling that Van despite it being an automatic.