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formariz

Advice on rustproofing

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cschannuth
36 minutes ago, pullstart said:

I'm reading all this advice trying to figure out what's best for me... and the new Colorado I'll be picking up mid-March.  Dealer let me know yesterday that it'll be built the week of Feb. 17!  I do have a center post lift in the garage, for applying protectant and cleaning the underside, however I decide to do. 

 

I'm trying to convince my wife that we need to instead of subscribing to her monthly unlimited car wash package, build a 3 stall garage on the house with a wash bay.  But figuring out how to do a cheap underbody flush is holding me back.  Those oscillating sprinkler ideas have my wheels turning, just need to figure out a way to get them under the surface of the floor... grates in the cement?

 

I put a floor drain and 16’ of baseboard heat in my garage. I also have a slop sink with hot and cold water in there. It makes it easy to rinse the underside of our vehicles. I heavily insulated the garage so a little bit of heat goes a long way. Most of the time it’s off and the garage rarely dips below 55degF. 

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Pullstart
1 hour ago, cschannuth said:

 

I put a floor drain and 16’ of baseboard heat in my garage. I also have a slop sink with hot and cold water in there. It makes it easy to rinse the underside of our vehicles. I heavily insulated the garage so a little bit of heat goes a long way. Most of the time it’s off and the garage rarely dips below 55degF. 

 

We've got a wood boiler running into the house to heat the water and the furnace coil... if we ever get to do a house garage you betcha I'll be putting foam board under the concrete then running in-floor heat to keep it 40-50 out there all winter!

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squonk

When the weather isn't a mess out I spend $14 and go to the automatic wash with the underbody blast. Just did it today. 

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formariz

Ask and you shall receive.

Thank you everyone. Lots of not only advice on what to use but also great ideas in maintenance of vehicle's underside.

It seems that the majority of opinions are for the Fluid Film with waste oil coating running right along with it.

 

I like the used oil idea, since it is a resource always available at no cost however application will be a bit messy and it will probably create a problem in my paving block driveway. I assume that even after application it will drip for a while and perhaps when wet from rain some oily residue will be visible on floor?

 

The fluid film seems like the best option if I am going to do it myself and occasionally reapply it. Does it dry fast or does it also drip substantially when applied? Regardless of what one uses having vehicle on a lift seems to be the way to go.

I see also that a few people went with professionally applied methods. I am going to visit Ziebart tomorrow to get an estimate and see what they offer before making a final decision on what route to take.Unfortunately around here they are the only ones that are specialized in it. I am inclined on dealing with it myself since I have trust concerns with places like that, however due to the nature of my driveway it may be a little messy.

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squonk

With your driveway I would have someone do it and park it somewhere else for a couple of days. Vans are a PITA to crawl around underneath and to do a good job you have to get it up in the air pretty good, then you end up wearing half of it. Perhaps check with some local new car dealers to see what they might offer.

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Digger 66

My dad did the waste oil thing back in the 70's he'd park the old Chebby pickup straddling a ditch in dry weather and crawl under there with a spray bottle full of Kero & old lawnmower oil .

My mom always said he was nuts , but he'd probably still have it today if he was around :handgestures-thumbupright:

 

 

 

 

 

.

Edited by Digger 66
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ebinmaine
2 hours ago, formariz said:

I am inclined on dealing with it myself since I have trust concerns

 

I feel the same way... and:

 

2 hours ago, squonk said:

Perhaps check with some local new car dealers to see what they might offer.

 

I think that's a great idea!!

 

I also like the park it somewhere else idea or whatever but even though it's a messy PITA i'd still do it myself. Too bad you're not a little closer to Mass or Maine. Plenty of space here.

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squonk

When I went to Krown, The fluid reminded me of a cross between WD-40 and motor oil. It stunk a little and oozed out of the crevices for a couple of days but I was extremely satisfied with the job. I will take my next truck to them without hesitation.

Another issue using straight used oil. Who knows what's actually in it. A little gas, acids and what not. If you decide to oil it, buy some cheap oil from like WalMart and have at it. 

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WVHillbilly520H

Just remember any petroleum products WILL attract and hold all that stuff that you don't want hanging on there not to mention as it slowly drips on the roadways you're driving on leaving that residue to rise to the surface every time it rains making them slicker to drive on, just like the hydro pump/fins on our horses, Jeff.

IMAG2020.jpg

Edited by WVHillbilly520H
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Pullstart

So when you're done applying it in the side yard, you should burn the grass for a good re-birth?

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Sarge

Here's how you can test the results - get a can of fluid film and shoot it on a piece of scrap or an old part, or a trailer frame for that matter. Wait a day and see how it turns into a semi-dry film. It does get some small amount of dust stuck to it over time, but doesn't seem to build up like oils will. The actual coating is fairly thin - the spray can will not produce the same spray mist that a decent and proper sprayer built for the application can provide. I have a local guy here that I can borrow his hoist for a few hours as long as I clean up everything as well as protect the floor. It is recommended to allow it to set for 48hrs to prevent any drip-off - just read up on their site.

 

https://www.fluid-film.com/automotive-applications/

 

I'd prefer having a shop do it , but know of none around here that are willing to take the time to do it right - I feel like many of the coating shops are much the same way.

