And Yet Another Rust Question...

[emmahumpfritter]

I've read the thread Tazka put together a couple times (again, VERY well done) and it's very helpfull, but I have a few more questions regarding rust.

Let's say someone brings a zero rust 80's Toyota INTO the rust belt (where Mr. Rust lives) What would be the best tactic to not letting rust get a foot hold in the first place? Could the ATF in a spray bottle idea be used by simply spraying the entire underside of the vehicle from time to time (say once a month during winter months)?

My 88 Toyota 4wd van and my 86 Tercel 4wd are from out west with zero rust. The past three years I've lived here in Mn. my van has mostly not been driven. The tercel is a recent purchase.

Any rust preventing advice is appreciated.

Thanks,
Brenton

[takza]

Being CHEAP...what I would do would be to drill about the same holes in the doors etc. as they would doing a Zeibart treatment and use the ATF. Main thing is to get it into the bottom of the doors and the hatch....and try to get most of the frame coated inside...crossmember in the back up above the axle...rocker panel channels...around the front suspension...inside rear bumper.

For the surface stuff underneath and the brake/fuel lines...I'd use spray lithium grease...hitting all the lines fully and just any rust areas each fall on the surface underneath.

In the wheelwells...have to stay ahead of this using the tar and roof alum/plastic patches. Make sure the seam at top in the right rear wheel well is caulked real well with tar. Look for any rust or loose undercoating. Don't make new holes in the undercoating.

Front fenders? You almost need to take them off and use something to seal the backside of them at the lip near the tire? Special paint or fiberglass resin? POR?

The oil or spray grease works because it penetrates right to the surface and displaces moisture...if there is no water spray...it just collects dust and stays there. The lithium spray will handle some water spray...so it works underneath where there is some. The wheel wells are nasty places where gravel and water/ice wreak havoc....the roof alum/plastic covered with a thick layer of tar works about the best I've seen.

I think you can stop the rust by 90-95%...first treatment time is involved...after that it doesn't take too much.

[sdoan]

I would use LPS 3. It's a rust preventative that sprays on like an oil and dries like a wax. I think it has a tendency to creep into places you can't actually reach as well. It is available in 1 gallon bottles and can be sprayed with a regular squirt bottle. There are other similar products, but LPS-3 is the only one I've used.

I'd pull off all the plastic pans and guards under the wheel wells and gas tank and I would coat the everything I could get to. I would also take off the door panels and spray it in the doors and the pockets behind the rear wheels and in the cowl vent area. But if it was a car I really liked I would probably ride the bus - I hate the idea of salt...

[takza]

Good stuff...but costs quite a bit for a gallon...

http://www.eangler.com/product/MP811261 ... e=Shopping

Bet if you mixed some heavy gear oil and kerosene to get something that sprayed...the kero should evap...leaving the heavy truck gear oil on the surface? You'd just smell like onions for a month or so....

The lithium spray grease might work over large surfaces if you brushed it out as you went.

[Petros]

The LPS-3 and another similar product called Corrosion-X , while costly, are better than oil or ATF. ATF penetrates good and will protect it, but it will also eat away at seals or rubber parts, cause them to swell and fall apart. So I would only use it where it will not come in contact with rubber parts. Another product that cost less than LPS or Corrosion-X is spray-on undercoating, it is a tar-like substance that is handy to apply in a spray can.

I would jack the car up as far as practical and pressure wash the underside of the car and the wheel wells before I applied the oil or undercoat. If you want a real top notch job, I would remove the door panels and clean out the doors, make sure the drains are clean, and also remove the fenders, clean out the dirt and fill all the seams and places where moisture can get trapped with tar or undercoating, and spray the backside of the fender with undercoating.

If possible, several times during the winter, spray off the underside of the car, and inside the wheel well, behind the bumpers and along all the trim, with warm water from a garden hose and nozzle. That will keep the salty mud from accumulating. At least do that once a year each spring.

[takza]

I can testify for the rubber swelling characteristics of ATF...it has ruined the real door seal in my wagon...that and my dog....etc.