And people ask me why I live on the 'left coast' where salt is best
used with certain forms of adult beverages!
Steve
(near Seattle, WA)
On Wed, 4 Oct 1995, "W. Ray Gibbons" <gibbons@northpole.med.uvm.edu> wrote:
>Because rust is such a problem for us, I thought it might be useful to
>report some of my experience (gained from watching my cars disappear).
>
>I had the dealer rustproof a new 71 Toyota Corona Mk II. The application
>was very spotty. Where the coating was present, it protected the metal,
>but there were more voids than coverage. The car rusted severely by the
>time it was 4 years old.
>
>On this same car, I tried to protect against rock chips by applying 3M
>rubberized undercoating to the rocker panels. After 3 years, I noticed
>the coating had some large blisters where it had separated from the metal.
>These had held salty water against the body, and caused huge holes in the
>rockers.
>
>The next reasonably controlled experiment was a new 81 Toyota Corolla
>sedan, which was rustproofed new by TuffCote-Dinol. This provided some
>protection to exposed surfaces, but the second layer of this two layer
>process was a tarry material that blocked the drain holes in the doors.
>All four doors rusted severely, beginning within 3 years. Rust in the
>doors was much more severe than in those of a friend's identical car that
>was driven farther, left outside daily, and unrustproofed. On the whole,
>I feel this treatment did more harm than good, but I have to admit that
>the car (very rusty now) is for sale locally as a supposedly usable car
>after 14 years and approximately 180,000 miles of salty roads. My
>experience with trying to collect on the warranty convinced me that the
>protection of the warranty is illusory at best. Even if a coating
>completely fails to protect the car, you will not be likely to get back
>even the original cost of the treatment. TuffCote is, I believe,
>deservedly out of business in the US but I think still plugging drains in
>England.
>
>My 87 Prelude was waxoyled by the dealer when new. I bought the kit
>described below, and reapplied waxoyl every 2 years. I periodically
>squirted engine oil into drain holes in the body. I kept the car 7 years.
>At the end of that time, there was a rust perforation on an inner fender
>panel where the bumper attaches (missed application, I suspect) and some
>rust starting in the seam between inner and outer rear fenders in just one
>place. Other than this, the body was very well preserved.
>
>I applied waxoyl myself to a new 89 Accord. It was in good condition
>when traded after 5 years.
>
>In between these others, I had a variety of cars including an elderly
>Blazer that had been sprayed underneath annually with used engine oil.
>The coating seemed extremely effective where it could remain in place,
>but it was easy to wash off. My comments on oil treatment below.
>
>When I was rebuilding Kermit the bugeye, I had almost every body cavity
>open at one point or another, and could assess how best to protect it. I
>drilled 1/2 inch holes for access before the car was reassembled, and
>sprayed it with Waxoyl after it was painted (don't do it *before*
>painting, unless you like grief).
>
>I have an "undercoating system" from Eastwood, #2725 @ $43.95 for Waxoyl
>application. You also need a plastic bottle or two, #2724A @ $1.95 each.
>A kit of 1/2 inch plastic plugs, #2726 is $2.95 for a pack of 25. I don't
>have an Eastwood catalog from Eastwood handy; I have one with a Sears
>cover. The order # is 1-800-557-3277. The system requires an air
>compressor, but a fairly small one will do. You will also need a 1/2 inch
>sheet metal drill (a conventional bit will tear up the edges of the hole).
>
>The kit comes with a long wand, a short wand, and a shortish wand on the
>end of a plastic tube. Each will fit thru a 1/2 inch hole. There are a
>variety of tips for the wands that give different spray patterns. I think
>you have to play it by ear to decide what gives the appropriate coverage
>in different places. For example, when spraying to cover the crevice
>between the inner and outer rear fenders, I used a tip that sprays 90
>degrees to one side. When using such tips, I put a bit of tape on the
>wand so I could tell which way the tip was spraying inside the panel.
>
>I also took some 1/8 inch welding rod and fastened it to the short wand
>that is on a flexible tube, and that made a flexible but not floppy
>wand. I could thread it entirely into structures like the rockers,
>pushing the head way into the structure.
