Rust Prevention

[HLxDrummer]

Hey guys,

I am looking to do something to prevent rust on all of our cars. I just got a daily driver that is very clean underneath and I want to keep it that way. The VR4 is also fairly clean as is my girlfriends car. Looking to make these cars as easy to work on as possible and minimal body work in the future.

I found this stuff called Corrosion-X that is supposed to be pretty good. What do you guys think of spraying that all over the bottom of the cars?

Any other suggestions?

[Greg E]

You need something thick and resistive to corrosives.

Something people don't realize is the under side of your car is constantly getting sand blasted by road debris and other materials. This applies to every vehicle not just northern cars. A thin coating of just about anything will resist rust but the issue comes in over time as that coating is literally worn away. Something soft will absorb the impact of debris before it sands off

Keep this in mind when choosing your under carrage protection.

[Ange]

POR-15 is good. Industrial strength rust protector. The paint is like rock when it hardens.

used their product on my rusted out fuelhanger among many other things. just get the paint no need for the prep stuff. applecidervinegar is a better rust disolver than their provided. But the paint itself is good. No need for the primer paint either. The paint itself etches like crazy so don't get it on your hands..

http://imageshack.us/a/img20/1497/imag0177kj.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img209/6950/imag0202c.jpg

[HLxDrummer]

My Dad actually has a body shop and uses POR15 on a lot of restorations. If/when I restore the VR4 I'll probably do that on the bottom but not very practical for three cars/daily drivers right now lol

Most if not all of the factory paint/undercoating is on all of the cars so I am just looking to fend off rust as much as possible with minimal work (on suspension/bolts/driveshaft/exhaust/etc). Like Greg said I am worried about stuff just washing off. Even if I could get something that would last 3,000 miles until the next oil change I would be happy.

[Street_Chally73]

I've heard a lot of good feedback with using POR-15 on the chassis of cars. I've also seen quite a few people use Rhino Lining or tinted Lizard Skin (for restored driver muscle cars) and have good luck with both of those.

I'd suggest getting a treatment that you can use inside the frame rails first (Eastwood's internal frame coating) & follow that with either some more heavy-duty undercoating (3M makes a good product) or a coat of POR-15 or truck bed coating for the outside.http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/08/30/vupase6y.jpg

[CoopKill]

Move to a state that does not salt the roads!

[donniekak]

Move to a state that does not salt the roads!

I've seen cars out here in Arizona with big chunks of paint missing, and shiny metal where the paint should be. Not so when I lived in Ohio.

[fastfalcon94]

The key is to start with something not rusty:) The 3000gt comes undercoated pretty well from the factory compared to other cars I've seen. Either that or mine was undercoated before. But it's a thick semi gooey stuff. I can press my fingernail into it. I actually am trying to find something that compares to it to do my truck. I used por15 on that last year then sprayed 12 cans of bedliner over it. Overall it worked pretty well but I want something with thicker protection. I was thinking of touching up the framerail again with the same process, and then using some kind of oil/tar undercoat for the rest of it.

vr4 underside

http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/aa327/fastfalcon94/2012-07-28_19-26-51_719.jpg (http://s1192.photobucket.com/user/fastfalcon94/media/2012-07-28_19-26-51_719.jpg.html)

This was a beater dsm I had that sat for 4 years in a wet garage. Wirebrushed everything, por15'd over it. I sold it a on CL after winter and it still looked just as good underneath. Saw it for sale again on CL a few weeks ago and it was advertised as a "southern car with no rust underneath".

http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/aa327/fastfalcon94/Dsm/2012-10-27_00-23-07_559.jpg (http://s1192.photobucket.com/user/fastfalcon94/media/Dsm/2012-10-27_00-23-07_559.jpg.html)

And this is my suby. From south carolina so rust free. I just used 2 cans of bedliner spray on the underside for areas that didn't have any factory coating. Like when I pulled the rear subframe I undercoated above it. Also if I pull and bumpers, sideskirts, fenders I will spray behind them and on the back lower section of fenders. If it's a car I will drive in winter I'll pull the door panels and undercoat the inside bottom section of them.

http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/aa327/fastfalcon94/subybuild/140.jpg (http://s1192.photobucket.com/user/fastfalcon94/media/subybuild/140.jpg.html)

[HLxDrummer]

Thanks for the comments, guys!

I wish they didn't need to use salt here, I'm so jealous of the states where rust is non-existant!

[IPD]

mine was ziebart'd on the 2nd day i had it. when it was AWD converted, we poured great stuff into the frame rails.

[AdamVR4]

And this is my suby. From south carolina so rust free.

Kure beach NC is one of the most corrosive places on earth and its really close to SC...

Avoid the coasts, avoid snow, coat bare metal, and avoid galvanic couples using coatings, grease, and/or isolators.

If dissimilar bare metals that will be exposed to atmospheric or road salt must contact, try to use materials with similar potential on the galvanic series chart.

[HLxDrummer]

Thought I'd give a little update:

The CorrosionX stuff in the aerosol can is hard to spray all over the car evenly. The spray is more like a focused stream of foam. It penetrates into cracks well (good for door seams) but like I said you can't efficiently coat the entire car.

So far I have been just spraying it on parts that have surface rust everytime I change the oil or wash the car. I'll let you know how it works.

I also found stuff online called Fluid Film that I may order. Looks like it works well and can be easily applied to the entire bottom of the car.

Between these sprays, 303 Aerospace protectant, regular waxing, and thorough cleaning (door jams, well wheels, etc) I am hoping to keep our cars in very nice shape!