Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Preventing rusted out vehicles

As mentioned in other of my recent posts I have moved from WA State to Michigan in early August. I noticed out here that there are many vehicles which are badly rusted due to the salt they put down on the roads in winter. How can one preserve their vehicle? Hosing it down in the garage will create an ice rink outside. What about having a company spray on a protective coating?

Welcome to the midwest.

Take your vehicle to the car wash as often as possible.

I know a lot of people have ziebart sprayed on their cars, but I'm from the south so take that for what it's worth.

A lot of that stuff they spray on cars is so much snake oil! The problem is water, cars will rust over time, salt on roads during the winter months don't help- it just rusts faster! They call it the rust belt for nothing! A lot of people will garage their new cars during the winter months and drive a "Winter Beater" for the winter! Its the only foolproof way I know of to keep the rust at bay for a newer vehicle!

Get to a car wash and get the undercarriage wash, it seems to do well. I've had cars for 10 years that did not rust when rinsed periodically.

Or you can get a winter rat.

When I moved to upstate NY in March of 1987 I thought I'd moved into the most economically depressed area in the nation. Everybody was driving rusted out, dented up '60's and 70's Ford Galaxies, Chevy Impalas or some other large sedan. Only later did I learn those were winter rats. People bring out their nice cars in the summer and in winter drive larger vehicles that will take fender benders from icy roads and are cheap enough that no one cares if they get rusted.

Btw, watch out for deer, they like to lick the minerals on the roads.

Growing up in the rust belt getting new cars ziebart coated before it left the dealers lot was the norm. Washing off the salt after each winter storm also helps, if you see a really rusted car no doubt the owner did not follow neither.

New cars seems to be built better and taking care and cars will last for years.

+1

The only way to truly prevent the salt from destroying your vehicle is to store it in the winter and use other transportation. Modern vehicles stand up better than old ones did and rustproofing helps a little, but the salt will get to it anyway.

Jerry

Don't drive in MN or WI.

https://www.krown.com/


dave

And don't even think about driving a Ford.

Weird, I drive Fords in Michigan and they work and last just fine. YMMV.

"Fluid Film" is the way to go. The navy has used it for years. I buy a couple of gallons a Year at NAPA, spray it on the Vehicles, no rust issues.

Edit to add, the underside only!

with my last two new cars i have been using my little electric power washer several times a winter to spray underneath real good and the car wash with the underbody spray during the summer. i also bought fluid film and sprayed the schit out of the underneath last fall and will be doing it again in a week or so. i had my truck undercoated before it drove off the lot and they sprayed the living schit out of it.

Or IL.




Dave

Welcome to The Great Lake State.

The only way to avoid the rust is to rinse it underneath and wash it a min of once a week. At work we wash and rinse our truck this way and the last one we got rid of in 2015 was a 2000 and it had zero rust.

A dirty little secret of car washes........The underbody rinse uses the same water the last guy that went through did, they call it "recycling", when you get the underbody rinse you are getting all the salt water that came off of everybody else's cars sprayed onto the underside of your car. and your paying to get it.

My family and I, when I still lived in northern IL, used Ziebart with excellent results.

I feel your pain and don't think there is any treatment that's anywhere near fool proof.

I moved west many moons ago from Va-WVa where I replaced mufflers and tailpipes every 2 years and fought rust continuously due to the salt. Here in eastern Oregon they cinder the roads for most of the winter. I can get 15+ years out of a muffler and tailpipe and am still using two rigs that date to 1978 both with solid rocker panels
Damn things last forever.

Good luck,

Yes, Fluid Film. Developed for use around salt water. It's half Lanolin, or so I'm told. I've used it for the last two years with good results.

Steve.