>
>I thinned the waxoyl a bit with 40 or 50 wt motor oil for use inside
>cavities, and used it straight on exposed surfaces. I heated it very hot
>before application, by keeping the loosely capped can in front of an
>infra-red type electric heater. Between applications, I laid the wand in
>front of the heater to keep the material hot. I did try for direct spray
>application, but having taken apart cars that were rustproofed, I know you
>can't ever be sure of coverage by direct spray. The sight of mist
>emerging in clouds 5 feet from the hole I am spraying into gives me a lot
>more confidence I am getting protection, because the mist should cover
>what I may miss directly. It is a good idea to repeat everything every
>couple of years.
>
>Someone said he or she taped up drain holes until the Waxoyl firmed up. I
>think it is best, however, to let the Waxoyl drip out. Whatever comes out
>is really excess; you only need and only want a thin layer. If you force
>it to stay inside and solidify there, it may obstruct some of the drain
>holes, and this does more harm than good. Water *will* get into body
>cavities, and no amount of rustproofing will protect the body if the water
>cannot get out.
>
>I suspect that one can achieve much of the protection of Waxoyl for very
>little money, if you simply squirt engine oil into the most rust prone
>areas of your car. I have not rust proofed my new car. I may, but I may
>also settle for just going around it every 6 mo or so with a squirt can of
>oil. The wonderful thing about engine oil is that it creeps by
>capillarity until it has permeated even very tight body seams like those
>where door exterior panels wrap around the door frame. It will spread and
>cover areas that never were sprayed directly. My experience with the
>Blazer and the Prelude suggests that squirting a teaspoon of oil into a
>door through the drip holes every 3 months will keep that door rust-free
>indefinitely.
>
>The only real drawbacks of oil are 1) that it washes off of areas that
>receive direct spray, and will even wash out of panels that get a lot of
>drainage. It is therefore useless under fenders or in panels that get
>much drainage. It is good in doors, hoods and trunks, or in closed box
>sections. 2) its tendency to creep causes it to appear on the outside
>finish if a car is not washed often, and 3) if you spray it on exposed
>surfaces you will have a car that is eventually very messy to work on. It
>is not much fun to get under a car that has a half inch layer of
>oil-impregnated dirt on it, but it helps a bit when you scrape that off
>and find the frame still shiny beneath the grunge.
>
>I am convinced that keeping body "rust traps" clear of debris and dirt and
>judicious application of oil will dramatically reduce rusting. Waxoyl,
>carefully applied, is good especially on older cars that had little
>protection from the factory. The greatest benefits IMHO are that it does
>not harden, resists spray, will stay on in areas that get a lot of
>drainage, and does not plug drains if applied properly.
>
>Classical undercoating, i.e. black tarry or rubberized material, has to be
>used very cautiously, if at all. I sprayed a bit of rubberized
>undercoating where gravel hits Kermit's inner fenders, but I keep a close
>eye on it for any sign of deterioration.
>
>My new appliance car is now receiving the benefit of the above distilled
>experience as follows. I think new cars are fairly well protected from
>the factory, which is comforting. I am damn sure not going to put
>classical undercoating on it anywhere, because it is never going to
>receive the attention Kermit gets to ensure the undercoating does not
>lift. If I do anything, I will squirt oil into doors, the hood and trunk,
>and box sections when the mood strikes and give it a home waxoyl
>treatment. It is worth the $40 or so the materials will cost, and cannot
>hurt. I ask at the car washes if they use fresh or recycled water, and
>drive away if I'm not convinced the water is fresh. I hose off the
>fenders and bottom occasionally. I apply a good polymer wax (Maguires)
>every spring and fall, and watch like a hawk for rock chips. I also rest
>easier knowing I have sandblaster, a welder, a spraygun, and the will to
>use them if I prove to be mistaken.
>
>There is a drawback to this equipment, though--it drives me a bit nuts
>when I can't work on my own cars because my children and friends bring me
>their cars to be rustproofed free, or worse yet, bring them for free
>repair because they were too busy to bring them for free rustproofing.
>Bah.
>
>Of course, YMMV.
>
> Ray Gibbons Dept. of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics
> Univ. of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
> gibbons@northpole.med.uvm.edu (802) 656-8910
>
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