Let's say you have a truck with 50,000ish miles and you're worried about rust. What is the best way (if there is any) to help rust proof the underside of it?
Bonus question: how do you help protect against rust forming on body panels from the inside out (i.e. not forming from damage to paint)
Simple way...buy a few cans of WD-40 or similar and spray everything underneath at least once a year, preferably just before winter/salt season. Let it soak a bit, wipe away excess.
Can also spray the backsides of body panels.
A number of rust proofing outfits that spray an oil of some sort underneath and inside body panels. Pretty reasonably priced and done once a year. I had my '01 Escape sprayed each year at Krown Rust Proofing and it was basically rust free after 15 years up here with salt, etc. in the winter. You can buy the stuff and spray it yourself, though you would need to drill holes in door panels, rocker panels, etc. to get it inside. Hardly worth the effort to do it yourself though.
Quote from: FoMoJo on September 11, 2019, 10:05:40 AM
A number of rust proofing outfits that spray an oil of some sort underneath and inside body panels. Pretty reasonably priced and done once a year. I had my '01 Escape sprayed each year at Krown Rust Proofing and it was basically rust free after 15 years up here with salt, etc. in the winter. You can buy the stuff and spray it yourself, though you would need to drill holes in door panels, rocker panels, etc. to get it inside. Hardly worth the effort to do it yourself though.
I've seen quite a few YouTube reviews saying Krown is garbage.
Quote from: giant_mtb on September 11, 2019, 09:53:54 AM
Simple way...buy a few cans of WD-40 or similar and spray everything underneath at least once a year, preferably just before winter/salt season. Let it soak a bit, wipe away excess.
Can also spray the backsides of body panels.
I've thought about WD40. Should the underside be cleaned before application?
Interesting fact - it was developed to help protect the Atlas ICBM from corrosion.
Would running a dehumidifier in the garage help?
Quote from: Submariner on September 11, 2019, 10:07:13 AM
I've seen quite a few YouTube reviews saying Krown is garbage.
Worked for me. It should be done each year. A lot of YouTube viewers are full of shit :huh: or work for/own a competitor..
Quote from: Submariner on September 11, 2019, 10:08:55 AM
I've thought about WD40. Should the underside be cleaned before application?
Interesting fact - it was developed to help protect the Atlas ICBM from corrosion.
Would running a dehumidifier in the garage help?
Yes, a good spray-down with the pressure washer at the local car wash will do. Then WD-40, let it soak, wipe excess. Or just leave it, doesn't really matter.
That's *basically* what the rust-proofing places do, they just have fancy spray guns and nozzles and use different solutions. There are car-specific products that come in spray cans that are designed for exactly what you're looking to do. You can get a 6-pack of Fluid Film on Amazon for less than $60. If you want to go hard, you can spray inside your door panels and such as well. There are plenty of access holes to find.
I have used Amsoil HD Metal Protector Spray. It is a waxy-ish coating. WD 40 is good, but needs to be applied more often. At the very least, wash your shit once in a while.
Quote from: Eye of the Tiger on September 11, 2019, 10:19:10 AM
I have used Amsoil HD Metal Protector Spray. It is a waxy-ish coating. WD 40 is good, but needs to be applied more often. At the very least, wash your shit once in a while.
A guy on YouTube cut up some metal, coated the pieces with various coatings/oils and left them exposed all winter next to a heavily traveled road. I believe Amsoil came out on top.
Quote from: giant_mtb on September 11, 2019, 10:16:54 AM
Yes, a good spray-down with the pressure washer at the local car wash will do. Then WD-40, let it soak, wipe excess. Or just leave it, doesn't really matter.
That's *basically* what the rust-proofing places do, they just have fancy spray guns and nozzles and use different solutions. There are car-specific products that come in spray cans that are designed for exactly what you're looking to do. You can get a 6-pack of Fluid Film on Amazon for less than $60. If you want to go hard, you can spray inside your door panels and such as well. There are plenty of access holes to find.
Seems that while Fluid Film works well, it washes off fairly easily. would need some kind of sprayer that allowEd easy undercoating of the car to reapply. Plus, friend with truck doesn't have a lift.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oXlhmbvdKBo
Quote from: Submariner on September 11, 2019, 10:43:36 AM
Seems that while Fluid Film works well, it washes off fairly easily. would need some kind of sprayer that allowEd easy undercoating of the car to reapply. Plus, friend with truck doesn't have a lift.
You can get Fluid Film in aerosol. But anyways. What does not having a lift have to do with it? Any product friend is going to apply will require getting underneath the truck, and he'll want to apply just about any of them once or twice a year for max protection. Throw it up on some jackstands to make life a bit easier. A creeper would be clutch as well.
If he wants to go full hog, he could go with a rust-converter-primer and then some sort of coating or paint to seal it off. But that won't last forever, either.
If not having a lift kept me doing shit...
Quote from: giant_mtb on September 11, 2019, 12:37:43 PM
You can get Fluid Film in aerosol. But anyways. What does not having a lift have to do with it? Any product friend is going to apply will require getting underneath the truck, and he'll want to apply just about any of them once or twice a year for max protection. Throw it up on some jackstands to make life a bit easier. A creeper would be clutch as well.
If he wants to go full hog, he could go with a rust-converter-primer and then some sort of coating or paint to seal it off. But that won't last forever, either.
Which is why it's so much easier just to take it to a rust proofing shop. Lots to choose from, and not expensive at all. Breathing that stuff close up is likely not all that healthy either.
Quote from: FoMoJo on September 11, 2019, 01:34:20 PM
Which is why it's so much easier just to take it to a rust proofing shop. Lots to choose from, and not expensive at all. Breathing that stuff close up is likely not all that healthy either.
Yeah. I know a couple people around here who have it done annually...it's only like a hundred bucks. And they know what they're doing really well.
Pay attention to drain holes on the bottoms of doors. They always be cloggin
Parents had good luck w/ Fluid Film back in NH.
Since winters aren't so bad in UT, I just do an underbody carwash after each major storm.
Quote from: Speed_Racer on September 11, 2019, 03:47:12 PM
Since winters aren't so bad in UT, I just do an underbody carwash after each major storm.
Same
I should have thought about looking into this along time ago for the Jeep... It is trashed underneath. Earlier this week something sounded like it was dragging - turns out the heat shield on the LF brakes are rotted out and collapsed on the rotor
Yeesh
Quote from: r0tor on September 13, 2019, 08:49:07 PM
I should have thought about looking into this along time ago for the Jeep... It is trashed underneath. Earlier this week something sounded like it was dragging - turns out the heat shield on the LF brakes are rotted out and collapsed on the rotor
Yeesh
Heat shields are expendable. if the rockers and floorboards are relatively solid, its still worthwhile.