 

Sarge

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WVHillbilly520H

Let me just say I have no knowledge of the fluid film, just oil (petroleum products) and what happens when engine/trans seals/lines leak with dust/mud/salt ect getting stuck to every surface the oil finds it way onto, and I wouldn't use it as a rust preventive on a daily driver just my personal opinion, Jeff.

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DennisThornton

Fluid Film is certainly worth trying.  I'm a big fan!  Others including used oil too.  I've seen way too many issues with common undercoatings drying, cracking and collecting moisture. 

Back when I owned a bodyshop I mixed automotive grease, new 30w, kero & WD40 to a consistency that would work in a big 5 gallon pressure pot.  I had all the pro tools and wands to reach everywhere in a car or truck and warned folks it might drip for a month!  Theory was that the WD40 would have lots of time to disperse water, oil would start with a low viscosity and also have lots of time to penetrate and the grease would remain as a somewhat thick coating that wouldn't crack like dried up asphalt.  Kero was mostly just a slow drying thinner.  Results were great!  I sprayed vehicles that had small rust holes that didn't get worse!  I know I gave several or perhaps many more years of service to the owners. 

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Pullstart

Did you ever notice any harmful effects to paint @DennisThornton?

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DennisThornton

Nothing in my mix that would harm cured paint.  Strongest solvents would be in the WD40 and I've never seen it harm cured paint. 

My biggest concern was not overdoing it and have a customer driving around in a torch waiting for a light!  I preferred to keep it around a few days until the kero can evaporate.  My next step was to investigate solvents... 

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formariz
On 1/26/2018 at 4:45 PM, formariz said:

So now that I have the new van, the goal is to try and keep it the way it is as long as possible. Knowing what happened to the old one I have to do something to try and keep it from rusting. There is one place around here, Ziebart that specializes on that. Looking for recommendations on who or what to use and your experiences with this subject.

So, following up on this. I finally a couple of weeks ago decided to take van to Ziebart to get this done. It wasn't cheap but I have to say that I am absolutely impressed by what was done. Since they noticed immediately that I was a rather "finicky" customer, and according to them they had never seen a van of that year in that condition, they allowed me visits to see the progress as they did the work. They kept van for 5 days. Here is what was done;

1- Steam/power wash entire underside of van.Let that dry

2- Removed any rust found underneath, body, frame, everywhere

3- Primed the whole underside of van, body, frame (interior frame parts also),let that dry.

4- Undercoated the whole thing inside of frame also.

5-Rustprofed all body panels, seams, inside body panels, engine area,screw /bolt penetrations, etc,etc.

6-Redid seam fill joint all around on roof panel,It had a slight crack.

7-Touched up all exterior nicks (not many)

 

If this thing was impressive before, now it is really just like a new vehicle. I still have not given up the old one and I am reluctant to put this thing to service since it is so nice. On top of that last week previous owner calls me to ask if I am happy with the van.I cant believe my luck.

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Sarge

10yrs from now,  that thing will really draw some attention with it's condition. Your only job from here on out is to keep it clean,  the protection done to it should do the trick. The failure issues with the newer model years will really make yours stand out, too. Glad to see it went to a good home.

 

Sarge

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DennisThornton

Fluid Film is mostly lanolin. Maybe just lanolin, a solvent and propellant. 

Doubt it would ever fully dry, and you don't want rustproofing to fully dry for fear of it cracking and that's where water will get in and slowly if ever dry. 

 

 

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squonk

Since I just spent $450 on my wife's van  and am a former rust proofing installer,  I thought I would share my final and most lucrative RP story.   

 

I was working at a Chevy dealer. We worked late Monday's till 9. The shop's owner had a good friend ( rich) who was dropping his wife's Caprice wagon off with a skipping issue. The service writer was supposed to have a loaner car for him as they lived 40 miles away. Well he forgot so panic flowed  though the dealership  Who was going to give up their demo! 

 

They got the wagon in and another guy got it on the analyzer. He was having trouble finding the problem. I was walking by and heard the conversation between the tech and owner. I joined in and knowing a common problem with the Oldsmobile engine that was this car. I reached in and found the leaking main vacuum hose. Car fixed. It was near closing time and hot out. I walked across the street to Mc Donalds to get a chocolate shake. 

 

The guy was in the drive thru lane and saw me go in. He told the staff he was paying for what I was getting. As I was walking out he was waiting for me and handed me $ 50. About a month later the car came in for an oil leak. He insisted I work on it. This time his wife was with him. While I was looking the car over,his wife decides to buy a new Lumina APV van. "Stop working on the wagon! " It's late afternoon on Friday and now I have to prep this van. I start doing that and then they tell me I will have to rust proof it also. 

 

I hadn't rust proofed in years. The customer was going to stand there and watch. It was a 2 part process. An in side gold wax like product and a black tar like undercoat. 1 interesting fact was most of the body panels were plastic. I pointed that out to him but he wanted them sprayed  He put a shop coat on and got under the van on the lift. More here more there..We had to break into the parts room for more materials  I finally finished at about 7:30. We were cleaning up and he hands me $200. As I'm leaving the dealership the owner hands me $50. The next month, I'm awarded employee of the month and that's another $200 plus dinner out and a couple of other perks.

 

Thanks for letting me tell  my story after another 12 hr. day

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